Did you know that the city that gave birth to Jazz once had more Irish living there than Philadelphia, Baltimore, Chicago and was on par with Boston?
Did you know that the city where Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau lived also witnessed its first St. Patrick’s Day Parade in 1806 - less than three years after the Louisiana Purchase?
Did you know that this most un-American of cities erected the first public statue to a woman in the entire United States: Margaret Gaffney Haughery of County Leitrim?
Did you know that the lowest lying Irish pub in the world - 8 feet below sea level- is located in New Orleans?
If any of this strikes your curiosity, then you won’t want to miss the Dublin release of Laura D. Kelley’s tour-de-force exploration of New Orleans/Irish culture, “The Irish in New Orleans.”
Join Tulane University professor Kelly and Minister for the Diaspora Jimmy Deenihann on Wednesday, June 10, for the official Irish launch of “The Irish in New Orleans” at the Irish Whiskey Museum, right across the street from the gates of Trinity College Dublin. Light refreshments and New Orleans mementos will be on hand.
From Bloody O'Reilly in the eighteenth century, to the great churches and charitable organizations built by the Irish Famine immigrants in the nineteenth century, to the Irish-dominated politics of the twentieth century, and including Irish dance, music, and sports, historian Dr. Laura D. Kelley tells the hitherto untold colorful, entertaining and often adventurous history of the Irish in one of America's most historical cities. The lively and readable text is beautifully illustrated with photographs by Carrie Lee Schwartz that convey the continuing vibrancy of the Irish community of New Orleans.
The book is a finalist for the INDIEFAB award (to be determined June 2015) and was recently awarded the Bronze Star by Independent Publisher's Award- IPPY.
The book launch will take place at the Irish Whiskey Museum, on Grafton Street (opposite Trinity College's main entrance), on June 10, at 6:30pm.
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