Last week, New York University’s Center for Irish and Irish-American Studies celebrated its upcoming series of public events to mark the 100th anniversary of Ireland’s Easter Rising, a seminal event in the establishment of the Republic of Ireland.

Consul General of Ireland in New York Barbara Jones welcomed the crowd, including William Rossa Cole, grandson of Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa, pivotal figure in the lead up to the Easter Rising, also attended.

Loretta Brennan Glucksman, philanthropist and Chair of the Glucksman Ireland House NYU advisory board, and Ireland House’s Director, Prof. Joe Lee, launched the series of events marking the centenary of the Rising. Over eighty members of the New York Irish community, academics, and students in NYU’s Irish and Irish-American Studies MA Program gathered at the Consul General’s residence.

Glucksman Ireland House NYU will focus specifically on the essential role of America in the Easter 1916 Rising with events in music, poetry, prose, film, and an international academic symposium.

NYU’s programs will shed new light on the trans-Atlantic context of the Rising, examining the actions and motives of Irish cultural and political nationalists who came to the United States before 1916 and of the Americans who served as their support network.

Events run monthly in New York in Fall 2015 and Spring 2016. As part of the NYU program, Paul Muldoon has been commissioned to write a new poem. The three-day academic conference April 20-22, 2016 opens with a film screening and includes keynote lectures and panels by a host of leading scholars. It culminates with a reading of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic under the Washington Square Arch by renowned actress Fionnula Flanagan.

Further details available on the web here. 

Glucksman Ireland House NYU schedule of Easter Rising events

September 17, 2015: “Her Exiled Children…”: Music of the 1916 Easter Rising

New York’s traditional Irish musicians explore music of the 1916 Easter Rising. Featuring singer and guitarist Donie Carroll, fiddler and singer Liz Hanley, piper Ivan Goff, GIH faculty member and singer Mick Moloney, piper Jerry O’Sullivan, and fiddler Caitlin Warbelow. Venue: Glucksman Ireland House NYU.

October 15, 2015: Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa, John Devoy, and the Road to the Rising

Biographers Shane Kenna and Terry Golway discuss Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa and John Devoy, Irish Americans who were pivotal to context of the Easter 1916 Rising. Presented with the American Irish Historical Society. Venue: American Irish Historical Society.

October 29, 2015: The United Irish League of America, 1910-1918: The Center Did Not Hold

The 17th Annual O’Malley Lecture presents Francis Carroll of the University of Manitoba speaking on the United Irish League of America and Irish America’s support of the British Parliament’s Home Rule Bill of 1914 — and how the consuming force of the Great War intervened. Venue: Glucksman Ireland House NYU. Free.

November 18, 2015: “Her Exiled Children...” Voices in America & the 1916 Easter Rising

George C. Heslin directs a troupe of New York’s finest actors to bring the sounds, words, and stories of the Rising to life and capture the American voice of this historic event. Venue: The Sheen Center for Thought and Culture.

February 4, 2016: “Her Exiled Children...” Poetry in America & the 1916 Easter Rising

Renowned writers read poems by Irish and Irish-American poets, providing powerful reflections on Irish nationalism at the time of the Rising. Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and

author Paul Muldoon debuts a new poem, commissioned for the occasion. Venue: NYU’s Kimmel Center for University Life.

April 20, 2016: Screening of A Terrible Beauty with commentary by the filmmakers

This 90-minute feature docudrama A Terrible Beauty is a unique look at the events of Easter Week 1916 in Dublin through the eyes of Irish Volunteers, British soldiers, and innocent civilians caught in the middle, showing the human cost of the fighting on all sides. Followed by commentary and Q&A with producers Colin and Dave Farrell.

April 21-22, 2016: “Independent Spirit: America and the 1916 Easter Rising symposium

This major academic conference showcases ground-breaking new research in the role of America in the Easter Rising. How did the American media capture the Rising? What was the role of women? What role did the American Catholic Church play? Who were the men and women behind the Rising in the U.S., both well-known and overlooked? Keynote lectures and panels will illuminate these previously under-explored topics and more at this three-day symposium. Venue: Glucksman Ireland House NYU.