(1) The annual Bob Kelly Lecture (named for a co-founder of the Rochester Chapter) was presented in October 2017 by retired college and secondary-school teacher Dr. Bo Smith on the life and work of Countess Constance Markievicz (1868-1927), the revolutionary nationalist, suffragette, socialist, and Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil politician.  

(2) Later that month, Dr. Micheline Sheehy-Skeffington elucidated the lives and contributions of her grandparents, the suffragette Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington, and her husband, the pacifist Frank Sheehy- Skeffington.

(3) In January 2018, Cormac O'Malley spoke on the life and published works of his father, the War of Independence and IRA leader Ernie O'Malley.

(4) In anticipation of the ancient and modern feast of Imbolc on 1 February 2018 (the first day of spring), Rochester Chapter participants learned to make St. Brigid Crosses at a St. Brigid's Day party at the end of January.

(5) In March 2018, in cooperation with the local chapter of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the Rochester Chapter presented an Irish siamsa (entertainment or amusement) at three local libraries. The evening events consisted of a demonstration of Irish bread-making (with bread baked on site and ready to eat by evening’s end); performances by the local branch of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann and a local dance school; and two educational talks. One lecture was titled “The Peter Robinson Settlement Project of 1823 and 1825 [in Upper Ontario],” and the other was titled “Watershed Events in Irish History.”

(6) The Chapter participated in the Rochester St. Patrick’s Day Parade on 17 March 2018.

(7) The Chapter also participated in “Remembering the Great Irish Famine,” a full-day program on 13 April 2018, sponsored by St. John Fisher College in Rochester. The day ended with a concert featuring the renowned Sligo fiddler Manus McGuire and Dave Curley, a champion step dancer, singer/songwriter, and guitar player.

(8) The Chapter will host its annual dinner on 3 May 2018 at St. John Fisher College, featuring guest speaker Helena Byrne, seanchaí (storyteller) and singer. At this event Dr. Bernard Hart will receive the fifth annual Eoin McKiernan award, named for the IACI founder.

(9) The Rochester Chapter will participate in the Finger Lakes Celtic Festival in Shortsville, NY, on 19 May 2018.

The Rochester Chapter also sponsors a “Literary Roundtable,” led by Dr. Bernard Hart and others “with a passion for Irish literature,” and usually held on the final Thursday of each month from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Irondequoit Public Library.

Lastly, the Rochester Chapter has been sponsoring an Irish Film Feis during 2017 and 2018, with a total of six films in the series, including “The Wind That Shakes the Barley” (2006), “Kisses” (2008), “Jimmy’s Hall” (2014), “Intermission” (2003), “Philomena” (2013), and “In America” (2002). The film series ran from 1 October 2017 through 8 April 2018. General admission was $25 per film or $138 for the series; IACI members paid $20 per film or $108 for the series.

President: Michael E. McCarthy