The Irish Perceptions Series is a nationwide lecture and performance series that travels throughout the United States.  Participants include Ireland’s finest scholars, craftsmen, musicians, authors, performers, and actors.  Since it’s inception, the series has brought nearly 500 Irish lecturers and performers to American audiences. 

Interested in bringing an Irish Perceptions Series speaker to your local community? The Irish American Cultural Institute is always in search of new hosts for the Irish Perceptions Series.  The cost of hosting a speaker includes a $500 program fee (inclusive of air/train travel & honorarium).  The host is responsible for pickup of speaker, venue, and overnight accommodations (home or hotel) 

For more information contact: Taryn Harrison - Program Coordinator - 973-605-1991 or email
 
 
 
Dates & Venues TBA
Available for booking from March 26 - April 16

Caimin O'Brien
Stories from a Sacred Landscape: From pagan country to Christian Ireland

 Dates & Venues TBA
Available for booking from April 23 - May 16, 2007

Joseph Mac Donnacha
 The Irish Language: Success & Challenges of Language Planning

Caimin O’Brien, a native of Birr, Co. Offaly, works as an archaeologist with the Archaeological Survey of Ireland, which is a section of the National Monuments Service of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government.  He graduated from University College Galway with a degree in archaeology and later earned an M. Litt. in Medieval History at Trinity College Dublin.  His publications include Stories from a Sacred Landscape:  From Croghan Hill to Clonmacnoise, the Archaeological Inventory of County Offaly, The Medieval Churches of County Offaly and the Archaeological Inventory of County Tipperary, North Riding.

His lecture will be based on his recent publication-Stories from a Sacred Landscape:  From Crogan Hill to Clonmacnoise.  In his talk he will look at the social background of the evangelizing saints who introduced Christianity to Ireland.  He will look at the family background and the social status of important saints like St. Patrick, St. Columcille of Durrow and Iona, St. Ciarán of Clonmacnoise and many more.  Why did Christianity gain such a stronghold in Ireland so quickly and without bloodshed or martyrdom of the saints?  Why did the rulers of Pagan Ireland give up their belief system that had slowly formed over the centuries and turn to a new religion in a short time period?  These and many more questions will be explored through an analysis of the historical documents, landscape archaeology, architecture, art history, poetry and the folk beliefs of Irish people.  By combining these varied sources it is hoped to give a rounded and comprehensive analysis about the impact of Christianity on medieval Ireland.   

This talk will be illustrated with beautiful images of early Christian Monasteries in their landscape and their magnificent illuminated manuscripts, stained glass windows depicting the early saints, and some wonderful examples of religious art through the beautiful carvings still visible on many medieval churches in the Irish countryside.  Alongside these, there will be a collection of images detailing the fold beliefs of the Irish people such as Holy Bushes, Holy Wells and Cursing Stones-many of which are still places of religious activity in modern Ireland.   

Joe Mac Donnacha is Academic Coordinator with the Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge (Academy for Irish-medium University Studies) at the National University of Ireland, Galway, where he also lecture in language planning.  He has previously worked with several other Irish language planning organizations including Glór na nGael (htt0://www.glornangael.ie/) and Comhdháil Náisiúnta na Gaelige (http://www.gaelport.com/).  He was a founding member of Comhluadar, a support organization for parents bringing up their children through the medium of Irish.   

Mr. Mac Donnacha’s research interests include the organizational and process aspects of language planning and the role of immersion education in Irish language planning.  He has recently co-authored an important baseline study of primary and secondary schools in the Gaeltacht (Irish speaking) areas of Ireland and is currently co-director of a major sociolinguistic study on the Irish language in the Gaeltacht.  He is also an exponent of the traditional style of Irish language a cappella singing known as sean-nós, which is an important feature of the cultural identity of the Gaeltacht areas of Ireland and Scotland.  

In his lecture, Mr. Mac Donnacha will identify what the successes and failures of Irish language planning have been and will also identify the challenges that fact the Irish language if “she” is to remain a spoken language in a “globalized world” that is the Ireland of today.  This will include a short summary of the history of the language, discussing attitudes amongst the populace in general towards the language, how effectively school children acquire Irish through the education system, the areas and domains in when Irish is used in society, and the future of the last remaining Gaeltachtaí (Irish speaking areas). 

The talk will conclude with a brief discussion of the importance of Irish as the language in which many of the cultural traditions of Ireland developed and are still to be found, with a particular focus on the sean-nós (old style/traditional) singing tradition.