News

Greening the World

St. Patrick’s Day, the 17th of March, is the single biggest national day celebrated globally. In a lunchtime talk, Professor Mike Cronin showed how St. Patrick’s Day was born in the United States as a visceral demonstration of Irish American ethnic power and explored how the Irish state (and associated business interests) have leveraged St. Patrick’s Day globally to market the state and make Ireland one of the most readily recognized national brands.

Celebrating 25 Years of BC Ireland

To mark the 25th anniversary of BC Ireland, Mike Cronin (Director of BC Ireland), Christian Dupont (Burns Librarian), Mary C. Murphy (Director of the Irish Institute), and Guy Beiner (Sullivan Chair and Irish Studies Program Director) held a panel to discuss the many sweeping changes that have occurred in Ireland over the past 25 years. The four analyzed the challenges and opportunities these developments have had on the study of Ireland, both on the island and in America. The event discussed how Boston College - through the work of BC Ireland, the Irish Institute, the Burns Library, and Irish Studies - is uniquely positioned to cater to the interests of both Ireland and Irish America while continuing to advance this transatlantic relationship.

Philosopher Richard Kearney awarded St Patrick’s Day Medal

The philosopher Richard Kearney has been awarded this year’s Research Ireland St Patrick’s Day Medals.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin presented the medal at a ceremony in Washington, DC. The award honors academic and industry leaders in the US, including their contribution to Irish research and collaboration between Ireland and the US. Mr Martin said these achievements “illustrate the exceptional work being carried out by the Irish research diaspora across the US”.

First BC/QUB Graduate Student Exchange

As part of our first graduate student exchange with Queen's University Belfast, PhD candidate Tiffay Thompson delivered a seminar at the Northern Irish university. Titled "Belfast Barridades & Burns-out Homes: Women Navigating Street Violence and Displacement in August 1969," Thompson's seminar discussed part of her larger project exploring the gendered violence of Norhtern Ireland's Troubles. 

Teddy Lehre at ACIS 2025

Teddy Lehre participated in the annual ACIS conference, held in Savannah, Georgia in February of 2025. Teddy presented on their dissertation research, delivering a paper titled 'Cathleen Ni Houlihan and the Death Drive.' 

Comhfhios 2025 - Hibernia Beyond Humans

In February 2025, BC graduate students hosted the eighth annual Comhfhios conference. This year's theme, 'Hibernia Beyond Humans: The Rise of Environmental Humanities in Irish Studies,' gathered graduate students from across America and the United Kingdom to discuss the interactions and relationships between human actors, nonhuman actors, and the environments across Ireland and her diasporas. The keynote was delivered by Malcolm Sen from UMass Amherst.