Ficitional account is in honor of St. Patrick's Day.
Storyteller Sharon Kennedy as Mary O'Connell, Lowell mill worker and Irish immigrant.
Professional storyteller Sharon Kennedy will spin a tale of the life of a young weaver in 19th-century Lowell when she shuttles between stories about the life of a fictitious Irish mill girl during one of the Springfield Museums à la carte lectures.
In presenting “Mary Margaret O’Connell, Lowell Mill Girl.” on March 14 at 12:15 p.m., Kennedy will perform in costume as a 15-year-old living and working in the mills in 1847.
She will tell how the character's parents emigrated from Ireland and settled in “The Acre,” the Irish section of Lowell.
The story of the character's parents starts with their immigration from County Cork, Ireland.
It progress to the father digging canals in Lowell, and the mother washing floors in the homes of the wealthy.
The character endures a childhood illness and survives. Participants learn about her school years, and her work as a weaver.
“Millions of children in Central and South America and China and Haiti - -and lots of other places -- are right now working 12 hour days -- or more -- in factories just exactly the way they were here up until our child labor laws,” said Kennedy, a graduate of New York University and the Berghoff Studio in New York.
A full-time storyteller with a varied repertoire, she recently returned from West Africa where she collected folktales.
Each March Kristina S. Guerin, museum programmer, likes to book a program in honor of St. Patrick’s Day because members and visitors enjoy the Irish connection.
“I think ‘Mary Margaret O’Connell, Lowell Mill Girl’ will be a hit,” she said.
“Although Mary Margaret O’Connell lived in Lowell, I think that her story might be similar to those of Irish immigrants who came to Springfield. Both Lowell and Springfield were industrial cities, and we both had immigrant populations.”
Indeed, The Republican’s recently published “The Irish Legacy: A History of the Irish in Western Massachusetts” recounts some of their stories. An upcoming exhibit in the Wood Museum of Springfield History is based on the book and will be on view June 11 through Aug. 25
The book is available from The Republican for $42.45, tax included, as well as from the store at the Springfield museums, and at The Cottage in Holyoke and the Odyssey Bookshop in South Hadley as well as the Irish Cultural Center at Elms College and Barnes and Noble.
Each month, the museums offer visitors a variety of lectures and gallery tours. On Thursdays, the à la carte lectures take place at 12:15 p.m. in the Michele and Donald D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts.
The topics change weekly and include art, history, travel and special exhibits.
Admission for the la carte lectures is $4; $2 for members of the Springfield Museums.
Visitors are invited to bring their lunch to eat during the program. Cookies and coffee are provided; Big Y World Class Market sponsors the programs.
The Springfield Museums are located on the Quadrangle at 21 Edwards St. in downtown Springfield. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
For more information about Museums à la Carte, call (413) 263-6800, ext. 488.
For more information about the variety of programs Kennedy performs, visit http://sharonkennedy.com/