Part of a la Care lecture series on June 20.
Guy McLain, director of the Lyman and Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History, will talk on "The Irish Immigration Experience in the Valley" on June 20 at 12:15 p.m. in the D'Amour Museum of Fine Arts. Guy McLain, director of the Lyman and Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History, will talk on “The Irish Immigration Experience in the Valley” on June 20 at 12:15 p.m. in the D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts.
The talk is in conjunction with “The Irish Legacy: Immigration and Assimilation in the Connecticut Valley during the Industrial Revolution,” a new exhibit at the Wood Museum through Aug. 25 that includes educational programming.
“The Irish story is of particular interest because they are one of the earlier groups that began a major immigration to America and went through incredible prejudice but established themselves,” McLain said.
The exhibit, based on “The Irish Legacy: A History of the Irish in Western Massachusetts,” the first in The Republican’s Heritage Book Series on different area ethnic groups, is in conjunction with the forthcoming production of “The Garden of Martyrs,” an opera written by area professors Eric Sawyer and Harley M. Erdman, and based on the novel of the same name by Michael C. White.
The production is planned for a Sept. 20 and 22 debut at the Academy of Music in Northampton, and a video excerpt of a workshop presentation is on view in the exhibit. The opera is about the 1806 murder trial in Northampton of Irish immigrants James Halligan and Dominic Daley.
The two, hanged amid much anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic hatred, were exonerated by Gov. Michael Dukakis in 1984, in part due to Westfield resident Jim Curran’s play, “They’re Irish! They’re Catholic!! They’re Guilty!!!,” that is based on the trial.
A transcript of the trial is among the artifacts on view.
“The trial was such a sensation pamphlets were printed giving accounts of the trial,” McLain said.
Other artifacts on view include a harp, embroidered dance costume and lobster pot, woven from branches, on loan through the Irish Cultural Center at Elms College in Chicopee.
On Tuesdays throughout the summer, Ellen Dziura and other volunteers from the center will present the “Celtic Cart,” which will enable visitors to participate in Irish-related activities and games designed to support the exhibit.
“The story of Irish immigration to America is one of grit and courage,” McLain said. “This exhibit brings to life the development of the Irish community in the valley over the last two centuries. To me, it is a fascinating story. The Irish experience is especially unique.”
Irish immigrants came to the Pioneer Valley in large numbers in the 19th century because of developing industries in cities like Springfield, Holyoke, Westfield and Chicopee. Many found jobs in construction, in factories and building canals.
Their legacy, McLain said, was born of discrimination against them in British-ruled Ireland.
“They sensed early on the importance of community, civic support and getting involved in politics.”
In addition, many priests and bishops as well as women religious of the Roman Catholic Church in the 19th century were of Irish descent, and they helped establish Roman Catholicism as a major denomination in the nation that had been primarily Protestant, McLain noted.
The exhibit’s 60 photos are divided into different categories such as family life, faith, and community leaders and first responders, since many Irish went into service professions like politics, the police and fire fighting.
Most of the photos are from The Republican’s book, co-edited by Anne-Gerard Flynn and Sister of St. Joseph Judith Kappenman, of the Irish Cultural Center.
“The ‘Irish Legacy’ book has been well-received since its publication in November, so it was an extra honor to have it as part of the exhibit at the Wood. Guy and Margaret Humberston, head of library and archives for the museum, have provided further insight into the legacy in how they have mounted the book’s photographs,” said Flynn, lifestyle editor of The Republican and guest curator for the exhibit.
“The narrative on the walls easily conveys to visitors, no matter their age or background knowledge, the breadth of what this immigrant group has achieved and contributed. The additional supporting material further enhances the experience of being immersed in the Irish culture.”
The exhibit includes a video interview by Mary Ellen Lowney, who wrote the book’s chapter on the area connection to the historic Blasket Islands, with 93-year-old Michael Carney, Gaelic-Irish speaker and one of the last surviving Blasket Islanders, who emigrated from Ireland to Springfield in the 1940s. He is author of the recently published memoir, “From the Great Blasket to America: The Last Memoir by an Islander.”
McLain’s talk is part of the museums à la Carte lectures. Cost for the talk is $4 ($2 for members of the Springfield Museums); visitors are invited to bring lunch (cookies and coffee are provided). For more information, call (413) 263-6800, ext. 488.
General museum admission is $15 for adults, $10 for seniors and college students, $8 for children 3 to 17 and free for children under three and museum members. This fee provides admission to all four Springfield Museums. Springfield residents receive free general admission with proof of address.
The Springfield Museums are located on the Quadrangle at 21 Edwards St., where free parking is available. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit www.springfieldmuseums.org/
Westfield resident Jim Curran’s play, “They’re Irish! They’re Catholic!! They’re Guilty!!!,” was instrumental in the 1984 exoneration of two Irish men of murder by Gov. Michael Dukakis in 1984.
The men had been tried and hanged in Northampton in 1806, on a site where an annual wreath is placed on a commemorative marker.
The following poem, by the late Ann Sherwood, of Springfield, for the play, was read at the recent observance for James Halligan and Dominic Daley at the site off West Street.
There is a chapter on the men in the book, “The Irish Legacy: A History of the Irish in Western Massachusetts,” available from The Republican for $42.45.
A monument off West Street in Northampton to Dominic Daley and James Halligan. They were tried and executed in 1806 for a murder in 1805. In 1984, the Irish immigrants were exonerated by then Gov. Michael S. Dukakis. They are featured in a current exhibit at the Wood Museum, and the subject of an upcoming opera at the Academy of Music in Northampton. “The Hangings at Pancake Plain”
Tonight unfolds a tale of woe,
Of murder, trial and sentence.
Of two, accused, but wrongly so
And of belated confession and repentance.
In eighteen-six, good folk give heed,
Foul murder was committed.
Two Celtic men charged with the deed
‘Irish-Catholics, therefore guilty, not acquitted.’
There were racists, too, in days of yore,
So poor Halligan and Daley
To the scaffold on Pancake Plain, they bore.
Lack-a-day! High waley-waley!
They hanged them there on Pancake Plain
Where loomed the gibbet grim and gruesome.
And down the years ‘twould be a stain. . .
Did they hang a guiltless twosome?
You be the judges when you hear the play
As we vacate the podium
‘On with the act’ as history we portray
And your patience beg for this exordium.
— Ann Sherwood
Aug. 7, 1983
Related:
For an interview with Jim Curran: