2006 3rd Annual Irish-American Crossroads Festival
March 1 – 11, 2006
MARCH 1st, 2006
An Evening of Resistance Music to Commemorate the 1981 Irish Hunger Strike
March 1, 2006 marked the 25th Anniversary of the beginning of the hunger strike that was a turning point in the struggle for Irish freedom and equality. Audiences joined us as local musicians honor the hunger strikers’ memory with a rich and moving tribute to their struggle.
Performing Musicians:
Pat Hamilton, Ben Hunter, Tony McMahon and Liam Tiernan of the legendary group, Barleycorn
MARCH 2nd, 2006
An Evening of music with Karen Casey and Flook
Co-produced by the United Irish Cultural Center and The Fresh Eire Festival
MARCH 3rd, 2006
The Irish-American Memoir: A conversation and reading with Irish-American memoir writers.
Maura Conlon-McIvor, She’s All Eyes: Memoirs of an Irish-American Daughter
Bridget Connolly, Forgetting Ireland: Uncovering a Family’s Secret History
Maureen Murdock, Unreliable Truth: On Memoir and Memory
Maureen Waters, Crossing Highbridge: A Memoir of Irish America
Moderated by Hillary Flynn
MARCH 5th, 2006
Poetry Night
Jack Foley, Letters/Lights—Words for Adelle, Gershwin, Adrift, Exiles, and with Ivan Argüelles, New Poetry from California: Dead/Requiem; Host, Cover to Cover on KPFA
Katherine Hastings, Director, WordTemple Poetry Series at Copperfield Books in Santa Rosa, and a widely published poet in many journals and anthologies.
Maureen Hurley, Falling to Sea Level, Klarlight; Cleveland Elementary School Arts Instructor
Chad Sweeney, Salt Plain and Other Stories, Co-Editor, Parthenon West Review; San Francisco Writers Corps teacher
Moderated by Liz Burke, Adjunct Faculty, John F. Kennedy University
MARCH 7th, 2006
25th Anniversary of The 1981 Hunger Strike: A Lasting Impact
Audiences joined us for a conversation about the events surrounding the Irish Hunger Strike of 1981 in Long Kesh prison and its powerful impact on the politics of Ireland and America down to the present day.
John Fogarty, Western Regional Representative, Irish American Unity Conference
Hon. Tom Hayden, Author, Activist, Educator
Bobby Lavery, Elected Representative to the Belfast City Council for 11 years for Sinn Féin
Bill Simmons, International Indian Treaty Council
Nadya Connolly Williams, Global Exchange Study Tour Coordinator for the north of Ireland, and other destinations
Moderated by: Daniel Cassidy, Co-Director, New College of California, Irish Studies Program
MARCH 8th, 2006
A Celebration of the Life of Peter Tamony
A night celebrating the life and work of a forgotten Irish-American folklorist from the old Mission District of San Francisco.
Karen Ellis, author, teacher and publisher of print and online media. Her work can be found at: Educational CyberPlayGround
Michael Corrigan, Confessions of a Shanty Irishman
Daniel Cassidy, Co-Director, New College of California Irish Studies Program
MARCH 9th, 2006
The Irish in the Sunset District
An exploration of the history of the Irish-American community of the Sunset District of San Francisco, featuring a variety of panelists including Anne Carew, Pat Maguire, Diarmuid Philpott, Bob Twomey, and Jeffrey M. Burns, the Archivist for the Archdiocese of San Francisco, as well as other members of the neighborhood.
Moderated by Margaret McPeake, (then) Co-Director, New College of California Irish Studies Program.
MARCH 11th, 2006
Tipsy House, Traditional Music Group
1:30–2:00 pm
Irish-Americans in Social Justice Movements
2:00–4:00 pm
The public was invited to join in a conversation about Irish-Americans in social justice movements.
Ellen Barry, prison rights activist, lawyer, organizer and 2005 Nobel Peace Prize nominee
Kevin Fagan, Award-winning San Francisco Chronicle Journalist
Sister Maureen Hally, RSM, Educator, Activist, Warrior Crone
Moderated by Hillary Flynn.