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Crossroads Irish Oral and Video History
Archive of the San Francisco Bay Area
The Crossroads Irish-American Festival aims to produce a comprehensive archive of the life stories of the Irish in the San Francisco Bay Area, representative of all generations of heritage. In this first phase, we have targeted "the 1950's generation" of Irish emigrants and their Irish-American contemporaries. This includes men and women who emigrated from Ireland in the 1930's, 1940's, 1950's, and early 1960's -- and their Irish-American counterparts in this generation.
The Project
The Crossroads Irish Oral and Video History Archive of the San Francisco Bay Area is dedicated to capturing the experience and contributions of men and women who emigrated from Ireland and settled in the San Francisco Bay Area, and their Irish-America counterparts, in their own words. We are also committed to capturing the stories of the descendants of emigrants from Ireland to the San Francisco Bay Area, including men and women who are second, third, fourth, and fifth generations (or more) removed from the immigrant experience.
This archival project is composed of audio and video recordings of individuals telling their own stories about their experiences of emigration and settlement in the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as of native-born individuals of Irish-American heritage telling their own stories about growing up and living in the Bay Area and/or about the experiences of their families forging a life in San Francisco during previous generations.
Creating an historical record, both for posterity and for future research, are the primary goals of this work.
This project is made possible, in part, through a grant from the Irish Government's Emigrant Support Programme (ESP), awarded to the Crossroads Irish-American Festival.
Key Partnerships
We are pleased to announce that numerous members of the California Official Court Reporters Association have committed to donating hundreds of volunteer hours towards verbatim transcription of these interviews. This is a tremendously generous contribution to the project and we wish to thank each of the volunteers for their time and expertise. Eventually, all interviews will be transcribed, printed and bound into volumes to be made available for reference.
The San Francisco Public Library (Main Branch) has committed to house the audio, video and transcribed versions of this archive.
Outreach to the Community
If you or someone you know would like to be part of this project, please contact us. We welcome referrals and recommendations and we are happy to answer any questions that you might have. We look forward to hearing from you.
Please contact us with any questions that you might have.
• Margaret Mc Peake - 707-235-9858
• Hillary Flynn - 415-810-3774
• info@irishamericancrossroads.org
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Frequently Asked Questions
How will the Oral History be recorded?
An interviewer will meet with you at a location that is comfortable to you – your house or another location. The conversation will be recorded on a digital audio recorder. Many interviews are also recorded by video camera, too. Ideally, interviews will be held on a one-on-one basis.
What type of information or stories are you looking for?
For men and women who emigrated from Ireland, we are interested in giving you an opportunity to tell the story of your life in Ireland, your departure from Ireland and the kinds of experiences you had after arriving in this country.
For men and women who were born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, we are interested in giving you an opportunity to tell the story of your life, your family, your childhood neighborhood, and your experience as an adult living and working in the Bay Area.
The interviewer will have questions about the kinds of work, family, and social environments that may have played a role in your life in the San Francisco Bay Area. However, we are interested in the details of your own experience, and will let you lead the way in the conversation.
What purposes will the oral histories be used for?
The recordings will be part of a digital audio and video archive of oral histories. In the future, this collection can be made available to those doing research about the local Irish community.
Where will the archive be housed?
The San Francisco Public Library (SFPL) has committed to be a partner with this archive project and will provide access to the audio, video and transcribed versions of the interviews. We will also make portions of the audio, video and transcribed versions of the interviews accessible on this website.
How will the directors of the project decide whom to interview?
Our goal is to conduct an oral history interview with every person who expresses an interest to have his or her voice be part of the archive.
Do you plan to interview other men and women from other generations?
Our aim is to eventually interview individuals who emigrated from Ireland during other decades (the 1960's to the present) as well as to create an oral and video history archive that highlights members of the Irish-American community as a whole, in the San Francisco Bay Area. The part of the project that we are currently undertaking, however, focuses on the eldest members of our community.
Will you be creating an archive of photographs and other memorabilia, too?
Our primary objective is to collect oral histories. However, if you have photos and/or other memorabilia that could give visual breadth and depth to the oral history project, we would be happy to speak with you about ways to scan, duplicate or archive that material.
Will I receive a copy of the interview?
Yes, every interviewee will receive an audio and/or video copy of his/her interview.
How Can I Contact You?
If you or someone you know would like to participate in this project, please contact:
• Margaret Mc Peake - 707-235-9858
• Hillary Flynn - 415-810-3774
• info@irishamericancrossroads.org
To read the article printed in The San Francisco Chronicle newspaper on March 13, 2011, please click here.
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