By: EVAN IRELAND
Contributing Writer
Visiting the Saint Rose campus, Dr. Peter Moloney, European Union scholar and writer will enlighten the Saint Rose community about Irish heritage and the border along Northern Ireland and the south. The border stretches 300 miles and has 220 border crossings according to Moloney. The Irish border is again in the news as Brexit details are finalized with the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union.
Moloney will explain more about Brexit and what the effects of this border will cause. The effects can include agriculture on Northern Ireland, trade between Southern Ireland, and the process of how goods will travel between the border. The event is being presented by the Irish American Heritage Museum.
The organization was founded in 1986 and maintains artifacts that date back to early 19th to 18th century.
“It’s important to share our heritage amongst the youth and I believe that Saint Rose will benefit from Dr. Moloney,” said Dr. Elizabeth Stack, the executive director of the museum.
Stack has been part of the organization for only six months. Though she is new to the position, with her knowledge of Southern Ireland being born and raised, she believes she will improve the organization. The Moloney lecture will take place at Saint Rose on Tuesday, Nov. 27, at 7:30 p.m in Touhey Forum in the Lally School of Education building.
The event was organized by Dr. Margaret Carroll who is a professor at the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. She has an interest in Irish literature and she has worked with the Irish American Heritage Museum in the past and is now a member of the board for the Irish American Heritage Museum.
“I’m just really enthusiastic to spread my love of Irish Culture,” said Carroll. She has always applauded the museum with their background in Irish heritage and the amount of people that attended their lectures with numbers ranging from 50 to 70 people.
Tuesday’s event is one of six lectures at four local colleges sponsored by the Irish American Heritage Museum this academic year. These events have spread across the Albany area and to other colleges outside including Siena College, Skidmore College, and Union College. For many seniors in High school, this could be an opportunity to pursue a career in Irish Literature.
These lectures provide an opportunity for the museum to showcase the scholarship around the organization.
The museum also provides people with the knowledge of Irish heritage and an opportunity to become a member of the museum, it’s as easy as going on the website or talking directly to Dr. Stack or any other active members of the museum.
“The museum even offers people who just want to bring in or even talk about Irish heritage the ability to distribute information,” said Stack.
This lecture will not only provide students knowledge of Irish culture, but it will give students a new perspective on what is going on in the world. Moloney will sit down for a questiona and answer segment with Saint Rose’s Dr. Jenise DePinto, associate professor in the Department of History and Political Science.
