Students and faculty gathered on Zoom to discuss the importance of Irish women’s rights on Nov. 4 in an event hosted by the Human Journey Colloquia Series.
The event, “Migration and Movements: Irish Women’s Activism at Home and Abroad,” was led by Professors Abby Bender, Kelly Marino, Jennifer McLaughlin and John Roney. All of the professors are in the History Department, aside from Bender, who is in the Languages and Literatures Department.
“I hope that our wonderful audience will come away with a sense of how Irish women’s activism today continues the familiar traditions of the 20th century, with dynamic speeches and marches, but also employs new forms of activism in social media and online archives,” said Bender in an interview.
Some topics that were covered were women’s contributions to labor movements, immigration rights and women’s suffrage.
Each panelist presented their own PowerPoint slideshow about what they thought was most important regarding Irish women and their steps towards activism. The presentations included photographs of Irish women who made a difference and facts about women’s equality in Ireland and the rights that Irish women were given.
Roney touched on the limited freedoms of Irish women and how they were viewed as property of their husbands and had restricted rights within and outside of their homes. The limitations that women were facing led to protests and other forms of violence in Ireland.
“We hope to generate more interest in Irish women’s experiences. Sacred Heart has always had a large Irish student population; we hope to speak to those students’ heritages,” said Marino.
There were a total of 67 participants at the event, including the four panelists. It was promoted through emails sent by the university and it was also on Sacred Heart’s calendar of events.
Freshman Dominique Scerbak attended the event to gain a better understanding of Irish women’s history.
“After learning more about Irish women and how truly strong and determined they are, I have a deeper sense of understanding and respect for not only the Irish women, but also people of all cultures,” said Scerbak.
The Irish were dependent on British Parliament, which caused the British to hold more power over the Irish. Since the Irish were a new immigrant group coming to Britain, it caused a great deal of racism. This was related to the Black Lives Matter movement multiple times throughout the colloquium.
“The parallel with protests now regarding the Black Lives Matter movement is this whole sense of America coming to grips with what race and ethnicity are and who we are as people and all of its diversity,” said Roney during the event.
“It was helpful to realize that these struggles have been felt by all different cultures at all different points in history and to recognize the struggles minorities today continue to face,” said Scerbak.
The event concluded by opening up the discussion to the rest of the participants on the Zoom call. One of the participants asked if there was anything that Americans can do about the inequality or if these issues are more prominent in Ireland.
Sacred Heart has an Irish Studies program and a study abroad program in Dingle, Ireland. With this event, the panelists’ goals were to get more students involved and excited about Irish heritage and encourage them to join those programs.
At the end of the colloquium, the panelists talked about an event that will be hosted through the Irish Studies Program at Sacred Heart next year.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mid-Atlantic and New England Regional meeting of the American Conference for Irish Studies was postponed to next year. It will take place from Oct. 29 to Oct. 30, 2021.
For more information, visithttps://www.sacredheart.edu/academics/colleges–schools/college-of-arts–sciences/departments/languages-and-literatures/acis-mid-atlantic-and-new-england-regional-conference/.
