From Email Patrick O'Sullivan

Kevin,

1.

Sit down with a run of Khachig Tololyan's journal Diaspora. There is a contact point
at...

http://www.utpress.utoronto.ca/journal/Diaspora/
http://www.utpress.utoronto.ca/journal/Diaspora/dias_1_1.htm

Khachig's own review articles are now much cited in the diasporas literature.

2.
Visit the Web site of the ESRC Research Programme on Transnational Communities.

If you dig down there you will find, amongst other things, a book list, giving basic
bibliographic information about many of the main diasporas or transnational communities.

The last time I visited it did not look as if anyone was making any great effort to up
date the information. So it will be basic.

http://www.transcomm.ox.ac.uk


3.
There is similar material at
GLOBAL DIASPORAS PROJECT (GDP)
WORLD DIASPORAS: A BIBLIOGRAPHICAL GUIDE
This is a bibliography, compiled by Selina Cohen with the assistance of Robin Cohen.
http://cal.csv.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/Sociology/biblio.htm


4.
And you find all sorts of stuff on the Web. I came across this...
THE PLACE WHICH IS DIASPORA: CHAORDIC LEAPFROGGING, REPLICATING AND TRANSNATIONAL
NETWORKING
Pnina Werbner
Keele University
http://les1.man.ac.uk/sa/Transnationalism/pwerbner.htm-----Original Message-----

Pnina Werbner did a book, The Migration Process, on the place of women in culture
formation. My Asian colleaguies are rather sniffy about it - all I can say is that we
have nothing like it in Irish Diaspora Studies.

P.O'S.


From: Kevin Kenny
Subject: Re: Ir-D return migration

For ongoing (interminable) research into my
historiographical article on the Irish Diaspora I am now in
search of similar historiographical/review essays on other
diasporas, e.g. African, Jewish, Chinese.

Can anybody recommend some essays or books to read?

Many thanks,

Kevin Kenny


- --
Patrick O'Sullivan
Head of the Irish Diaspora Research Unit

Email Patrick O'Sullivan
Email Patrick O'Sullivan

Irish-Diaspora list
Irish Diaspora Studies http://www.brad.ac.uk/acad/diaspora/

Personal Fax National 0870 284 1580
Fax International +44 870 284 1580

Irish Diaspora Research Unit
Department of Interdisciplinary Human Studies
University of Bradford
Bradford BD7 1DP
Yorkshire
England

From: Enda Delaney

Kevin,

Worth a look for the Scottish and British Diasporas are:

The Diaspora of the British (University of London Selected
Seminar Papers no. 31, 1982) [see especially the essays by Hugh
Tinker ('The British Diaspora', pp. 1-9) and Peter Lyon ('On
Diasporas - The Jewish, the British and some others: a note',
pp. 72-80).

T. M. Devine, 'Introduction: paradox of Scottish emigration', in
T. M. Devine (ed.), Scottish Emigration and Scottish Society
(Edinburgh, 1992), pp. 1-15.


Enda Delaney

From Email Patrick O'Sullivan

I am now off to Monaco, to sit at the feet of Bruce Stewart, in the Princess Grace Irish
Library.

(See an earlier Ir-D message, about Bruce's plans...)

As Ir-D list members will have gathered, the core group of people, here in Bradford,
willing and able to help with the Irish-Diaspora list, is now somewhat depleted. And
those of us who are left are somewhat over-extended.

In the long term we must find a solution to this. The Irish-Diaspora list can technically
be managed from any computer, logged on to the Internet in any part of the world. Though
the software is silly.

In the short term, I fear we must have a pause. Messages can be sent to
Irish-Diaspora list
but they will not be distributed until I return home at the beginning of next week.

Our apologies.

P.O'S.


- --
Patrick O'Sullivan
Head of the Irish Diaspora Research Unit

Email Patrick O'Sullivan
Email Patrick O'Sullivan

Irish-Diaspora list
Irish Diaspora Studies http://www.brad.ac.uk/acad/diaspora/

Personal Fax National 0870 284 1580
Fax International +44 870 284 1580

Irish Diaspora Research Unit
Department of Interdisciplinary Human Studies
University of Bradford
Bradford BD7 1DP
Yorkshire
England

From: Sara Brady
Subject: grian cfp

Call for Papers


Tradition and Ireland: Revision, Performance, Representation
March 2 - 4, 2001

The 3rd annual Interdisciplinary Conference on Irish Studies organized by
GRIAN, an association of Irish Studies scholars

Glucksman Ireland House, New York University


"Terms of cultural engagement, whether antagonistic or affiliative, are
produced performatively" - Homi Bhabha

Bhabha's quote illustrates the broad applications of performance as a way of
framing cultural interaction. Irish tradition continually reinvents itself
through varied performances from the All Ireland matches to 13th century
reliquary processions to the writing of history (just to cite a few
examples).

This conference encourages graduate students as well as emerging and
established scholars of Irish studies to approach the subject of tradition
and performance in the context of Ireland and the Irish diaspora. All
historical periods will be considered. Possible topics include the use of
tropes, the Revivalists and the re-evaluation of their project, Irish
orature as performance, Irish language as performance of tradition, imaging
history, Irish and Irish diasporic popular culture i.e., the consumption of
Irish tradition as/of pop culture ("Riverdancification"), Irish performance
abroad (including sport, music, visual arts, dance, theatre), Irish film,
the performance of Nationalism and staging politics.

The weekend conference in New York provides the perfect opportunity to
attend a myriad of Irish performances going on in the city. Conference
events will therefore include a film screening, a traditional seisiun, and
more.

We anticipate providing a limited number of travel stipends; please indicate
whether you'd like to be considered for these monies. In addition, some
accommodation will be available from GRIAN members for graduate students on
limited budgets; please indicate in your application whether you will be
requiring accommodation.

One-page abstracts for twenty-minute papers should be submitted IN RICH TEXT
FORMAT by December 4, 2000 to the following address:

Jason Drake
1006 Palisade Avenue
Apt. #16
Union City, NJ 07087
email: jrd202[at]is5.nyu.edu

Please include name, affiliation, paper title, special requirements (audio,
visual, electronic) and contact information (mailing address, phone number,
e-mail). For more information, contact Jason Drake at the above addresses.

************************************************************

From: David Gleeson

Subject: Ir-D Review Essays

My African-Americanist colleague suggested Africans in the Americas: A
History of the Black Diaspora, ed. Michael Conniff and Thomas J. Davis.
St. Martin's Press, 1994.

He says it's a mixed bag but that it's a good starting place.

David Gleeson

Dept. of History
Armstrong Atlantic State University
Savannah, GA 31410


irish-diaspora[at]Bradford.ac.uk wrote:

> From: Kevin Kenny
> Subject: Re: Ir-D return migration
>
> For ongoing (interminable) research into my
> historiographical article on the Irish Diaspora I am now in
> search of similar historiographical/review essays on other
> diasporas, e.g. African, Jewish, Chinese.
>
> Can anybody recommend some essays or books to read?
>
> Many thanks,
>
> Kevin Kenny
>
>

From: Don MacRaild

Subject: RE: Ir-D Review Essays 4

There are more books on the Jewish Diaspora than Kevin Kenny can shake a
stick at--and they are coming out thick and fast! The journal for which I
am reviews, editor, Immigrants and Minorities, has run reviews of a few
things in recent years, and the July 2000 edition (which is in press), has
an historiographical essay by Anne Kershen. Anne is a specialist in labour
and Jewish history and can be contacted at the Migration Studies Centre,
Queen Mary and Westfield College (dept of Politics), University of London.
I am sure Anne would be happy to help Kevin. Moreover, she is someone who
organises lots of conferences in the general area of Migration Studies, and she
would also be happy to hear from other Diasporans. The conferences are
usually in London. I think I have pasted up details of past events here on Ir-D from
time to time.

Cheers

Don MacRaild
University of Northumbria at Newcastle



- -----Original Message-----
From: irish-diaspora[at]Bradford.ac.uk
To: irish-diaspora[at]Bradford.ac.uk
Sent: 05/10/00 22:27
Subject: Ir-D Review Essays 4


From: David Gleeson

Subject: Ir-D Review Essays

My African-Americanist colleague suggested Africans in the Americas: A
History of the Black Diaspora, ed. Michael Conniff and Thomas J. Davis.
St. Martin's Press, 1994.

He says it's a mixed bag but that it's a good starting place.

David Gleeson

Dept. of History
Armstrong Atlantic State University
Savannah, GA 31410


irish-diaspora[at]Bradford.ac.uk wrote:

> From: Kevin Kenny
> Subject: Re: Ir-D return migration
>
> For ongoing (interminable) research into my
> historiographical article on the Irish Diaspora I am now in
> search of similar historiographical/review essays on other
> diasporas, e.g. African, Jewish, Chinese.
>
> Can anybody recommend some essays or books to read?
>
> Many thanks,
>
> Kevin Kenny
>
>

From: Sarah Morgan
Subject: Re: Ir-D Review Essays 3

Dear Kevin,

you may find lots of useful references at the website (URL below)for the
transnational communities project. This is a large scale project based at
Oxford University and directed by Dr Steve Vertovec. The web site
includes a bibliographic source of references on many diasporic
communities compiled by Robin Cohen. When completed, it is planned to
publish this resource.

http://www.transcomm.ox.ac.uk/

Sarah.

---------------------------
Sarah Morgan (Dr),
Deputy Director,
Irish Studies Centre,
University of North London,
166-220 Holloway Rd.,
London N7 8DB.

From: Jim Doan
Subject: Irish Famine & Emigration Symposium/Concert
Irish Famine and Emigration Symposium and Concert - 2 December 2000

The South Florida Irish Studies Consortium, Inc., will hold a symposium on
the Irish Famine and Emigration to America on Saturday, 2 December 2000,
from 2 to 5 p.m. at St. Joan of Arc's Catholic Church, 370 SW Third St.,
Boca Raton, FL, to be followed by a Gaelic Mass celebrated by the Bishop of
Palm Beach. Speakers include Marilyn Lambe (Orange Co. Comm. College),
Mick Moloney (New York Univ.) and Maureen Murphy (Hofstra Univ.), who has
developed the Irish Famine curriculum for the New York State school
system. In addition, a concert, "The Irish Famine and Emigration to
America in Song and Story," headlined by Moloney and fiddler Marie Reilly
will be held that evening from 7:30 to 9:00. For further information, or
to purchase tickets for the symposium or concert, contact Jim Doan
(954-262-8207); E-mail: doan[at]nova.edu

I am reminded that Zed Books has a new catalogue out - always a corrective for anyone who
might be persuaded to look around our planet with complacency.

Zed Books now have a contact point at

www.zedbooks.demon.co.uk

where there is email contact information.

Of special interest to us in the new catalogue - particularly in the light of recent
comparative discussion - is

Barnor Hesse, ed.
Un/Settled Multiculturalisms
Diasporas, Entanglements, Transruptions

due out from Zed Books November 2000.

A series of case studies, with a concluding essay by Stuart Hall.

P.O'S.


- --
Patrick O'Sullivan
Head of the Irish Diaspora Research Unit

Email Patrick O'Sullivan
Email Patrick O'Sullivan

Irish-Diaspora list
Irish Diaspora Studies http://www.brad.ac.uk/acad/diaspora/

Personal Fax National 0870 284 1580
Fax International +44 870 284 1580

Irish Diaspora Research Unit
Department of Interdisciplinary Human Studies
University of Bradford
Bradford BD7 1DP
Yorkshire
England

This is quite a lengthy item, but I am sure it will be of interest - not least, the Irish
influence on Magna Carta...

Would people who are interested in knowing more please contact Vincent Salafia Ua Tuathail
directly....

P.O'S.


Forwarded on behalf of Vincent Salafia Ua Tuathail....

From: "Vincent Salafia"

As you may know, the main purpose of our Web Site is to promote the CELT
Project, which is in the process of digitizing the corpus of ancient
Irish law, in preparation for translation. Recently I was invited to
speak at the Chicago-Kent School of Law. The talk consists of a review of
the CELT Project, a web site tour (using a laptop and projector), and an
introduction to Brehon law. I give out substantial handouts, including
recently translated and unpublished law tracts. The talk would be
appropriate for a continuing legal education program, or for any course interested in
early Irish history.

To give you a better understanding of the work, I am reprinting an
article that was just written for the Law and History Review.

Sincerely,

M. Vincent Salafia Ua Tuathail, J.D.

THE BREHON LAW REVIEW - M. Vincent Salafia Ua Tuathail and Neil McLeod

_The Brehon Law Review_ is a new electronic journal scheduled to be
launched in spring 2001. Brehon law is the name given to the medieval
legal system developed in Gaelic Ireland. This extraordinary legal
system gave rise to a rich manuscript tradition which documents the
progress of Brehon law from AD 600 to AD 1600. How is it that an
ancient legal system should come to acquire its first journal in the
electronic age, and why would it require one at all?

The study of Brehon law is actually relatively new. The first major
steps were taken with the production of the six volume _Ancient Laws of
Ireland_from 1865 to 1901. The translations in these volumes are no
longer considered to be wholly reliable. But they do represent a goodly
part of the available Brehon law texts and they stimulated the slow,
patient production of further scientific editions during the 20th
century.

The major breakthrough came in 1978 with the production of DA Binchy's
transcription of almost the entire corpus of vellum manuscript
materials for Brehon law. These also fill six volumes. But they extend
way beyond the selective coverage offered by the _Ancient Laws of
Ireland_. Binchy's _Corpus Iuris Hibernici_ runs to 2343 pages (or
around 1.5 million words of text). It contains numerous ancient
tracts and digests that are mostly in the Old Irish language of the 7th
to 10th centuries. These are supplemented by glosses and commentaries
in Middle Irish (dating to the end of the 12th century) and Early Modern
Irish. (There are also occasional snippets of Latin.)

Binchy's _Corpus Iuris Hibernici_ contains no translations. It is a
scholarly transcription of the medieval manuscripts. However, the
publication of Binchy's work in 1978 came only two years after the
completion of the Royal Irish Academy's _Dictionary of the Irish
Language_, which concentrates on the ancient and medieval forms of the
language. And one year earlier, in 1975, an English translation of
Thurneysen's masterful _Grammar of Old Irish_ was also published.

Suddenly, scholars had ready access not only to the ancient legal
materials themselves, but to the chief linguistic tools for their
translation. Since then, the acceleration in published research on
Brehon law has been quite remarkable. By 1988 Professor Fergus Kelly of
the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies was able to publish his
remarkably wide-ranging _Guide to Early Irish Law_. The first edition of
Nerys Patterson's _Cattle Lords and Clansmen_ followed in 1991. More
recent volumes include Robin Chapman Stacey's _The Road to Judgement:
from custom to court in medieval Ireland and Wales_ (1994). In addition,
numerous journal article have appeared in the Irish journals _Peritia_,
_Eriu_ and _The Irish Jurist_.

What all this research has revealed is a legal system of extraordinary
sophistication. The English common law only emerged with the development
of a professional judiciary, and the emergence of a professional bar, in
the late 12th and early 13th centuries. But both had been part and
parcel of Brehon law from at least the time of its earliest texts
(composed in the 7th century). The development of degrees of intent in
the English common law was a slow process. The concepts of accident and
self-defence did not emerge until the 13th century, those of mistake and
negligence finally took root in the 16th century. At that time the
common law finally reached the level of development displayed in the
Brehon law texts of almost a thousand years earlier. For example, the
treatment of women under the ancient laws speaks to their
sophistication:

"The care which is evident for the individual personality of the woman
in Irish marriage law is a widely shining landmark in this period of
history as compared with the unrespected position of women in earlier
times and in other societies."
- - Taken from a speech by Mervyn Taylor T.D., Minister for Equality and
Law Reform, at the inaugural meeting of the Burren Law School, 23 April
1994 quoting German scholar August Knoch.

The purpose of _The Brehon Law Review_ will be to provide a forum for
the dissemination of the rapidly accumulating research into Brehon law.
Most of this research is currently being conducted by expert linguists
with the skill needed to handle the manuscript materials. But the time
has come for lawyers to add their own expertise by quarrying the growing
body of translated works and extracting and refining the legal treasures
to be found there.

The developments in Brehon law, then, are as rapid and as important as
those in contemporary legal systems. And that is why it is to get its
own electronic journal next year. To quote from Professor Donnchadh
Corrßin (Professor of History and Editor of_Peritia_, the journal of the
Medieval Academy of Ireland):

"Irish law is the oldest, most original, and most extensive of medieval
European legal systems. It is a unique inheritance, an independent
indigenous system of advanced jurisprudence that was fully evolved by
the eighth century. It is also far less well known than it deserves."

These words come from a letter Professor Corrßin circulated last year,
seeking financial assistance for the next great expansion in the
availability of Brehon law materials: the production of a digitised
version of Binchy's _Corpus Iuris Hibernici_ to be made freely available
on the web.
Efforts to complete this digital
edition were begun in Berkeley, under Dr Dan Melia, but were transferred
to Ireland after funding ran out. The internet-based Brehon Law Project,
http://www.brehon.org, began in October 6, 1999, in a direct response
to
Corrßin's pleas for assistance in funding the completion of Melia's
work.

The Brehon Law Project, a non-affiliated volunteer driven web-site, has
two complimentary objectives. The immediate and primary goal is to raise
awareness and funding for the Brehon Law aspect of the CELT Project,
through website promotion, email campaigns, seminars, and other
fundraising activities. The secondary and more long term vision of the
website is to provide a forum for the international study of Brehon law,
and to act as a disseminating body for the new translations that have
begun to appear already. The website has many components to achieve that
end, providing full-text cases, historical documents, bibliographies,
links and other research tools for people interested in Irish
genealogical, historical and legal research. However, the site is
dynamic, and much more than a simple research tool, thanks to the
discussion forums. Already, there are approximately seventy lawyers,
barristers and historians joined with peoplefrom all walks of life, in
discussions that can generate up to fifty messages a day. The result is
global effort that includes members such as an Islamic Law scholar from
Belfast, living in Denmark, a member of the Italian Army who is an Canon
Law scholar, and an Australian who spent 7 years in Ireland translating
ancient Irish law.

The Brehon Law Project represents a new juncture in the recent marriage
of law and technology. On April 2, 2000, in an article in the _Sunday
Business Post_ entitled "Irish and British Judgments Go Online For
Free", Kieran Wood reported that "Free access to Irish and British court
judgments is to be launched this week on the internet. BAILII,
(http://www.bailii.org), an acronym for the pilot service of the British
and Irish Legal Information Institute, is the first website to provide
free access to Irish and British case law and legislation. BAILII also
links to other free Irish legal sites such as the Brehon Law Project,
current Irish legal news and briefings, the Department of Justice,
Equality and Law Reform, the offices of the Obudsman and Attorney
General, the Irish Counsel for Civil Liberties and the Houses
of the Oireachtas. Furthermore, at the recent Brehon Law School in
Ireland, Law Reform Commissioners expressed interest in examining Brehon
law for purposes of alternative dispute resolution in Ireland.

Since the Director and founder of the Brehon Law Project's web-site is
based in the United States, a bulwark of Irish culture, this seemed like
a natural place for fundraising to begin. A fundraising committee is
being formed in Chicago which includes Judge Sheila Murphy, retired from
the District Court, and Justice Michael Gallagher of the Illinois
Appellate Court. In New York, members of the Brehon Law Society have
shown strong interest, and plans are underway to bring a Brehon law
conference there and to Boston, along with a fundraising dinner and
concert.

Already these efforts have unearthed some interesting historical leads.
Tommy Makem, the modern Irish bard, recently interviewed in Chicago,
relayed a conversation he had with John McCormac, Speaker of the House
1963-1970, in which Rep McCormac told him that the United States
Constitution was based on Magna Carta, and the Magna Carta was based on
Brehon law! There may be some truth to this since many of the
signatories to the Great Charter of 1215 had been landowners in Ireland
since 1169. One reason they had been so successful in acquiring those
lands in Ireland was Irish law placed severe limitations on the king's
power to legislate, resulting in a weak 'state'.
Perhaps future translations of the Brehon laws will shed more light on
this.

Out of this exciting ferment has emerged a core group who have planned
and organised the launch of _The Brehon Law Review_ itself. Production
Editor M. Vincent Salafia Ua Tuathail is the founder and webmaster of
the Brehon Law Project, while the Managing Editor is Neil McLeod.
Professor McLeod has published numerous articles on Brehon law, and
translated an ancient Irish legal text as part of his 1992 book _Early
Irish Contract Law_. _The Brehon Law Review_ will feature two sections,
one for refereed articles and the other for unrefereed commentaries and
works in progress. The topic of the first edition will be 'tanistry'.
This was a Brehon law institution under which the successor of a king or
chief was appointed during his reign - and by election from among the
eligible candidates rather than by primogeniture.
It was the clash between this custom and the English law of succession
that gave rise to the earliest case on the survival of indigenous legal
institutions under the common law. This was _Le Case de Tanistry_, Dav.
29, 80 Eng. Rep. 516 (K.B. 1608), the famous case which has been cited
in recentyears in a number of important decisions dealing with
indigenous rights inboth North America and Australia.

In _Le Case de Tanistry_, the court ruled that the indigenous laws of a
settled country survive English rule if they are reasonable, certain, of
immemorial usage and compatible with crown sovereignty. Tanistry did not
survive the test. Florida attorney G. Erick Mead will be providing _The
Brehon Law Review_ with a new translation of the judgment in this case
from the original (Norman) Law French, as well as an article providing
commentary on it. Tanistry has enjoyed a fresh re-examination of late
with a legal dispute over the Gaelic title of the MacCarty Mor. On July
28, 1999, _The Independent_, London, printed an article by Peter
Tremayne entitled "The Irish in Legal Stew Over Tanistry". The article
discussed the current controversy concerning the dynastic succession of
Gaelic titles. "All Gaelic titles were abolished and made "utterly
extinct" under English statute and common law in the period 1541-1613
during the Tudor conquests of Ireland.
... In 1944 the Irish State decided to give "courtesy recognition" to a
number of surviving heads of families descending from the old Gaelic
kings and nobles who still claimed those titles." But the Irish
government is using primogeniture to distribute them. "The irony,
moreover," Tremayne says, " is that, while the Irish Republic is trying
to give the last, swift kick to this old Gaelic law, lawyers are
advising the Irish government that international law is firmly on the
side of those claiming redress under the ancient law system."

While a number of journals already cater for the linguistic aspects of
the study of medieval Irish materials, it is hoped that _The Brehon Law
Review_will open the door to scholarly contributions by those whose
expertise lies rather in the various branches of modern law, in
comparative law, in legal history and anthropology. Although
contributors will be expected to have fully acquainted themselves with
the published research on Brehon law, it is their expertise in their own
fields that the journal is most keen to engage.
The modern lawyer and social historian alike will find much to stimulate
them in the current research. That stimulation should produce a new
branch on the scholarly tree of Brehon law studies. _The Brehon Law
Review_ has been designed to showcase the flowering of that new
knowledge.

Dr McLeod is Professor of Law at Murdoch University, Western Australia.
M. Vincent Salafia Ua Tuathail, J.D. is a writer and Web Developer.

From: Kevin Kenny
Subject: Ir-D Review Essays 6

Dear Sarah

Many thanks for the reference.

Looking forward to meeting you at the conference next month.

Kevin

----------------------
Kevin Kenny
Associate Professor of History
Department of History, Boston College
140 Commonwealth Avenue, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
Phone(617)552-1196; Fax(617)552-3714; kennyka[at]bc.edu
www2.bc.edu/~kennyka/

From: Kevin Kenny
Subject: Ir-D Review Essays 5

Don

Thanks for that reference.

Looking forward to seeing you in London.

Kevin
----------------------
Kevin Kenny
Associate Professor of History
Department of History, Boston College
140 Commonwealth Avenue, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
Phone(617)552-1196; Fax(617)552-3714; kennyka[at]bc.edu
www2.bc.edu/~kennyka/

This Review appeared originally on the H-Catholic list...



H-NET BOOK REVIEW

Published by H-Catholic[at]h-net.msu.edu (October, 2000)


Steve Bruce. _Choice and Religion: A Critique of Rational

Choice_. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. 226

pp. Bibliography and Index. $55.00 (cloth), ISBN 0-19-829584-7.


Rational Choice and its Discontents: Sociologists and Religion


Reviewed for H-Catholic by Max Voegler ,

Department of History, Columbia University


In 1844, Friedrich Engels wrote in his classic treatise on the

working classes in England that an irreligious society was close

at hand. The worker's "faulty education," wrote Engels, "saves

him from religious prepossessions, he does not understand

religious questions, does not trouble himself about them, knows

nothing of the fanaticism that holds the bourgeoisie bound; and

if he chances to have any religion, he has it only in name, not

even in theory. Practically he lives for this world, and strives

to make himself at home in it. All the writers of the

bourgeoisie are unanimous on this point, that the workers are

not religious, and do not attend church."[1] Engels' stark

prognosis makes quite a contrast, however, with the optimistic

tone of the Unitarian Minister Robert Vaughan, whose 1842 book

_The Age of Great Cities_, envisioned the new urban environment

as the culmination of human civilization; a place where pure,

more enlightened Christianity would find a new home, finally

removed from the ignorance, excesses and feudal practices of the

countryside.


The question of whether modernity -- a necessarily vague term

used to cover a wide series of transformations, from

urbanization and industrialization to democratization and the

atomization of the individual -- inevitably leads to

secularization, or whether it merely destroys established Church

practices, leaving individuals alone to engage in a more real

and pure exploration of religion, has a been a subject of strife

since at least as long as people have thought themselves

"modern."


In the past three decades, sociologists have taken up the

debate, largely provoked by the writing of two Americans, Rodney

Stark and William Bainbridge. The two have sought to refashion

the thinking in their field by arguing for a rational choice

based theory of religion centered around the concepts of

"rewards" and "compensators" -- they define the latter term as a

"set of beliefs and prescriptions for action that substitute for

the immediate achievement of the desired reward. Compensators

postulate the attainment of the desired reward in the distant

future or in some other unverifiable context. Compensators are

treated by humans as if they were rewards."[2] Sociologists of

religion have thus begun appropriating the language and the

concepts usually left to political scientists and economists --

rational choice and "religious economy" -- and in the process

have discovered rational actors (believers) in a market place

(society, the state, life), looking for institutions (churches,

sects, cults) that can best represent their specific interests

(eternal life, the cure for a disease, a job promotion).


Steven Bruce, a sociologist at the University of Aberdeen, wants

little to do with the "malign influence" this "small clique of

US sociologists" has had on his field, and has thus written a

book that he hopes will be the "the stake through the vampire1s

chest" (pp. 1-2). Bruce holds on to the secularization thesis

and argues that, on the whole, secularization has been both a

very real experience, and that differences between the more

enthusiastically religious U.S. and his own European home are

best explained by other factors: "What I [take] issue with," he

writes," is the very specific claim that _economic_ (as distinct

from social, legal, or political) rationality provides a useful

model for understanding religious belief and behavior" (p. 127).


Bruce contends that it was the idea of choice, rational or

otherwise, that led to secularization in the first place. The

Reformation -- though Luther himself was more than unreceptive

to the idea of alternate Biblical interpretations -- "played a

particular role in demystifying the world" (p. 15), displacing

the sole authority of the Church and giving the power of

interpretation to each believer and his Bible. Since at least

the French revolution, however, this trend has been reinforced

by one more: state building. As greater social and geographic

mobility led to diverging class, regional and religious

identities, states where trying to forge a unifying national

culture. The result made toleration a social necessity and meant

that the separation of Church and State -- and thus also of

religion and the public sphere -- could not be far behind.


There are several issues at stake in the competing claims, the

first and most obvious being what might best be called one of

geography. The rational choice model began as American

sociologists poured over American data and saw that it did not

correlate with their European-derived ideas of "modernity =

secularization." Secularization, on the other hand, is a model

mostly based on research in Europe which focuses its attention

on what Bruce, as well as many sociologists, politicians and

other observers, perceive to have occurred all around them in

the last few centuries: less and less openly religious people,

less and less crowded Churches, and a less and less noticeable

public religious presence.


A second issue has to do with what brings about religious

change. Stark et al. believe that changes in religious practices

come from the "supply side," i.e., that "religious belief and

behavior are determined by the structure of the religious market

or environment [and] intertwines [with] at least four

analytically separate variables: pluralism, market share,

competition, and regulation" (p. 46). For Bruce, however, this

is just not the case: "The ups and downs of the popularity of

religion in Britain (and in other European societies) do not fit

what we expect if competition were the crucial variable;" only

"if we take the modern Protestant view that religion is a

question of individual knowledge and commitment" (p. 53) do they

fit together. Bruce then goes on to argue for the need to take

other factors into account and, in his strongest chapter,

explores religious differences in European countries, east and

west, by examining national histories in conjunction with data

on Church attendance, survey results and demographics. As one

would guess, they vary quite a bit and only occasionally

correlate with what one would expect using Stark1s model.


Yet here, in a sense, also lies the crux of the argument between

Bruce and Stark. What, exactly, are we measuring? Is it

individual piety or Church attendance? Is it at all possible to

measure the 'real' religious commitment of a society or of its

members? If commitment were the sole criteria, the Thirty Years1

War would have been the most 'religious' period in European

history. Yet Stark would probably claim that the Peace of

Westphalia was yet another exercise in state regulation, while

for Bruce it would be a further step in the move to break the

power of -- _the_ Church by replacing it with the power of _a_

church (see p. 15). It is interesting that -- at least from what

I have read of both authors -- neither seems all that interested

or comfortable in German history or the early modern period. Yet

this is precisely where the most engaging studies on such

problems as popular piety, confessional absolutism, state

building, etc., could be done.[3] It is also while talking about

Germany that Bruce begins to muddle his facts: the 'allies,' for

example, had little to do with the creation of a secular German

state after WWI (p. 108).


A further issue is one of historical scope. Stark seeks to

explain all religious belief since the dawn of time in one fell

swoop: Christianity could conquer Rome because it both offered a

more egalitarian ideal and better health care;[4] America is

more religious because it has more religions, which offer a

wider scope of services (in this world and the next), and thus

can attend to a greater percentage of the population.

Conditions and locations may thus change, but people1s wants and

needs translate universally. For Bruce, again, this is not so

simple: America has many religions and they are on the whole

better visited, but this is because it is an immigrant society,

and each group brought its Church with it when it came and, in

turn, still clings to it in order to reinforce its own identity

in a multicultural society. Thus while America as a whole is

diverse, any given community -- as defined by class, region or

place of origin -- tends to be much less so. Britain, in turn,

has almost as many denominations, but more of them tend to be in

the same place at the same time and cater to the same

population, leading to fragmented communities and empty

Churches.


The question then, if one dares ask it, is who is right? The

debate is certainly not over (Stark recently published an

article entitled "Secularization, R.I.P." [5]) and both sides

seem unwilling to give much ground. Overall, it seems that Bruce

is much more interested in describing a process -- - the

transformation of religious life in the West over the past four

centuries --- while Stark wants to create a universal theory of

religion, applicable to all people in all place at all times. As

a historian, I would naturally tend to side with Bruce: there

was/is a process of transformation in religious life that took

place in Europe in the past few centuries, and secularization

seems a good word to describe it; also, I am generally skeptical

of any attempt to create universal theories of human behavior.

On the other hand, reading the materials for this review has

also made me appreciate the very value of (in economic terms)

scholarly competition: both sides, if nothing else, have only

spurred each other on to more interesting findings and tighter

arguments.


Notes


[1]. From the Chapter "Results" in Friedrich Engels, _The

Condition of the Working Classes in England_ (1844). The text

can be found on the web:

http://csf.colorado.edu/mirrors/marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1840/cond-wc

e/cwe07.htm


[2]. Rodney Stark et al., "Cult Formation: Three Compatible

Models," _Sociological Analysis_ 40 (1979): 284. Cited in

Bruce, _Choice_, 31.


[3]. See Rodney Stark1s article, "The Early Church's Health

Plan," in _Christianity Today_, 15 June 1998, 54-56; as well

his, _The Rise of Christianity: A Sociologist Reconsiders

History_ (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1996).


[4]. A short list of works on the more modern period would

include: David Blackbourn, _Marpingen: Apparitions of the Virgin

Mary in a Nineteenth-Century German Village_ (New York: Vintage

Books, 1995); William D. Bowman, _Priest and Parish in Vienna,

1780 to 1880_, Studies in Central European histories (Boston:

Humanities Press, 1999); John W. Boyer, _Political Radicalism in

Late Imperial Vienna: Origins of the Christian Social Movement,

1848-1897_ (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1981); and

_Culture and Political Crisis in Vienna: Christian Socialism in

Power, 1897-1918_ (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995);

Gangolf Huebinger, Kulturprotestantismus und Politik: Zum

Verhaeltnis von Liberalismus und Protestantismus im

wilhelminischen Deutschland_ (Tuebingen: J.C.B. Mohr, 1994);

Wilfried Loth, _Deutscher Katholizismus im Umbruch zur Moderne_

(Stuttgart: Verlag W. Kohlhammer, 1991); Thomas Nipperdey,

_Religion im Umbruch: Deutschland, 1870-1918_ (Munich: Verlag

C.H. Beck, 1988); Joseph Patrouch, _A Negotiated Settlement: The

Counter-Reformation in Upper-Austria under the Habsburgs_

(Boston: Humanities Press, forthcoming); and Jonathan Sperber,

_Popular Catholicism in Nineteenth-Century Germany_ (Princeton:

Princeton University Press, 1984). For further works, see the

review essay by Margaret Lavinia Anderson, "Piety and Politics:

Recent Works on German Catholicism," Journal of Modern History

63, no. 4 (1991): 681-716.


[5]. Rodney Stark, "Secularization, R.I.P.," _Sociology of

Religion_ 60, no. 3 (1999): 249-273.


Copyright (c) 2000 by H-Net, all rights reserved. This work

may be copied for non-profit educational use if proper credit

is given to the author and the list. For other permission,

please contact H-Net[at]h-net.msu.edu.

This review fell into our nets...

P.O'S.

IHA Book Review:
The Irish in Quebec: An Introduction to the Historiography, Followed by An Annotated
Bibliography on the Irish in Quebec
by Robert J. Grace

The Irish in Atlantic Canada, 1780-1900
Thomas P. Power, editor

Many books describing the history of the Irish in a locality abroad have been published
and are readily available in libraries. Although such books are primarily historical in
nature, they can be very useful to the genealogical researcher. They can provide
historical background and understanding of the society in which an ancestor lived. They
also often contain information that can help in the genealogical research process of
documenting ancestors in their places of residence. Such books should not be overlooked by
the researcher tracing Irish ancestors abroad.

Robert J. Grace's The Irish in Quebec and Thomas P. Powers' The Irish in Atlantic Canada
are two recent additions to this genre. Both contain extremely helpful and interesting
information on the Irish in their respective localities. The two books differ considerably
in arrangement and emphasis, and together they illustrate the variety of information one
can obtain from this kind of work.

Grace's The Irish in Quebec serves as a reference tool for accessing other books,
articles, and materials on various aspects of the history of the Irish in this province.
The book is divided into two sections. The first section contains brief essays in areas
such as: the Irish in colonial New France; Irish immigration to North America; Irish
settlements; and Irish institutions. The essays summarize the accumulated knowledge on
each subject and reference works which have been written in these areas.

Particularly of interest to genealogists is the section on "The Dynamics of Irish
Settlement," which includes essays on Irish settlement throughout the province, including
chapters on Quebec City and Montreal, as well as on various regions in Quebec. These
essays can help focus the search for an Irish ancestor in Quebec by showing where large
numbers of Irish settled, and they can provide important background information on the
Irish in a particular area of Quebec.

The second section of Grace's book consists of extensive lists of references to works on
aspects of the Irish in Quebec. These include many works that have been written on the
Irish in particular localities in Quebec (as well as some on the Irish in Ontario and the
Maritimes). Also included are works on Irish institutions and associations, biographies,
family genealogies, and research aids.

Powers' The Irish in Atlantic Canada consists of seven essays on various aspects of this
subject, including analyses of immigration, anti-Irish sentiments, and library resources.
Two of the essays are particularly relevant to the family historian tracing Irish
ancestors.

T.P. Powers' own chapter, "Sources for Irish Immigration and Settlement in the Provincial
Archives of New Brunswick, Fredericton," is quite an extraordinary resource for the
genealogist. It is a detailed inventory of records in the Provincial Archives that are
useful for tracing Irish immigrants. Powers covers some of the staple genealogical record
sources: census records, church records, and vital records. He goes far beyond these,
however, and includes information on such sources as hospital records, educational
records, banking records, and society records (such as of the Orange Order and the
Freemasons). Powers also goes into great detail on the surviving ship's lists for New
Brunswick.

J.J. Mannion's chapter, "Old World Antecedents, New World Adaptations: Inistioge (Co.
Kilkenny) Immigrants in Newfoundland," details the patterns of immigration, settlement,
marriage, and religion among immigrants from one parish in Ireland to Newfoundland. Beyond
the obvious value to the descendant of Inistioge immigrants, this kind of information can
be more generally helpful to any researcher of Irish immigrants to Newfoundland.

Neither Grace's nor Powers' book is intended primarily for the genealogist. Consequently,
the genealogical researcher needs to be creative and search carefully through such works
to glean the information that can help in documenting Irish immigrant ancestors.

The Irish in Quebec (Québec, QC: Institut québécois de recherche sur la culture, 1993) can
be ordered from: Distribution Univers, 845 rue Marie Victorin, St.-Nicolas, Québec G0S
3L0, Canada; Tel: (418) 831-7474; FAX: (418) 831-4021. Cost: Can$32.00 plus postage
(Can$3.25 to Canada or Can$7.50 to USA).

- --Review by Dwight A. Radford


The Irish in Atlantic Canada (Fredericton, NB: New Ireland Press, 1991) is currently out
of print. The publishers sometimes have limited copies available: New Ireland Press, 217
Aberdeen St., Fredericton, NB E3B 1R6, Canada; Tel: (506) 454-1153; FAX: (506) 450- 1804.





- --
Patrick O'Sullivan
Head of the Irish Diaspora Research Unit

Email Patrick O'Sullivan
Email Patrick O'Sullivan

Irish-Diaspora list
Irish Diaspora Studies http://www.brad.ac.uk/acad/diaspora/

Personal Fax National 0870 284 1580
Fax International +44 870 284 1580

Irish Diaspora Research Unit
Department of Interdisciplinary Human Studies
University of Bradford
Bradford BD7 1DP
Yorkshire
England

From: alex peach
Alex[at]p555.freeserve.co.uk
Subject: Archeological Polemic Continued


Hi Paddy,

Sorry to clog up your time with more archaeology and the state stuff, but
the following(excellent example of how not to write a snappy press release)
reached me and might be interesting to some on the list. In a nutshell
it argues that the state "renovation" of the Boyne Valley world heritage
site is destructive to the archaeology as I suggested in my first polemic
regarding New Grange. Knowth, the second mound of
the complex of three that includes New Grange and Dowth, is about to be
reopened to the public after over 20 years of excavations. The
reconstruction is based on arbitrary
decisions made by the funding body, Duchas, and the chief archaeologist, one
George Eogan, who, during the course of his work has apparently never
published interim
reports so that his findings might be discussed and a consensus reached
about
what this place may have looked like. At New Grange, the midwinter sun
enters the passage at the times of the sunrises around the winter solstice.
At Knowth, the east passage, which may have admitted the sun on the days of
the spring and fall equinoxes has been plugged with concrete behind which is
a visitor's centre. The original fill has been removed and the orthostats
and lintels placed in a mix of concrete and styrofoam. The whole apparently
looks
rather like a large mushroom roofed with grass, which at the present time is
organic, not plastic. Excavations of the third surviving mound under the
sponsorship of Duchas are scheduled to begin next spring. It has been
alleged that the intent of
Duchas seems to be to turn the Boyne tombs, and the entire site, one of the
most complex in the western world, continuity of building and use 4000 BC to
1100 AD into a giant Shamrock World entertainment centre. Just like
Stonehenge then....

Best wishes,
Alex



- -----Original Message-----
From: britarch-request[at]mailbase.ac.uk
[mailto:britarch-request[at]mailbase.ac.uk] On Behalf Of clareslaney
Sent: 11 October 2000 15:01
To: britarch
Subject: Fwd: [UKPML] Fwd: KNOWTH - LETTERS NEEDED - PLEASE FORWARD!
>-------------------------------------------------------
>
>Dear friends;
> This letter is being sent to you because you care deeply about our
ancient
>history and heritage. One of Europe and humankind's greatest treasures, the
>megalithic monument called Knowth, one of three great prehistoric monuments
>nestled in Boyne valley of Ireland, is faced with possibly irreperable
>damage at this very moment. And you can help stop the destruction!
> Below you will find a letter outlining the history of the site and the
>problem, a sample letter to various authorities, and addresses to send your
>letter. Please forward this document to as many concerned people as you can
>(Keeping the letter and information about the author of the letter intact)
>
>Ellen Evert Hopman
>www.geocities.com/gaias_song/willow.html
>
>A New National Folly At Knowth?
>
>Ireland's largest chambered megalithic mound, the great cairn of Knowth is
>at last open to the public. Knowth is one of three huge monuments (which
>includes Newgrange & Dowth) in the Boyne Valley of County Meath. This
>incredible monument has been subject to archeological scrutiny for almost
>forty years, an extensive programme of examination and excavation which is
>currently winding up. Now that the public will be allowed in to see parts
of
>the
>site, however, a few serious questions must be raised about heritage
issues,
>such as planning, reconstruction, materials, tourist flow, and how the site
>is managed.
>
>Professor George Eogan, the head archeologist at Knowth for the excavations
>knows more about the site than anyone else. During his time there, the
large
>mound, labelled Site 1, and the 17 smaller satellite mounds were excavated,
>recorded, and in most cases, reconstructed. Knowth turned out to have two
>megalithic passages, one facing east and the other west. From entrance to
>backstone, both passages measure almost 40 meters, making them the longest
>of any neolithic site in Europe.
>
>Most of the 17 smaller mounds appear to be older than Site 1 and are
>oriented in various directions. Dates were recovered which placed the
>original constructions to around the fourth millennium bc, though one
>anomalous date turned up which pre-dated those by another 3,000 years. The
>largest collection of megalithic engraved stones in Europe adorns the
kerbs,
>passages and chambers of neolithic Knowth. A fine stone basin in the
eastern
>chamber, a flint mace head, and many pieces of pottery and ceramic show
that
>this monument was built by an artistic and vibrant culture. That few signs
>of defenses or weapons are found also suggests that these were a peaceful
>people.
>
>Ancient sites all over the world have produced evidence that the people who
>built them had some interest in the motions of the heavens. Given their
lack
>of modern day distractions, there is no doubt that the average neolithic
>person would have had a knowledge of the sky far exceeding our average
>person of today.
>
>You don't need to go far from Knowth to find astronomical alignments:
>Newgrange, less than a mile away, is the most celebrated Irish monument,
and
>it¹s alignment to the winter solstice is well known throughout Ireland.
>Indeed, last year for the national millennium celebrations, the winter
>solstice sunrise was filmed and aired on RTE for the first time. While
there
>have been complaints that the event itself was mostly forgotten amid the
>cultural razamataz, (and indeed that it was not actually the solstice!),
>this coverage was watched by a huge number of Irish people and brought the
>age and importance of the alignment across to a much wider audience within
>Ireland. Interestingly enough, Prof. Eogan was one of the dignitaries
>invited to observe the millennium solstice sunbeam within Newgrange last
>year.
>
>In his 1983 book, The Stars and The Stones, American researcher Martin
>Brennan was one of the first to suggest in recent times that other mounds
>and monuments, apart from Newgrange might have astronomical significance,
>and that this was a subject worthy of study. His book is a journal of
>research into the art and astronomy of these sites in 1980. He examined
>several monuments in the Boyne Valley and Loughcrew, another large
neolithic
>complex to the north-west of the Boyne. Brennan suggested that, given the
>east - west orientation of Knowth, it was probably aligned to the equinox
>sunrise and sunset. He further suggested that given the nature of the
>engravings at Knowth, and the number of satellites surrounding the great
>mound, that is was probably a primarily lunar monument designed to monitor
>the movements and cycles of the moon.
>
>George Eogan's definitive work on his excavations at Knowth was published
as
>Knowth and the passage-tombs of Ireland in 1986. Throughout this thorough
>and admirable work, the author leaves you in no doubt that he considers
>these monuments to be primarily tombs, and that any other function is of a
>secondary nature. He notes on p. 178 that the passages of Knowth, since
they
>are aligned east - west, are probably aligned to the equinoxes - and there
>he leaves the subject. There is no reference to the previously published
>work of Brennan, a trend which has since been continued in other
>archeological texts.
>
>One of the questions that must be asked is, why after 40 years of study,
has
>no official research been conducted into the alignments of Knowth? Given
the
>well-known and significant solstice alignment at Newgrange, it would seem
>logical to investigate the alignments and orientations of the mounds at
>Knowth. More to the point, has such research been actively discouraged? For
>example, Brennan witnessed and documented the equinox sun setting into
>Knowth west in 1980, and observed that the sun shone much farther into the
>passage and was longer than the beam at Newgrange. This same alignment was
>recently witnessed and photographed by Anthony Murphy of Drogheda, over the
>autumn equinox this year. An image and report is available on his website -
>www.geocities.com/mythical_ireland/AncientSites/Knowth/equinoxwest.html
>This is the extent of the astronomical research which has taken place
>at Knowth over the last 20 years.
>
>Even stranger, and certainly more serious, the "restoration" of the site
has
>involved it's being stripped and dismembered during the excavation. Much of
>the original material of the mound, which was found placed in carefully
>constructed layers, has been removed. Even worse, many modern building
>materials have been added to the structure. The passages and chambers have
>been encased within protective constructions made from reinforced concrete
>and block work. The seams and joints in the concrete are caulked with
putty.
>To relieve possible future pressures on the chambers and passages, much of
>the original material of the bulk of the mound has been replaced with large
>styrofoam blocks, again caulked with putty.
>
>However, most of that work is now hidden, and apart from the occasional
>concrete slab, they won¹t intrude too much upon the casual modern visitor.
>It is on the east side of the mound that a visitor will get the greatest
>shock. Where the east entrance should be is now covered by a slab of
>concrete. There are perhaps several reasons why this was done, but when
>weighed against the spectacle of seeing a 40 meter long lightbeam enter the
>inner chamber, they can make little sense.
>
>The given reason for the concrete makeover requires a little background
>explanation. Knowth is a multi - time and layer site. People lived there
>before the mounds were built, and the neolithics built much of what we see
>re-built today. However, the site was in use during the Bronze age, The
Iron
>age, the early Christian age and was most recently used by the Normans.
>During the long changes in occupation, various portions of the mound were
>disturbed. A ditch was dug around the inside of the kerb at some stage
>during the Iron Age, and orthostats (upright passage stones) were removed
>from the first 8 meters of each entrance. The early Christians constructed
>tunnels and souterrains within the mound, using some of the stones from
>passages and roof.
>
>The only official explanation which has been given for the concreted
>entrance so far is that one of the early Christian souterrains has been
>reconstructed just inside the eastern entrance. For this, a kink has been
>added to the passage where dry-stone walling now intrudes into the original
>neolithic structure. This is hardly justification for walling up the
largest
>passage in Europe. There may, of course be more to it.
>
>Dúchas have constructed a small internal mini-interpretive centre within
the
>mound itself. To the left of the east entrance, a chamber designed to hold
a
>small group of visitors has been built. Here an interpretive display made
of
>fibre-glass demonstrates the carefully built up layers of the neolithic
>mound, and the ditch which was dug about it. Much of the original materials
>
>have, as mentioned, been replaced by modern materials. This chamber has
been
>dubbed "the Bunker" by the guides. This is as far as the modern visitor
will
>be allowed within Knowth. Both the passages and chambers are off limits at
>the discretion of Prof. Eogan.
>
>Even had policy not already decided that no tourists should be allowed
enter
>the chamber, there is a more prosaic explanation. The last few meters of
>passage stones before the chamber lean inward so much that one must crawl
on
>hands and knees to reach the inner sanctum. When the roof was stripped off
>the passage to straighten the orthostats, the renovators could not remove
>the stones near the corbelling of the chamber. This ancient construction is
>so well built and complex that no-one could be sure of replacing it, should
>they take it apart. So the entrance to the chamber will always remain tight
>and constricted enough to ensure that only about 5% of the public,would be
>able to fit through it anyway.
>
>We still don¹t know for sure if the equinox sunrises used to shine the 40
>meters along the passage into the great chamber at the centre of the mound.
>There is the even more exciting astronomical possibility at Knowth: that
the
>mound may have been designed to capture a beam from both the sun and moon
at
>the same time. There will be certain full moons which will rise as the sun
>is setting on the equinoxes, and vice versa. But there is not much research
>to go on: the only available plans for the site come from Prof. Eogan¹s
>reports, which are not reliable enough. Compass readings at sites such as
>Newgrange and Knowth are of no value, as so much steel and concrete have
>been added to the monuments that a true reading is impossible. The true
>alignment of the chambers remains a mystery, sealed behind a slab of
>concrete.
>
>The Boyne Valley is a UNESCO listed site, of world importance. The third
>mound of the Boyne Valley, Dowth is next for "conservation" under the
Dúchas
>heritage programme. If you get a chance visit Knowth and see, if like me,
>you think the time has come to protect our heritage from the people who are
>supposed to be protecting it for us.
>
>Martin Byrne
>email: ogma[at]gofree.indigo.ie
>website: http://gofree.indigo.ie/~ogma
>
>
>________________________________________________________________________
>________________________________________________________________________
>
>SAMPLE LETTER
>Please use this letter only as a guide. Be as original as you can and use
>your own words. Be polite and concise.
>
>Dear __________,
>
>I am writing to you because I am very disturbed by recent news I have heard
>about Irish archaeological sites in County Meath. Having researched some
>sites in the Boyne Valley, specifically Knowth, I have found that the
>archaeological reconstruction is questionable and has destroyed some of the
>primary remains from the neolithic site.
>
>I understand that Knowth is one of the most important Irish sites for a
>variety of reasons: the amount and quality of its engraved stones, the huge
>size and construction of its chambers and passages, and the unique finds
>which were discovered there, including the basin and mace-head from the
>Eastern chamber.
>
>Issues which concern me are the concrete slab which has been placed over
the
>East entrance at Knowth. Surely this is not a fitting way to honour our
>ancestors? There is also the addition of modern building materials within
an
>ancient site. I understand that large quantities of reinforced concrete and
>steel, as well as styrofoam and putty have been added to the mound. It
>doesn't seem right that Ireland's largest neolithic site should be treated
>in this way.
>
>Also of concern is the restoration plans for Tara and Dowth, both of which
I
>understand have lately been altered by Dúchas. I hope they will not get
>treated in a similar fashion to Knowth. Monuments should not have to
survive
>the depravations of time treasure hunters only to be dismembered by those
>who are supposed to be preserving them.
>
>Yours sincerely:
>
>_______________
>
>Copies of your letter should go to:
>The Irish Times
>
>lettersed[at]irish-times.ie
>newsdesk[at]irish-times.ie
>
>The UNESCO World Heritage Center
>
>wh-info[at]unesco.org
>WHNEWS[at]unesco.org
>heritage[at]heritage.iol.ie
>
>>From the Unesco World Heritage Center
>
>"When a cultural or natural site is placed on
> the World Heritage List, that is not the end
> of the story. If it is to stay on the List, the
> characteristics and qualities that justified its
> inscription must be preserved. Not only is it
> up to the international community, it's also
> up to every one of us to help save the world's
> cultural and natural sites before it's too late."
>
> www.unesco.org/whc/heritage.htm
>
>
>

Noted, without comment...

Cuban American Steps up to Irish Dance Competition
By RICARDO VAZQUEZ
© 2000 LatinoLink

February 11, 2000

http://www.latinolink.com/music_entertainment/theatre_dance/0211kid.php3



- --
Patrick O'Sullivan
Head of the Irish Diaspora Research Unit

Email Patrick O'Sullivan
Email Patrick O'Sullivan

Irish-Diaspora list
Irish Diaspora Studies http://www.brad.ac.uk/acad/diaspora/

Personal Fax National 0870 284 1580
Fax International +44 870 284 1580

Irish Diaspora Research Unit
Department of Interdisciplinary Human Studies
University of Bradford
Bradford BD7 1DP
Yorkshire
England

Forwarded on behalf of...

From: "Erin Pipkin"
Subject: Boston Immigration and Urban History Seminar
Date: Thu, 12 Oct 2000 16:25:50 -0400

Boston Seminar in Immigration and Urban History

Multilingualism in the United States

Marc Shell and Werner Sollors, Harvard University

Alfred Brophy, Boston College; Alide Cagidemetrio, University of Udine,
Italy; Jules Chametzky, University of Massachusetts, Amherst; Melinda Gray,
Harvard University; Anne Halley; Rachel Rubin, University of Massachusetts,
Boston; Steven Rowan, University of Missouri, St. Louis

We opened our 2000-2001 seminar season with "Fortunate Pilgrims: Literary
Ethnicity in the 1960s and 1970s," written by Matthew Frye Jacobson and
commented upon by Donna Gabbaccia. The event, co-sponsored by the American
Literature and Culture Series at Harvard University's Humanities Center, was
well attended. We were delighted to see so many of you here, and hope to see
an equally large and lively crowd at our next meeting, which will take place
here at the MHS on Thursday, October 26, at 5:15 P.M.

Marc Shell and Werner Sollors, co-editors of the forthcoming Multilingual
Anthology of American Literature: A Reader of Original Texts with English
Translations, will join us for a discussion on "Multilingualism in the
United States." We are fortunate that many of the volume's contributors,
listed above, will also be able to attend, lending their own perspectives
and expertise to the discussion.

The Society will serve a light buffet supper following the session. Those
wishing to stay and eat must contact Erin Pipkin by telephone at
617.646.0505 or by e-mail at epipkin[at]masshist.org before Wednesday, October
27 to make a reservation.

Advance copies of seminar papers for the year are available for $25.00
(total). If you would like to subscribe, please make your check payable to
the Massachusetts Historical Society and send it to the attention of Erin
Pipkin at the MHS. Participants may also find copies at several area
institutions; contact Erin at the Society for details.

The Massachusetts Historical Society is located in the Back Bay at the
corner of Boylston Street and the Fenway. The nearest subway stop is Hynes
Convention Center/I.C.A. on the Green Line, two blocks from the Society near
the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and Boylston Street. The #1 Dudley bus
from Harvard Square also stops at Hynes Convention Center/I.C.A. Public
parking is available at the Prudential Center on Boylston Street, a few
blocks from the Society, and in garages located off Boylston Street, on
Haviland Street, and on Westland Avenue.

From: "Willie Jenkins"
Subject: Re: Ir-D Archaeological Polemic Continued

Since four years have passed since I lived in Ireland, I cannot comment on
the present appearance of Knowth, though the 'mushroom' description revives
some memories. In any case, I did work previously with Prof. Eogan
investigating the post-Reformation landscape of this part of Brugh na Boinne
(The Boyne Valley). In response to this statement:

the chief archaeologist, one
>George Eogan, who, during the course of his work has apparently never
>published interim
>reports so that his findings might be discussed and a consensus reached
>about
>what this place may have looked like.

the word 'apparently' is wisely chosen. It should be pointed out that in
addition to the work cited in Martin Byrne's letter (Knowth and the Passage
Tombs of Ireland), Prof. Eogan has had two other (and lengthy!) interim
works on Knowth published by the Royal Irish Academy over the past twenty
years, Excavations at Knowth Vols. 1 and 2. The latter volume is
co-authored with Helen Roche and was published in 1995, if I am not
mistaken. A third volume is on the way.

William Jenkins
Department of Geography
University of Toronto




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From: Jill Blee
jillblee[at]mail.austasia.net]
Subject: Changing address


I've changed to Bigpond.

A new computer, a new address.
Austasia has been a bit difficult of recent so I'm going with the
strength,

My address is jillblee1[at]bigpond.com
My website remains the same www.pchost.com/jillblee

Jill Blee

Subject: Re: Ir-D Catherine Hayes: The Hibernian Prima Donna
From: Eileen A Sullivan


Paddy,

I have sent the following message to Basil Walsh - see www.catherinehayes.com

Eileen


BASIL,

YOUR LAUNCH OF YOUR CATHERINE HAYES BOOK MUST HAVE SEEMED LIKE A DREAM.

A great experience for all. As you know U of L is very much into
classical music. Lillis O'Laire , a sean nos singer studied and teaches
there. He was at the last regional Amer Conf for Irish Studies in 99 and
I have his CD and explanatory pamphlet. We all enjoyed his singing.
Michael O'S also has made quite a name for himself and the dept of Music.
I am sure he was there.

My Sullivan/O'Sullivan seminar is upon me. If you like, I'll send a program. Won't be
able
to read your book until after the event, and it will be such a joy.

Eileen

Dr. Eileen A. Sullivan, Director
The Irish Educational Association, Inc. Tel # (352) 332
3690
6412 NW 128th Street E-Mail :
eolas1[at]juno.com
Gainesville, FL 32653