Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: Studies of Communities 2
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From: Mary H. Blewett [mailto:maryblewett[at]comcast.net]
Sent: 11 February 2008 13:05
Subject: Studies of Communities

Another nineteenth-century community study has been reissued in PB by the
University of Illinois Press, Brian C. Mitchell, The Paddy Camps: The Irish
of Lowell, 1821-1861, (2006) based on census records and exploring
relationships with the Yankee community. Also recently review in the
American Journal of Ethnic History.

Mary Blewett

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: Ireland-Wales Research Network
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From: "Muiris Mag Ualghairg"
To: "The Irish Diaspora Studies List"
Subject: Fwd: Ireland-Wales Research Network

This was sent on to me today and I think that it might be of interest
to people on the list.

Muiris
________________________________________________

Dear friends and colleagues,

You may already be aware of the new Ireland-Wales Research Network,
funded by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council and launched on
November 22nd by the Consul General of Ireland in Wales. The
management group for the network consists of Claire Connolly (Cardiff
University), Katie Gramich (Cardiff University) and Paul O'Leary
(Aberystwyth University).

The Ireland-Wales Research Network aims to arrive at a fuller
understanding of the complex and overlapping histories of the islands
of Britain and Ireland by developing and advancing research on the
topic of Irish-Welsh cultural and political relationships. The main
objectives are to launch high-quality comparative and
interdisciplinary research on Ireland and Wales and to promote
excellent single-discipline as well as cross-disciplinary scholarship
(in particular within Literature, Language and History) that is fully
alive and responsive to developments in related fields.

We are in the process of establishing a mailing list, via which news
and information about the network and allied seminars will be
circulated. Should you for any reason not wish to be on the mailing
list, just let us know and we'll remove your name immediately.

The first of our 5 AHRC-funded symposia will be in 2008, on 16 and 17
May and 24 and 25 October in Cardiff University. More details to
follow soon. http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/encap/walesireland/news.html


The Network began as a series of Wales-Ireland research seminars held
at Cardiff University, and these continue throughout 2008, starting
tonight, Monday 11 February, at 5.15pm with a lecture from John Goodby
(Swansea) on the following topic:

"' So why in this moment of well-being should we want to see England
again": Irish-Welsh thoughts on re-thinking the twentieth century
poetic canon'

Location details etc are to be found here:
http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/encap/walesireland/location.html An archived
list of previous seminars is also available on the same site.

Previous events include a symposium on Modernism, Modernity and
National Space held on November 22, 2007 -
http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/encap/walesireland/archive.html - and a
reading by Paul Muldoon, hosted by Cardiff University in December 2007
and sponsored by Academi, Cardiff Humanities Research Institute and
Culture Ireland -
http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/encap/walesireland/archive.html

Please visit our website, at the address below, and do let us know if
there are interested individuals whose names we might add to our list.

http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/encap/walesireland/index.html

best wishes
Claire Connolly, Katie Gramich, Paul O'Leary

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Don MacRaild
Organization: University of Ulster
Subject: Tattie Hokers
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If I recall correctly, tattie or tatie hoker refers mostly to those who till
as late as
the 1960s dug spuds in Scotland. So it would be well worth looking at
Heather Holmes's
work:

'Constructing identities of the Irish migratory potato workers in Scotland'.
Folk Life, 43 (2005), 32-55.

"As good as a holiday" : potato harvesting in the Lothians from 1870 to
the present. East Linton: Tuckwell, 2002.

Cheers,

Don MacRaild
University of Ulster

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: CAIS conference 2008: Irish Eyes - Visions and Revisions
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Forwarded on behalf of
Jean Talman
Celtic Studies
St. Michael's College
University of Toronto

From: Jean Talman [mailto:jean.talman[at]utoronto.ca]
Subject: CAIS conference 2008: Irish Eyes - Visions and Revisions

Hello CAIS members and friends:

Information on the 2008 Annual Conference of the Canadian Association
for Irish Studies to be held at St. Michael's College, University of
Toronto, May 28-31, 2008, is now available on the website at:
http://www.irishstudies.ca/conferences/CAIS_2008.html

We hope to see you all in May.
Jean Talman
Celtic Studies
St. Michael's College
University of Toronto

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: Article, Mathew Carey, the Douai Bible,
and Catholic Print Culture, 1789-1791
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The Irish printers/publishers who went to North America, and to the new
state of the USA, in the C18th used to have a hallowed place in Irish
American Catholic historiography. Michael Carter's article continues that
tradition, making use of that older work, but with a modern exploration of
the archives...

By the way, Michael Carter tells us that Mathew Carey always spelled his
first name thus, with one T.

P.O'S.


Journal of the Early Republic
Volume 27, Number 3, Fall 2007

Carter, Michael S.
'Under the Benign Sun of Toleration': Mathew Carey, the Douai Bible, and
Catholic Print Culture, 1789-1791

Subject Headings:
* Bible -- Versions, Catholic -- History -- 18th century.
* Bible -- Publication and distribution -- United States -- History --
18th century.
* Carey, Mathew, 1760-1839.

Abstract:

Mathew Carey's Douai Bible of 1790 was the first Catholic and only the
second English Bible published in the Americas. It was also part of the
first group of Catholic devotional and instructional works printed in early
America, all produced by Carey, and marks the emergence of a Catholic
presence in late-eighteenth century American print culture. During the
period, Enlightenment attitudes about toleration for religious minorities
came into conflict with the Enlightenment's critique of Catholicism's
perceived role in history and stereotypes about Catholics as hostile to
Bible reading. The appearance of Carey's Bible and other Catholic
publications coincided with creation of the first American diocese and
appointment of its first bishop, John Carroll, in 1789. During this brief
period after limited toleration was first granted to Catholics at the
federal level, lay Catholics such as Carey co-opted Enlightenment critiques
of European Catholic intolerance to argue for increased toleration of their
own faith in the new republic. By positioning themselves as supporters of
republicanism and religious plurality, and by contributing to and
representing themselves in print and in civic organizations, Catholics
announced their support for democratic values, literacy, and the tolerance
they sought for their own faith.

Keywords:

Douai Bible, Early American Catholicism, John Carroll, Mathew Carey,
Philadelphia, Print culture, Robert Aitken, Richard Challoner, Religious
toleration, King James Bible, Bible in English, Craig and Lea

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: Conference, TCD,
'Migration Studies in Ireland - An Interdisciplinary Postgraduate
Conference'
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Trinity Immigration Initiative
Conferences

'Migration Studies in Ireland - An Interdisciplinary Postgraduate
Conference'

Date: March 26-28, 2008
Venue: Robert Emmet Theatre, Arts Building,Trinity College Dublin

On the web site there is a Conference Programme - a number of papers are of
Irish Diaspora Studies interest, alongside papers looking at immigration
into Ireland.

P.O'S.

From the web site...

http://www.tcd.ie/immigration/conferences.php

During the past five years a growing number of postgraduate students have
been developing inquiry into the area of migration studies across the
Humanities and Social Sciences. This welcome development is occurring
cross-institutionally, north and south, and traverses the fields of
sociology, anthropology, cultural studies, linguistics, geography,
education, social policy, lens-based practice, film and media studies, race,
ethnicity and gender studies, among others.

This timely and inaugural conference on Migration Studies in Ireland will
occur annually and rotate location between the following convening partner
institutions: University College Dublin (UCD); National University of
Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM); University College, Cork (UCC); Dublin Institute
of Technology (DIT); University of Limerick (UL); Dublin City University
(DCU); Trinity College Dublin (TCD).

This conference will provide a dynamic forum for debate, exchange,
exhibition and screenings of doctoral work that thematically engages
questions of migration, race, rights, public policy, inter/transculturalism
and the use of audio and visual media in social research.

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: Article,
The Venerable Margaret Sinclair: An Examination of the Cause of
Edinburgh's Twentieth-Century Factory Girl
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Feminist Theology, Vol. 16, No. 2, 169-183 (2008)
C 2008 SAGE Publications

The Venerable Margaret Sinclair: An Examination of the Cause of Edinburgh's
Twentieth-Century Factory Girl
Karly Kehoe

kkehoe[at]uoguelph.ca

Catholicism's precarious position in twentieth-century Scotland was in part
a reflection of continued anti-Catholic and anti-Irish sentiments, but it
was also the result of new political doctrines, growing worker movements and
the introduction of complete female suffrage. These challenges were met, in
part, by Margaret Sinclair, in religion Sister Mary Francis of the Five
Wounds. The cause for her beatification and canonization was unofficially
launched in 1926 and met with a groundswell of support, extending beyond
Scotland to Europe and North America as the working-classes embraced her as
one of their own. Not only was she declared `Angel of the Factory', thereby
extending the Church's influence to the factory floor, but her image was
grafted to that of the nation as `Scotland's Little Flower'. She was to
symbolize feminine piety, the working-class struggle and the epitome of
Scottish Catholicism.


Key Words: Scotland . Margaret Sinclair . nun . gender . labour .
working-class.

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Sean Campbell
Subject: Reg Hall
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Dear All,

I wondered if anyone on the list had current contact details for Reg Hall, who
wrote a PhD a few years ago on Irish music in London. Any information would
be greatly appreciated.

All best,
Sean Campbell.

-----------------------------------------
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Virus-checked using McAfee(R) Software and scanned for spam

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Noreen Bowden
Organization: Ean
Subject: World wide webs: Diasporas and the international system
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Should be of interest, from an Australian international policy think =
tank --=20

World wide webs: Diasporas and the international system
Dr Michael Fullilove=20

Summary
On 18 February, the Lowy Institute launched Michael Fullilove's new Lowy =
Institute Paper, World wide webs: Diasporas and the international =
system. In this paper, Michael argues that diasporas (communities which =
live outside, but retain their connections with, their homelands) are =
getting larger, thicker and stronger - with important implications for =
global economics, identity, politics and security. Michael compares =
diasporas to 'world wide webs' emanating from states, with dense, =
interlocking, often electronic strands spanning the globe and binding =
different individuals, institutions and countries together. World wide =
webs offers a fresh take on globalisation which raises difficult =
questions for national governments, including the Australian government.

You can download the whole paper from --=20
http://www.lowyinstitute.org/Publication.asp?pid=3D753



Dr Fullilove published an article in the Sydney Morning Herald called =
"Expats - time to use them wisely"
http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/expats--time-to-use-them-wisely/2008/0=
2/17/1203190646672.html



Noreen Bowden
Director
=C9an - The Emigrant Advice Network
a: 30 Carmichael House, North Brunswick Street, Dublin 7
t: +353 1 8779011
m: 087 211 1397
e: noreen[at]emigrantnetwork.ie
w: http://www.ean.ie

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: "William Mulligan Jr."
Subject: St. Patrick's Day Controversy
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This may be of interest to the list.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- That famous saint named Patrick will have his
green-drenched party this year, but it's unclear when the guests are
supposed to arrive.
Firefighters pass Saint Patrick's Cathedral during the Saint Patrick's =
Day
Parade in New York City in 2006. For the first time since 1940, St.
Patrick's Day will fall during Holy Week, the sacred seven days =
preceding
Easter. Because of the overlap, liturgical rules dictate that no Mass in
honor of the saint can be celebrated on Monday, March 17, according to =
the
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. But a few Roman Catholic leaders =
are
asking for even more moderation in their dioceses: They want parades and
other festivities kept out of Holy Week as well. . . . .=20

For the rest, see:=20

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/02/20/catholic.conflict.ap/index=
.ht
ml=20


Bill Mulligan

William H. Mulligan, Jr., Ph.D.
Professor of History
Graduate Program Coordinator=20
Murray State University
Murray KY 42071-3341 USA=20
Office: 1-270-809-6571
Fax: 1-270-809-6587=20
=20
=20

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: Understanding and Engaging with Diasporas
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The following item has been brought to our attention...

P.O'S.

Subject: Understanding and Engaging with Diasporas

Dear=A0 Colleague=20
WP883=20

Understanding And Engaging With Diasporas
Monday 3 - Thursday 6 December 2007

We have pleasure in attaching a link to the conference report for
"=A0Understanding And Engaging With Diasporas" =A0We do hope that you =
will find
the report of interest.=A0 Please feel free to pass freely to =
colleagues.=A0=20
http://www.wiltonpark.org.uk/documents/conferences/WP883/pdfs/WP883.pdf
=20
Best regards=20
Barbara=20

Wilton Park organises over 60 conferences each year. If you would like =
to
receive news of events of potential interest to you, please subscribe to =
our
email news service.
=20

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: Book Noticed: Too Smart to Be Sentimental: Contemporary Irish
American Women Writers
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The following item has been brought to our attention...

P.O'S.
=A0
Too Smart to Be Sentimental: Contemporary Irish American Women =
Writers=A0
edited by Kathleen McInerney and Sally Barr Ebest (Notre Dame).
=A0
CONTRIBUTORS: Caledonia Kearns, Sally Barr Ebest, Patricia Keefe Durso, =
John
M. Menaghan, Kathleen McInerney, Beatrice Jacobson, Mary Ann Ryan, =
Susana
Araujo, Patricia Gott, Kathleen Ann Kremins, Susana Hoeness-Krupsaw, and =
Amy
Lee.

SALLY BARR EBEST is professor of English at the University of =
Missouri-St.
Louis. She is the author and co-editor of a number of books, including
Reconciling Catholicism and Feminism? Personal Reflections on Tradition =
and
Change (University of Notre Dame Press, 2003), and Writing From A to Z.

KATHLEEN McINERNEY is associate professor of education at Chicago State
University.

Comments on book jacket:
=A0
"This book gathers critical essays about Irish American writers from =
Mary
McCarthy to Erin McGraw.=A0 The essays that consider Mary Doyle Curran, =
Tess
Gallagher, Eileen Myles, Mary McGarry Morris, Jean McGarvey, and Erin =
McGraw
are valuable for their introduction to lesser-known writers or to =
writers
who have achieved success but who are not necessarily known as Irish
American Writers." ----Maureen Murphy, Hofstra University.
=A0
=93These personal, thoughtful, and authoritative essays make an original
contribution. They are of significance for scholars in several related
disciplines: contemporary American fiction, Irish American literature,
sociology, ethnic studies, Irish studies, and women=92s studies.=94 =
=97Thomas A.
Kuhlman, Creighton University=20
Reviews
=93This critical study of contemporary Irish American women writers, the =
first
of its kind, offers a literary history of Irish America in the 20th =
century
from a feminist perspective. . . . Scholarly and insightful essays.=94
=97Library Journal=20
=A0
Here's the link to the book on ND press's website:

http://www3.undpress.nd.edu/exec/dispatch.php?s=3Dtitle,P01199=20
=A0

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: Re: Reg Hall
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Sean,

This continues our discussion off-list, and confirms to the IR-D list that
something has been done...

I am in contact with Reg - I have had a word with him this morning, and have
sent you his contact details. He is happy to meet your student.

Reg is still very busy. Currently he is working on the Topic Records
archives - which have the potential to be an extraordinary resource for the
historian of British and Irish folk musics. And, of course, for people who
enjoy the music.

Reg is still playing - and can be found in The Auld Triangle, Plimsoll Road,
Finsbury Park, London, most Sunday nights.

Your student is right to be impressed by Reg Hall's thesis. Apart from the
music interest it is one of the best ever studies of the Irish in London,
and in Britain. The British Library keeps a bound copy on open shelves -
because the thesis is consulted so often.

Reg Hall has no real connection with academia. I have tried a number of
times to make connections, but they have never really worked. Reg is a
living human treasure, and must be handled correctly.

Also of concern - and Reg and I have just been sharing blunt comment - is
what we can call the 'Reg Hall Archive', an amazing collection of music,
recordings, photographs. And of course the archive within Reg's head. What
is going to happen to all this in the future?

Paddy

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

Email Patrick O'Sullivan Email Patrick
O'Sullivan Personal Fax 0044 (0) 709 236 9050

Irish-Diaspora list Irish Diaspora Net
http://www.irishdiaspora.net

Irish Diaspora Research Unit
Department of Social Sciences and Humanities University of Bradford Bradford
BD7 1DP Yorkshire England



-----Original Message-----
From: The Irish Diaspora Studies List [mailto:IR-D[at]JISCMAIL.AC.UK] On Behalf
Of Sean Campbell
Sent: 17 February 2008 21:57
To: IR-D[at]JISCMAIL.AC.UK
Subject: [IR-D] Reg Hall

Dear All,

I wondered if anyone on the list had current contact details for Reg Hall,
who
wrote a PhD a few years ago on Irish music in London. Any information would
be greatly appreciated.

All best,
Sean Campbell.

-----------------------------------------
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Virus-checked using McAfee(R) Software and scanned for spam

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: Ireland, Empire and Education--seeking interested scholars
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Forwarded on behalf of
Deana Heath
Department of History
Trinity College
Dublin 2
Ireland
,


Ireland, Empire and Education--seeking interested scholars

From: Deana Heath

I'm contacting you to seek information about scholars who are working
on subjects that relate--however broadly--to the role of Irish institutions
of higher education in shaping imperial and colonial processes. In light of
my own interests I'm particularly keen to hear from scholars working on
subjects pertaining to India and Ireland, but would also appreciate hearing
about work relating to Ireland and other parts of Asia. I'm making this
request because I'm launching a collaborative research project on this
subject later this year, which will include a number of events (a syposium
in October and a conference next year) and publications (including an edited
volume). Interested colleagues please contact me directly.

Cheers,

Deana Heath
Department of History
Trinity College
Dublin 2
Ireland
,

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: Reg Hall 2
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From: miriam nyhan
To: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
Subject: RE: [IR-D] Reg Hall


Paddy,

You may be interested to know that in the course of my research (on the
'County Associations' in London and New York), I undertook an informal oral
interview with Reg -approximatley 2 hours in duration- on the subject of the

Irish in London in the mid twentieth century. It only represents the tip of
the iceberg, in terms of the information he has stored in that wonderful
brain of his and there is scope for much more to be done with him. I will
try to make my interview available once I have completed the research.

Miriam

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Matthew Jockers
Subject: The trouble with the Apostrophe
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As manager of the ACIS web site and ACIS member database, I can attest
to the particular difficulty of programming to handle Irish
Surnames. . . an Associated Press article by Sean O (no apostrophe)
Driscoll appears, among other places, in today's Wired magazine.

Matt

Here is a link http://tinyurl.com/2bwh63

And here is the text:

Apostrophes in Names Stir Lot O' Trouble

By SEAN ODRISCOLL
Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK (AP) -- It can stop you from voting, destroy your dental
appointments, make it difficult to rent a car or book a flight, even
interfere with your college exams. More than 50 years into the
Information Age, computers are still getting confused by the
apostrophe. It's a problem familiar to O'Connors, D'Angelos, N'Dours
and D'Artagnans across America.

When Niall O'Dowd tried to book a flight to Atlanta earlier this year,
the computer system refused to recognize his name. The editor of the
Irish Voice newspaper could book the flight only by giving up his
national identity.

"I dropped the apostrophe and ran my name as `ODowd,'" he said.

It's not just the bad luck o' the Irish. French, Italian and African
names with apostrophes can befuddle computer systems, too. So can Arab
names with hyphens, and Dutch surnames with "van" and a space in them.

Michael Rais, director of software development at Permission Data, an
online marketing company in New York, said the problem is sloppy
programming.

"It's standard shortsightedness," he said. "Most programs set a rule
for first name and last name. They don't think of foreign-sounding
names."

The trouble can happen in two ways, according to Rais.

One: Online forms typically have a filter that looks for unfamiliar
terms that might be put in by mistake or as a joke. A bad computer
system will not be able to handle an apostrophe, a hyphen or a gap in
a last name and will block it immediately.

Two: Even if the computer system is sophisticated enough to welcome an
O'Brien or Al-Kurd, the name must be stored in the database, where a
hyphen or apostrophe is often mistaken for a piece of computer code,
corrupting the system.

That's what happened during the Michigan caucus in 2004, when
thousands of O'Connors, Al-Husseins, Van Kemps and others who went to
the polls didn't have their votes counted.

"It was a real slapped-together computer system the party put together
and a lot of people were left out who were registered to vote, it was
a real pity," said Michigan political consultant Mark Grebner.

In this year's primaries, the system worked much better, according to
the Michigan Democratic Party. There have been isolated reports of
problems elsewhere, but nothing on the scale of Michigan.

Still, an apostrophe, hyphen or space can interfere with medical and
dental records, gym memberships, online searches or school registration.

Dutch-American proofreader Jessica van Campen has seen her name listed
as Jessica Vancampen, Jessica Van, Jessicavan Campen, Jessica Campen
and Jessican Kampen by uncertain computer systems. When she went to
her finals in college, she was listed under Campen and was told
Jessica Van Campen had dropped out of the course.

"It was another moment of panic," she said.

All of this confusion has prompted some people to surrender to
technology. Iraqi immigrant Lina Alathari was once known as Lina Al-
Athari, but dropped the hyphen in America. "There is no pronunciation
difference, so I'm fine with it," she said.

Erin Carney D'Angelo, a lawyer in New York, was born apostrophe-free,
but took one on when she married her Italian-American husband. But "he
told me to drop the apostrophe when filling out forms so to computers
I'm just a `Dangelo,'" she said.

The problem is difficult to correct because computer systems have many
different ways of recognizing names, Rais said.

"It depends on the form filters and it depends on the database
program," he said. "Basically, there are a lot of programmers out
there who forget that a growing portion of the American public are not
called John Smith or Mary White."

The Irish apostrophe began with the British, who put it there because
they believed the O looked odd without a link to the rest of the name.
Many Gaelic speakers in Ireland refuse to carry an apostrophe,
considering it a vestige of colonial days.

"Maybe that's the solution," said O'Dowd, who just last week was
rejected by an online alarm clock service. "Maybe we should just drop
the apostrophe altogether, not just as a nationalist statement but
because I'd like my alarm call to work in the morning."

For my part, I've already thrown off my apostrophe. From now on I am
Sean ODriscoll.


--
Matthew Jockers
Stanford University

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: Re: The trouble with the Apostrophe
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Matt,

Thank you for this...

A number of IR-D members have brought this item to our attention - so thank
you to everybody.

I can vouch for all the experiences recorded here. There are still
recurring problems ordering anything online. In at least one case my credit
card got blacklisted - because, of course, different computer systems have
different versions of my name.

The airline computers - because their software is so clunky, old-fashioned,
and (I guess) therefore reliable - were a recurring problem. But mostly now
the operators know this, and can be guided to a version of your name that
the system will accept. But you used to meet the recurring belief that
spelling your name with an apostrophe was some strange, individual quirk of
your own. And then - the most dangerous thing a travelling Irish person can
do - you might find yourself of interest to security...

It is just lazy programming, of course. In another area, I can remember a
weird discussion with someone designing a computerised library catalogue -
and he had created only a 2 digit space for year of publication...

Patrick O'Sullivan


-----Original Message-----
From: The Irish Diaspora Studies List [mailto:IR-D[at]JISCMAIL.AC.UK] On Behalf
Of Matthew Jockers
Sent: 22 February 2008 16:07
To: IR-D[at]JISCMAIL.AC.UK
Subject: [IR-D] The trouble with the Apostrophe

As manager of the ACIS web site and ACIS member database, I can attest
to the particular difficulty of programming to handle Irish
Surnames. . . an Associated Press article by Sean O (no apostrophe)
Driscoll appears, among other places, in today's Wired magazine.

Matt

Here is a link http://tinyurl.com/2bwh63

And here is the text:

Apostrophes in Names Stir Lot O' Trouble

By SEAN ODRISCOLL
Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK (AP) -- It can stop you from voting, destroy your dental
appointments, make it difficult to rent a car or book a flight, even
interfere with your college exams. More than 50 years into the
Information Age, computers are still getting confused by the
apostrophe. It's a problem familiar to O'Connors, D'Angelos, N'Dours
and D'Artagnans across America.

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Muiris Mag Ualghairg
Subject: Re: The trouble with the Apostrophe
In-Reply-To:
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We have a similar problem in Wales. The Post Office still uses the old
county names for postal purposes so when shopping on line you might be
asked for a county that ceased to exist over a decade or so ago,
however the banks use the modern addresses which means that the
address a bank has and the address that an online shop gets are
different and a credit card gets refused. The National Assembly has
raised the outdated postal addresses with the Post Office and has
asked them to sort the problem out and it appears that even the
assembly has had its credit card purchases refused because of the same
problem.

With regards Irish names, Mac/Mag etc also cause the same problem with
software either trying to put a hyphen in or to lose the first part of
the surname all together.

Muiris

On 24/02/2008, Patrick O'Sullivan wrote:
> Matt,
>
> Thank you for this...
>
> A number of IR-D members have brought this item to our attention - so thank
> you to everybody.
>
> I can vouch for all the experiences recorded here. There are still
> recurring problems ordering anything online. In at least one case my credit
> card got blacklisted - because, of course, different computer systems have
> different versions of my name.
>
> The airline computers - because their software is so clunky, old-fashioned,
> and (I guess) therefore reliable - were a recurring problem. But mostly now
> the operators know this, and can be guided to a version of your name that
> the system will accept. But you used to meet the recurring belief that
> spelling your name with an apostrophe was some strange, individual quirk of
> your own. And then - the most dangerous thing a travelling Irish person can
> do - you might find yourself of interest to security...
>
> It is just lazy programming, of course. In another area, I can remember a
> weird discussion with someone designing a computerised library catalogue -
> and he had created only a 2 digit space for year of publication...
>
>
> Patrick O'Sullivan
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: The Irish Diaspora Studies List [mailto:IR-D[at]JISCMAIL.AC.UK] On Behalf
> Of Matthew Jockers
> Sent: 22 February 2008 16:07
> To: IR-D[at]JISCMAIL.AC.UK
> Subject: [IR-D] The trouble with the Apostrophe
>
> As manager of the ACIS web site and ACIS member database, I can attest
> to the particular difficulty of programming to handle Irish
> Surnames. . . an Associated Press article by Sean O (no apostrophe)
> Driscoll appears, among other places, in today's Wired magazine.
>
> Matt
>
> Here is a link http://tinyurl.com/2bwh63
>
> And here is the text:
>
> Apostrophes in Names Stir Lot O' Trouble
>
> By SEAN ODRISCOLL
> Associated Press Writer
>
> NEW YORK (AP) -- It can stop you from voting, destroy your dental
> appointments, make it difficult to rent a car or book a flight, even
> interfere with your college exams. More than 50 years into the
> Information Age, computers are still getting confused by the
> apostrophe. It's a problem familiar to O'Connors, D'Angelos, N'Dours
> and D'Artagnans across America.
>

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: "frank32[at]tiscali.co.uk"
Subject: Community
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I would like to thank all those who provided references to the use
of the term 'Community ' . They were very helpful and my Ph.D student
is now a happy man.

Frank Neal



__________________________________________________
Up to 33% off Norton Security from Tiscali - http://www.tiscali.co.uk/securepc/

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: Book Announced,
The Irish Celebrating: Festive and Tragic Overtones
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The following book has been brought to our attention...

It looks very interesting, as itself evidence of the increasing interest =
in
Ireland and the Diaspora in the non English speaking countries.

I have taken the following information from the publisher web site. I =
will
see if I can get hold of the table of contents...

P.O'S.

Cambridge Scholars Publishing
isbn: 9781847184078=20
Title: The Irish Celebrating: Festive and Tragic Overtones
Binding: Hardback

Editor: Marie-Claire Consid=E8re-Charon, Philippe Laplace, Michel =
Savaric

Date of Publication: 2008-01-01

UK: =A339.99

US: $79.99
The Irish Celebrating is a collection of essays which focuses on the
complex dynamics of celebrating, its significance and its scope, through
Ireland=92s past and present experience. This book studies the dual =
aspects of
celebrating =97=91the festive=92 and =91the tragic=92=97 which, while =
not necessarily
functioning as a binary opposition, have long proved mutually =
constitutive
of the Irish experience. Many different occasions and ways of =
celebrating
are explored, be they associated with feasts, festivals, commemorations,
re-enactments or mere merry-making.

Irish literature abounds with motifs, symbols, allusions and devices =
that
stand as ample testimony to the essential part played by celebration in =
the
creative process. Both the treatment of mythical themes and figures, and =
the
perception of contrasted realities and moods, all linked in some way or
another with celebrating, are examined in the works of Irish novelists,
poets and playwrights.

If celebrations undeniably had a crucial role to play throughout =
Ireland=92s
troubled past, they continue to shape Irish society today, part and =
parcel
of the deep social, economic and cultural changes it is currently
experiencing. New representations of Irish identity as they are =
expressed
through new forms of celebrating are explored in such varied contexts as
emigration and immigration, alcohol addiction, church allegiance and
European membership.

The way the nationalist and unionist communities have been celebrating =
their
past in Northern Ireland, often complacently and ostentatiously, is a =
theme
dealt with in the final section of this collection. Irish, English, =
French,
Spanish, Italian and American scholars apply a broad range of
interdisciplinary expertise to original and illuminating essays which =
will
undoubtedly provoke a new insight into the interplay between current =
trends
and issues and the long-established patterns that thread through the =
volume.

Marie-Claire Consid=E8re-Charon is part-time Professor at the Robert =
Schuman
University, Strasbourg, and Emeritus Professor at the University of
Franche-Comt=E9.

Philippe Laplace is a lecturer in English and Scottish studies at the
University of Franche-Comt=E9.

Michel Savaric is a lecturer in British and Irish studies at the =
University
of Franche-Comt=E9.

http://www.c-s-p.org/

http://www.c-s-p.org/Flyers/The-Irish-Celebrating--Festive-and-Tragic-Ove=
rto
nes--1-84718-407-3.htm