On Saturday, March 3 at 2 p.m., historian Art Mattson will tell the story of terrible shipwrecks in the 1830s that resulted in the deaths of over 200 immigrants just outside the port of New York. Most victims were Irish, many of them women and children drawn to the freedoms and expanding opportunities in America. They had chosen to cross the Atlantic during a treacherous sailing season. And they almost succeeded. This program will take place in the parish house of

On Saturday, May 12 at 2 p.m., author Eileen Markey will discuss the life—and death—of Sister Maura Clarke, M.M., whose brutal assault and murder at the hands of Salvadorian soldiers in 1980 became the source of international news and years of debate over America’s Cold War policy in Latin America. Who was Maura Clarke, and why was she in El Salvador? How significant for her endeavors were her youthful connections, through her parents, with the Irish? And what about the

On Saturday, October 21, author Christopher M. Finan will discuss America’s troubled history with alcoholism and its long search for sobriety. The focus of this unique program will be on Irish-American leaders who took up the long battle against the disease and the successful results of their efforts. He will also recount the early roles of Native American leaders who saw alcohol used to steal their lands and the activities of Temperance Movement leaders like Carrie Nation, who destroyed bars

On Saturday, December 2, writer and Roundtable member Michael Burke will discuss Launt Thompson, the Irish-American sculptor who rapidly rose to fame and accomplishment in the United States in the years following the American Civil War. Thompson’s success, however, was dramatically jolted at one of its highpoints and Thompson died in a state asylum. The quick rise and sudden diversion of Thompson’s success will make for a richly illustrated talk. This program will be held at 2 p.m. in the

On Saturday, March 4, we will host a provocative program about what became labeled as the New York “Police Scandal” of 1892. With powerful results, charges were sensationally leveled against police practice and Tammany Hall activity in the city of New York by one of Gotham’s leading citizens. The centerpiece of this Roundtable program will be a talk by Professor Daniel Czitrom, whose recent book on the scandal,  New York Exposed, has been called a “tour de force of investigation

In the mid-1800s, Irish Catholics arrived in the U.S. in dramatic numbers. They were often confronted with severe and ugly discrimination, and they reacted in various ways. One such reaction—uncommon in its time—was that of Fr. Sylvester Malone. To hear more about this unique man, join us and Geoffrey Cobb on Saturday, May 6 at 2 p.m. in hall of historic St. Mary’s Church, 440 Grand Street (east of Clinton St.), Manhattan. Take F, J, or M trains to Delancy