On Saturday, May 21 at 4pm the New York Irish History Roundtable will present its first live online session for 2022. It will feature Professor Cian T. McMahon, author of the revealing new book, The Coffin Ship, which focuses on Irish Famine Migration from 1844 to 1857.

This ground-breaking work uses diaries and correspondence from Famine emigrants to develop new insights into all stages of the migration process. Based on his extensive research into letters and diaries of the emigrants, plus official records, Prof. McMahon will discuss how, contrary to common ideas about experiences of emigrants, the on-shore and shipboard realities they faced were more complex than previously known. In The Coffin Ship he presents a vivid picture of all stages in this huge emigration. Cian McMahon is associate professor in the History Department & Honors College at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. His research focuses on the Irish Diaspora.

Hosts for this session will be Linda Dowling Almeida, adjunct faculty member of NYU’s Ireland House and reviews editor for New York Irish History, and John T. Ridge, author of many works on Irish New York and president of the New York Irish History Roundtable.

The session will begin at 4pm and last for approximately 75 minutes. It will be recorded on Zoom and may be later available on YouTube.

About Zoom

If you haven’t participated in a Zoom session before, it’s easy. You will need an up-to-date Roundtable membership & computer or smart phone with a camera. Four-to-five days before the session you will receive by email a Zoom invitation to join the event. Just follow the link on the invitation, and you will be led to the session. When you click to join the meeting, you will be prompted to temporarily install Zoom. After exiting the session, nothing will remain on your device.

See you on May 21.