Voices Across the Atlantic: The Future & History of Irish in the U.S.

Fáilte romhaibh to a special Harvard Club of Ireland webinar examining the extraordinary transatlantic story of the Irish language — from the Americas of the 1700s and 1800s to the renewed confidence of Gaeilge in Ireland today.

We are honoured to welcome Dr Patrick J. Mahony (Irish: Pádraig Fhia Ó Mathúna), Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Galway, former Caspersen Fellow in History & Culture at Drew University, and past researcher at Harvard University. Dr Mahony is also the author of: Recovering an Irish Voice from the American Frontierand the upcoming book: The Fenian Empire (2026). Interviewed by Dr Ultan McCaffrey, MPH ’25 Harvard TH Chan (Consultant Psychiatrist, learning and raising his daughter through Irish).

The conversation will explore:

• At one point up to 61% of Irish emigrants to the United States had Irish as their first language: shaping communities, newspapers, poetry, and networks across America.
• The Irish-language press, poetry, and correspondence that flourished in the U.S.
• Why new generations of students in Ireland and across the diaspora are learning Irish today.
• What it means for the future that the working language of Áras an Uachtaráin is Gaeilge.
• Whether we may be entering a moment where asking “are we all going to be speaking Irish in the future?” is a real possibility.
• How diaspora research is reshaping our understanding of the language’s global story.

Join us for a discussion that carries Gaeilge from the frontier cabins of the 1800s to the Ireland of 2025 and beyond!