An illustrated presentation by John McAuliff on the parallel paths followed by Cuba and Ireland in their struggle to seek independence from their colonial masters in Spain and England. The presentation will reveal the role of Irish Cubans in the American revolution, and will focus on how their aspirations for a free Cuba were manifest in New York City throughout the 19th century, highlighting pivotal actors in that struggle: from Father Felix Varela (who became in exile the advocate for immigrant Irish), to Irish-controlled Tammany Hall (providing support for José Martí), to Dynamite Johnny O’Brien (the most reliable smuggler of arms in support Cuba’s final War of Independence). Along the way, a Cuban emigré in New York fathered Ireland’s revolutionary leader and first President, Eamon de Valera.
The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session with the audience.
American Irish Historical Society
991 5th Ave. (at 80th Street), NYC
FREE ADMISSION
Please RSVP to: info@cubanculturalcenter.org
[Image above: Calle O’Reilly (O’Reilly Street), in Havana circa 1910. The street was named after Marshal Alejandro, Conde de O’Reilly (1722-1794), who was an Irish-born military reformer and Inspector-General of Infantry for the Spanish Empire in the second half of the 18th century.]
This event is part of our CreateNYC Language Access Series on Cuban History, Art, and Literature. It will be held in English.
John McAuliff was an activist in the US civil rights and antiwar
movements and served in thePeace Corps in Peru. After working for the Quaker organization, the American Friends Service Committee, for a decade on Indochina, he founded the Fund for Reconciliation and Development in 1985. He led efforts to bring about normalization of post-war relations with war-torn and impoverished Viet Nam. In the course of his work, he discovered many links with his own Irish-American ancestry. He organized four concert tours to Havana, Holguín and Santiago for NYU professor Mick Moloney and the musical ensemble Green Fields of America, who performed with Cubans with Celtic background and traditions from Asturias and Galicia.
This presentation is hosted and co-sponsored by the American Irish Historical Society
And is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts and the New York State Legislature.
With the promotional cooperation of Rialta, 14yMedio and Diario de Cuba
