ACIS Logo A Commemoration of the 150th Anniversary of the Fenian Raid

 
The St. John Fisher College Irish Studies Program Presents
A Commemoration of the 150th Anniversary of the Fenian Raids
In 1866 the Fenians, a group of Irish and Irish-American soldiers (many of whom were Civil War veterans) invaded Canada in the hopes of pressuring Great Britain to withdraw from Ireland. This conference will examine who the Fenians were, the reasons for their invasions and why these failed, their connection to later Irish uprisings, and their continuing relevance to Irish, British, Canadian, and American history.
Friday, April 15th 3:00 PM – 7:00 PM
St. John Fisher College Golisano Midlevel
Free and Open to the Public
3:00 PM – 3:50 PM: The Irish and the American Civil War
Welcome by Donald Bain, President Emeritus, St. John Fisher College
Stephen Valone, Professor of History, St. John Fisher College: “William Seward and the Fenians”
Michael McCarthy, President, Rochester Chapter of the Irish American Cultural Institute: “Researching the Irish in the Civil War”
4:00 PM-5:20 PM: The Fenian Raid of Fort Erie, Ontario and the Battle of Ridgeway
David Doolin, author of Transnational Revolutionaries: The Fenian Invasion of Canada, 1866: “Researching the Fenian Raids”
Gary Roy, Fenian Raids/Battle of Ridgeway Conference Organizer: “You May Commence Working”
Tim Bohen, author of Against the Green: A History of Buffalo’s First Ward: “Buffalo’s First Ward: Hotbed of Fenianism”
Tom Grace, President of the Buffalo Civil War Round Table: “Remembering Ben Maryniak and the Re-enactment of the Battle of Ridgeway”
5:30 PM – 6:10 PM: The Fenian Raid of Campobello, New Brunswick
Elizabeth Osta (author of Irish historical novel Jeremiah’s Hunger) and Kitty Forbush (vocalist, Pluta Cancer Center oncology nurse): “’We’re Off to Capture Canada for We’ve Nothing Else to Do”
6:10 PM-6:30 PM: The Fenians in Popular Culture
Tim Madigan, Director of the St. John Fisher College Irish Studies Program: “Paladin Meets the Fenians”
6:30 PM-7:00 PM: Pat Carey and Ted McGraw (Comhaltas): “The Music of the Fenians”
For further details please contact Tim Madigan, Director of the Irish Studies Program, at tmadigan@sjfc.edu