Registration for in-person and online attendance is now open for the conference “Archiving Irish America: Music, Dance, and Culture” hosted by the Ward Irish Music Archives.

The meeting will feature keynote presentations by step dancer/scholar Jean Butler of Riverdance fame (“Our Steps, Our Story: An Irish Dance Legacy Archive”); Raidió Teilifís Éireann producer and collector/scholar of 78 rpm recordings Harry Bradshaw (“Bill Stapleton and the Irish Recording Company”); and fiddler/composer Liz Carroll (“The Music That’s In It”).

Beyond the featured keynote presentations are a series of panel discussions that cover a range of topics—from archival projects on musicians, instruments, repertoire or regional styles, to research findings, to institutional initiatives that span cultural practices in Irish America. The conference will also celebrate the launch of the digital humanities project “Capturing O’Neill”—an initiative with the Ward Archives and the Irish Traditional Music Archive in Dublin to document the remaining signed copies of Chief Francis O’Neill’s books of Irish dance tunes and place his efforts to document Irish culture in the Irish diasporic world in which he operated.

Conference attendees can also enjoy a Friday evening pub session at the Country Clare, located at 1234 North Astor Street in Milwaukee. We’ll conclude the conference with a céilí (dance party) on Saturday night, April 13 with Chicago accordionist Jimmy Keane and his musical guests. Bígí linn (join us)!

Dates: April 11-13, 2024
Location: Ward Irish Music Archives, 1532 N. Wauwatosa Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53213
Registration: in-person $75; online $20

More information & program details: https://wardirishmusicarchives.com/Ward-Music-Archives/Conference-Archiving-Irish-America-Music-Dance-and-Culture.htm