ACIS Logo Lawrence J. McCaffrey Prize

About this prize

Larry McCaffrey, co-founder of ACIS, was a highly respected, engaging, and beloved teacher throughout his entire career. He served as the first Secretary of ACIS and was ACIS President from 1975 to 1978. He retired as Professor Emeritus from the History department of Loyola University Chicago in 1991 after 21 years of service.

Dr. McCaffrey authored five well-known monographs on the Irish and Irish American experience, including the ground-breaking The Irish Diaspora in America (1976), as well as co-authoring or editing five other significant works. The Irish Diaspora in America became the standard text for university work soon after its publication. He also wrote more than 30 scholarly articles, hundreds of book reviews, and guided many aspiring historians on the path to their own academic success.

His teaching career included work at Michigan State, St. Catherine University, the University of Iowa, the University of Illinois, Marquette University, and the University of Maine. He traveled to Dublin, Cork, Montreal, and Detroit for fellowships and visiting professorships, and received honorary doctorates from St. Ambrose College and the National University of Ireland.

Dr. McCaffrey earned his B.A. from St. Ambrose College in Davenport, Iowa; his M.A. from Indiana University; and his Ph.D. from the University of Iowa.

The Lawrence J. McCaffrey Prize honors his commitment to studies of Irish American history, literature, and culture.

Past Recipients

Prize Committee

This year’s prize window is now closed.

To submit your book for consideration, please complete the pre-submission form below to obtain mailing addresses of committee members. To meet the prize deadline, submissions must be postmarked by January 1, 2024. For all submissions to ACIS book prizes, hard copies are very much preferred but e-copies will be accepted. Please ensure that e-copies are submitted in an easily accessible format (such as PDFs). It is the responsibility of the nominated author to ensure that the postmark deadline of January 1, 2024 is observed.

Dr Sophie Cooper, Chair
Queen’s University Belfast

Dr Mary Burke
University of Connecticut

Dr Aileen Dillane
University of Limerick

Dr Pádraig Fhia Ó Mathúna
University of Galway