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. The prize is awarded to an exceptional monograph on the subject of the Irish in America.
Prize Committee
Chair: Sophie Cooper
Eligibility and Submission Instructions
Books submitted for this prize must have a publication date matching the year of the award (2026). Single-author and co-authored books (by no more than two authors) will be considered. Edited collections, fiction, poetry, and anthologies of literature are not eligible. Submissions must be in English or Irish. Works originally published in another language and translated into English or Irish will be considered.
No book may compete for more than one of the four disciplinary prizes (Donnelly, Durkan, McCaffrey, Rhodes), but an author’s first scholarly monograph may be submitted to the Donald Murphy prize committee in addition to one of the four disciplinary committees. An Irish-language book may be submitted for a maximum of two of the following awards: the Duais Leabhar Taighde na Bliana (Irish Language Prize), a disciplinary prize, and the Donald Murphy prize if applicable. Committee chairs may choose to reassign entered works to a more appropriate prize if necessary.
The prize includes a cash award of $500 USD. The award money will be split in the case of co-authored texts.
Books may be submitted for consideration by anyone (author, publisher, or other party). All nominations must be submitted through the online form below.
Authors of nominated books are responsible for sending copies of the book to the committee members, whether directly or through their publisher. The addresses of the committee members will be provided to authors when their book is nominated. Hard copies are strongly preferred, but e-copies (such as PDFs) will be accepted if necessary to meet the deadline (especially if your book is scheduled for publication in November or December). Authors are particularly reminded that, whether they mail books themselves or ask their publishers to do so, responsibility rests with the author to ensure that the postmark deadline of January 1, 2027, is observed. Late submissions will NOT be accepted.
For more information, contact the chair of the ACIS awards committee, ACIS vice president Sarah Townsend ([email protected]).