Oral History Podcasts

The podcasts listed below are part of a collection of audio documentaries produced by Glucksman Ireland House NYU. These documentaries use excerpt from interviews that are part of the Glucksman Ireland House Oral History Collection in the Archives of Irish America, combined with music and narration.

These podcasts have been made possible in part with funding from the Leon Lowenstein Foundation.

To receive new podcasts as they are released, subscribe to the Glucksman Ireland House feed at iTunes U.

Enjoying the Ride: The Irish in the NYC Horse Carriage Industry

“Enjoying the Ride: The Irish in the NYC Horse and Carriage Industry, Then and Now,” explores the horses as a feature of the urban landscape of New York City for over 150 years, before the opening of Central Park, the primary site of carriages today. At one time, these living machines powered the transportation and commercial growth of the city, and Irish immigrants were essential to their care. Irish immigrants and their descendants still represent a large percentage of the stable owners, drivers, and handlers of horses. The recording looks at the horses and immigrant New Yorkers’ pivotal role not only to the tourist trade, but to the construction, retail, social, and commercial life of New York.

Let Me Take You Home Again: The Gathering

In the Oral History Program at Glucksman Ireland House one of our objectives is to learn how or if our participants connect to their ancestry. Do they identify as Irish American, how do they share their heritage with their children, what do they know of their family origins in Ireland, and how or do they stay in touch with Irish relatives? In this year of the Gathering we thought it fitting to share some of the recollections and stories we have heard over the past several years about visits home and how those trips helped to shape the individual’s sense of self, family, and heritage.

Legalize the Irish: the Legacy of the IIRM

In May 1987 a group of Irish and Irish American activists gathered in Queens, New York City to discuss the documentation status and consequent problems of thousands of young Irish immigrants, known as the New Irish, and formed the Irish Immigrant Reform Movement. Twenty-five years after the seeds of the IIRM were sown, we have gathered the thoughts and reflections of some of the principal leaders of the group. Since their victory, Ireland and the United States have experienced continued social, economic, and political stress, and immigration continues to be a topic of great debate in both countries. As we enter the second decade of the 21st century it is important to look back at the singular focus and commitment of the IIRM at the end of the 20th century and consider their place in the continuum of Irish and American relations.

Memories of the New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade

To commemorate the 250th anniversary of the New York St. Patrick’s Day Parade, this podcast explores the experiences and emotions of a variety of New Yorkers with Irish roots.

Podcast: "That Forever September Morning": Memories of 9/11

This podcast was produced by Glucksman Ireland House to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001. The 38 minute audio piece includes excerpts from interviews conducted as part of the GIH Oral History Project. The voices recall the wild emotion and strange stillness of that day and offer listeners a chance to reflect on the events of 9/11 and where we are ten years later.

Podcast: Who Do We Think We Are?" The Irish Family

Material for this podcast was recorded at Glucksman Ireland House’s day long symposium of the same name. In it, NYU professors Marion Casey, Linda Almeida, and Miriam Nyhan discuss the Oral History Project and what is revealed about the Irish and Irish American family in the interviews they have collected. Themes of home, separation, identity, privacy, dislocation, and memory emerge from immigrants and second generation members of the community.

The Next Step: The Evolution of Irish Dancing in America

Irish dance in America has been enjoyed by immigrants and their descendants for generations. At the end of the nineteenth century instruction became more formalized and dance competitions emerged to promote and also preserve the integrity of the art form. One hundred years later the dance world was forever changed with the Riverdance performance of Jean Butler and Michael Flatley during the Interval Act of the Eurovision program broadcast on RTE television in Ireland. Riverdance became a world wide phenomenon combining Irish cultural tradition with American showmanship. In June 2012, Riverdance ends its 16-year-run in the United States, but its impact on the art form and its participants will be felt long after the final curtain.

Reflections on A Political Life: Hugh Carey

Hugh Carey (1919 — 2010) led a remarkable 20th century life: child of the Depression, WWII war hero, United States Congressman, two term governor of New York, husband to his college sweetheart, father of fourteen children. It was a full productive life with a unique vantage point on the political pulse of New York at the grassroots level.

Sisters in Service

Drawing on interviews collected as part of our Oral History Project and housed in our Archives of Irish America at New York University, Glucksman Ireland House presents the collections of some of the nuns we have interviewed as well as lay people who recall the sisters who taught them or crossed their path. These stories just scratch the surface of the service performed by religious sisters.