Friday 15 May 2015

'Shared inheritance – Ulster & N America': 4 June

Common Currency: The Shared Inheritance of Ulster and North America is a one-day conference to be held on Thursday 4 June in Belfast.

Hosted by the Ulster Historical Foundation and the Ministerial Advisory Group (MAG) Ulster-Scots Academy, the event will run from 9am to 4:30pm and will explore the connections between Ulster and North America across a broad range of themes including history, music, religion, commerce and the migration experience.

In addition to music, there's a great schedule of talks designed to demonstrate the contribution of Ulster migrants to the development of North American society.

Here's the line-up:
  • Ulster and the American South – A driven impulse, 1800–50, with Dr Francis Costello
  • Aghadowey, 1718 and the beginning of emigration; In 2018, should we celebrate or commemorate? with Dr Linde Lunney
  • Ancestral homes and family history: the case of the Mellons of Tyrone and Pennsylvania, with Dr Brian Lambkin
  • ‘The gentle and thoughtful Scotch Irish’ – their contribution to civilisation rather than bloody Empire creation, with Alister McReynolds
  • ‘How Sweet The Sound’ – Hymns and hymnwriters from Ulster and North America, with Mark Thompson
  • Whose Diaspora? Whose migration? Northern Ireland’s overseas connections since the 1920s, with Dr Johanne Devlin Trew
  • Ulster and America – making family history connections, with Gillian Hunt
  • ‘An American Dream’ – a song of Emigration to the New World, with Colin Magee
  • The Enduring connection – Ulster migration to British North America and the emergence of Toronto, the Belfast of Canada, with Prof William J Smyth
The conference is free of charge and includes light refreshments and lunch. Places are limited so registration is essential. See the full programme for further details about the speakers and how to register.

Venue: Discover Ulster-Scots Centre, Corn Exchange Building, 1–9 Victoria Street, Belfast