Did you know that Ireland was the fourth country in the world to establish an official Black History Month?
We wanted to share the below pieces that we found fascinating during Ireland’s Black History Month as sources of information, insight, and entertainment!
Don’t miss the upcoming digital conference, Where Do We Go From Here
Presented by New York University’s Glucksman Ireland House and the Gallatin School of Individualized Study.
This online event runs for the first three Fridays in November: 5, 12, and 19, and is sure to be full of incredibly educational and enlightening discussions. Featuring Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin, Miriam Nyhan Grey, Christine Kinealy, Emma Dabiri (author of Don’t Touch My Hair,) Ruth Negga, and many more.
On October 26, the second installation of our New Play Development Program was staged in the W. Scott McLucas Studio Theatre. Director Olivia Songer worked with our Artistic Associate Nicola Murphy to stage this reading of a new version of J.M. Synge’s The Playboy of the Western World. This adaption, by Bisi Adigun and Roddy Doyle, is set in West Dublin, and rather than farmers and villagers, centers on a community of Dublin gangsters and drug smugglers. The iconic character of Christy Mahon becomes Nigerian refugee Christopher Malomo, and brings the traditional production into a new, contemporary spotlight.
Our Stage Will Be A Poorer Place After Losing One Of Its Few African Voices
Exploring The Effect of Immigration On Irish Theatre
RTÉ, Ireland’s national broadcasting network, created an online Black History Lessons series for Black History Month – we highly recommend checking out this series and following along.
Black & Irish, an organization highlighting and celebrating the identity of black and mixed race Irish people, curated a Black Excellence playlist for Black History Month, featuring Black artists from Ireland and beyond!
Re-visit Irish Central’s tour of the “Frederick Douglass in Ireland: ‘The Black O’Connell'” with Professor Christine Kinealy at the now-closed Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum at Quinnipiac University. This fascinating exhibit tells the life story and gives unique insight into the monumental work done by Douglass on his trip to Ireland. Learn more about the unfortunate closing of this fascinating Irish institution here.