Instructors / Teagascóirí
Rita Davern
Rita Davern is a 4th generation Minnesotan with cultural roots in the Burren area of County Clare, Ireland. She knows first-hand that, for U.S. people with European heritage, reconnecting to our homeland and our cultural history adds huge richness to our lives. Rita has been a regular visitor to her grandmother’s birthplace in County Clare. Little did she know that uncovering her past would lead to two feature-length documentary films. Stories I Didn’t Know is Rita’s first film. The second film, Burren Girl, focuses on the Ireland part of her family story and the people who stayed behind. Both films won audience awards at their premieres in 2020.
Dean Farrell
Dublin. He has taught Irish in Dublin, at St Thomas University in Fredericton, Canada, and at various
workshops across Canada. He has presented his research at conferences in Ireland, Europe, and North
America. Dean has recently published an article in the Antigonish Review and has some more scholarly
articles forthcoming. He is currently a Ph.D. student in his second year at Concordia University, in
Montreal Canada, where he has received Concordia’s International Award of Excellence and an Irish
Studies Graduate Award. His research focus is Irish language literature.
Brian Kelley
Jane Kennedy
Daniel Kubinski
a major in Classical Languages and a minor in Modern Irish. His coursework in Irish at St. Thomas
consisted of self-designed independent studies of the work of Pádraig Ó Conaire and the master work of
Máirtín Ó Cadhain, Cré na Cille. Daniel has also twice completed the intensive International Students’
Irish Language Summer Course at Áras Mháirtín Uí Chadhain in the heart of the Connemara Gaeltacht.
In addition to his interest in Irish literature in both Irish and English, he also has a keen interest in the
work of authors from his native region, including F. Scott Fitzgerald, Louise Erdrich, Jim Northrup, Leif
Enger, and Klecko.
community, living by the rhythm of the liturgy and striving to remain attuned to the transcendent
hidden beneath the surface of the mundane.
Gemma Lambe
Gemma Lambe hails from Dublin, Ireland, and holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from University College Dublin in Modern Irish Language and Linguistics. Since completing her studies, she has taught both Irish and English in Dublin, Montreal, and at several Irish language workshops in Ontario and Quebec. In 2019, Gemma was awarded a scholarship from the Ireland Canada University Foundation (ICUF) which led her to Canada to teach Irish language and Culture in the Department of Irish Studies at Concordia University in Montreal. She is also the co-founder of the informal Irish language learners meet-up Caifé Gaelach in association with The Department of Irish Studies, Concordia University.
Tim Madigan
Tim Madigan has taught for several years with the Cannon Valley Elder Collegium in Northfield and was an adjunct instructor at MSU Mankato Urban Studies Institute. His professional career was in the city management field and secondary education. He has had a lifelong interest in Irish history.
Nora Murphy
A fifth-generation Irish-Minnesota, Nora Murphy is mother of two grown sons and lives near Wakpa Tanka in Minneapolis. She is the author of six books, including White Birch, Red Hawthorn: A Memoir (University of Minnesota Press), which explores the intergenerational costs of settler colonialism in Minnesota. She holds a BA from University of Chicago and an MFA from Hamline. For the past three years, she has been studying with an Irish culture-bearer from County Kerry.
Dr. Patrick O'Donnell
Dr. Patrick O’Donnell, editor/contributing writer, is a full-time English faculty member at Normandale Community College. The founder of the Saint Paul Irish Arts Week (since 2016), a comprehensive ten-day program in April/May, he is primarily Director of Education at Celtic Junction Arts Center where he coordinates classes and also teaches American, British, and Irish Gothic tales, Irish-American short stories, Irish literature, literary history, and mythology. He co-edited the eighteen-author anthology, The Harp and the Loon: Literary Bridges between Ireland and Minnesota.
Ryan Quinn
Ryan Quinn is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, holding a Bachelor's degree in English Literature and Cultural Studies. While currently working in the field of logistics, Ryan enjoys his studies as an independent scholar into realms of literature such as fantasy, folklore, and myth, paying particular attention to how these stories remain relevant today. Coming from an Irish family background he is interested in the influence Irish and other Celtic stories have had on modern literature. This will be his first teaching opportunity, and he hopes to continue on this path by attending graduate school in the near future.
Julia Topper
Dr. Julia Topper is a musician, Irish dancer, and ethnomusicologist from the Washington, DC region. She holds a MA and PhD in ethnomusicology from the Eastman School of Music and University of Maryland, College Park, respectively, and she has taught at a number of academic institutions in the DC area - mostly recently American University. Julia is currently working on a manuscript based on her doctoral dissertation, which examined the transnationalization of Irish dance through case studies in Japan and the United States. In addition to her academic work, she works as a piano instructor and Irish dance teacher, as well as writing for multiple digital publications, including the Irish Dance Globe and the Feis App.