It has been a busy year so far! In addition to adding new books to our library collection and increasing our public open hours, the McKiernan Library launched our new local history exhibition on the Twin Cities Irish American Club at Irish Arts Week in April. The launch event was a unique chance to connect with an older generation of Irish-Minnesotans who kept Irish culture and music alive in St. Paul for decades. Then, this month, we released an oral history interview with the acclaimed Ukrainian-Minnesotan musician Peter Ostroushko who had many connections to the Irish music scene and who passed away in 2021.

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Twin Cities Irish American Club Exhibition and Launch Event

The McKiernan Library launched its new photo exhibition on the Twin Cities Irish American Club on April 24 as part of CJAC’s Irish Arts Week.

CLICK HERE to watch my talk and the launch event!

The 20 photos in the display document such things as: Margaret “Sis” McDonough’s involvement with Festival of Nations events prior to 1948 when the club was formed, the arrival of brothers Con and Michael Sullivan from Kerry and their welcome from cousin Pat Mahony in 1948, Kerry-born singer and Gaelic football player Denis Dee, Tipperary-born poet and fiddle player Patrick Hill, Irish-Minnesotan draftees in the Korean War, accordion player Martin McHugh’s involvement from the 1950s through today, saxophonist and bagpipe player Emmet McCarthy of Cork, connections to musicians in Chicago and Boston including accordion player Johnny Powell, the musical priest Father Maurice McNiff, fiddler Tony Doherty, fiddlers Mike Nash and Mike Hughes, the Brian Boru Irish Pipe Band’s involvement and numerous dancers. In addition to the photos, some items in the display include QR codes that link to sound clips of music or oral history soundbites.

The launch event was a very special occasion. Several members of the original Irish American Club were present including Pat Mahony Dee, Denis Dee, Bridie Kaphing and Martin McHugh. Margaret McDonough’s children Tim and Rose were also there with many others from the McDonough, Morin and Malone clans.

I spoke about my research into the club’s history for an hour. Then, we had a few stories from Pat Dee, Tim Morin and Tim’s sister Rose. Martin McHugh closed out the event with tunes on his accordion accompanied by Laura MacKenzie and Dáithí Sproule.

For those that missed it, the entire Twin Cities Irish American Club event was videotaped and is available to watch on the Celtic Junction Arts Center’s YouTube page. The photo exhibition will be up for the next several months in Celtic Junction stairwell heading up to the McKiernan Library and in the hallways between the McKiernan Library and the new Irish College classroom.

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Peter Ostroushko Oral History Interview Online

This month, the McKiernan Library released an oral history interview done with the amazing Peter Ostroushko by Peter’s friend Dáithí Sproule in 2019. So many were heartbroken at the loss of Peter in 2021 and we are very grateful that Dáithí sat down with Peter for this wide-ranging reflection on Peter’s remarkable life story. Thank you also to volunteer Jim Tarbox who took on the (large) task of transcribing the nearly three hour-long conversation!

Peter Ostroushko was the son of Ukrainian parents who met in a displaced persons camp in Austria after WWII. He grew up in northeast Minneapolis, became one of the most sought after musicians in the North American folk scene and was fluent in many genres and traditions. Peter’s broad musical appetite and expertise included Irish traditional fiddle playing which he studied and practiced for much of his career. You can listen to (and read) the Peter Ostroushko interview here.

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Open Hours: Mondays and Thursday 4:30-8:30

In March, the McKiernan Library expanded our 2022 open hours from Thursday evenings to both Monday and Thursday evenings from 4:30 to 8:30pm. These hours will continue through the summer with the following exceptions (days we’ll be closed): 5/30, 7/4, 8/29, 9/1, 9/5.

We still need more volunteer library monitors to help us stay open both nights each week! Contact Brian to sign up.

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Supporting Irish College Classes

This year, the McKiernan Library is working with CJAC Education Director Patrick O’Donnell and the teachers at CJAC’s Irish College of Minnesota to purchase books for the McKiernan Library that coincide with classes offered by the Irish College. This Spring, we purchased Collected Poems by Patrick Kavanagh, A Skeleton Key to Finnegan’s Wake by Campbell and Robinson, Éamon de Valera: A Will to Power by Ronan Fanning and Le Morte D’Arthur: The Winchester Manuscript by Thomas Malory. The McKiernan Library looks forward to finding more ways to support the classes offered by the Irish College. All these books are now part of our permanent collection and, like all our books, DVDs and CDs, are available to checkout!