Over the past years,The Irish Literary & Historical Society has hosted the following guest speakers:

• Monday, March 1: Special Event, The Boys of St. Columb’s - Documentary and Lecture. This 50-minute film focuses on St. Columb’s School in Derry as a lens to understand changes in the
  Northern Ireland educational system.  The producer interviews eight of the school’s most internationally renowned alumni: Paul Brady, Phil Coulter, Dr. Edward Daly, Seamus Deane, Eamonn McCann, James Sharkey—and its two Nobel Prize winners, John Hume and Seamus Heaney.

• Friday, February 26:  Bridget Connelly, scholar of folklore and comparative literature and Professor Emeritus of Rhetoric, U.C. Berkeley, discussed the topic of her book, Forgetting Ireland: Uncovering a Family’s Secret History. Venue: United Irish Cultural Center at 7.30 pm. 2700 45th Avenue, San Francisco.

• Friday, January 29, 2010: Robert Tracy, Professor Emeritus of English and of Celtic Studies, U.C. Berkeley, will talk about the Irish Sculptor Seamus Murphy and His Work at St. Brigid’s Church in San Francisco.

• Friday November 13, 2009;  SCIENCE AND POETRY: POLAR OPPOSITES OR NOT SO DIFFERENT?  Poet and physicist Iggy McGovern will talk about poetry and science. He will also read from his award winning book The King of Suburbia.
  

• Friday, September 25, 2009:  Aodh Og O'Tuama and Christy Martin of the internationally celebrated Celtic duo Four Shillings Short in a special lecture/performance of Irish Poetry and Music.

• Friday, May 29, 2009:  Author Bill Yenne will discuss his recent book, Guinness: The 250 Year Quest for the Perfect Pint.

• Friday, April 24, 2009:  Moynagh Sullivan, Ph.D., Lecturer, Department of English, National University of Ireland, Maynooth and Fulbright Visiting Scholar, University of California, Berkeley. will speak on Women’s Studies and Contemporary Irish Culture.

• Sunday, March 15, 2009: - St. Patrick's Banquet, Guest Speaker Sheriff Michael Hennessy.

• Friday, February 27,2009: - “A Winter’s Evening with Wilde Irish Productions” This will be an evening of music and drama.
  

• Friday, January 30, 2009: - Eric Falci, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, University of California , Berkeley. Topic: The Irish Poet’s Place in Irish History.

• Friday, November 7, 2008:  - Irish scholar Rose Murphy will speak about the subject of her recently published book, Ella Young, Irish Mystic and Rebel: From Literary Dublin to the American West, in which she portrays the fascinating life of a significant but little known figure in early 20th century Ireland.  Friend of Yeats, Maud Gonne, and other luminaries of the Irish Literary Renaissance, Ella Young later emigrated to California , where she brought the rich folklore of Ireland to audiences in the American West. 

• Friday, September 26, 2008 - Valerie Hemingway is a journalist, lecturer and author of Running with the Bulls: My Years with the Hemingways. The title of her talk will be From Baile Atha Cliath to Bozeman: One Irish Woman’s Odyssey.

• Friday, May 23, 2008 - Gemma Whelan will present a reading performance of her original screenplay Mac, which traces the journey of Anew McMaster (Mac), legendary actor-manager of the Irish theatre from the 1920s to the 1950s. 

• Friday, April 25, 2008 - Dr. Mark Maguire, Dept. of Anthropology, National University of Ireland, Maynooth and Fulbright Advanced Scholar, Stanford & Western Institute of Irish Studies, will speak on The New Irish: Migration and Social Change.

• Hon. William Newsom read from Flan O'Brien's works and discussed his contributions to Irish Literature -St. Patrick’s Banquet
  

• Daniel Cassidy, co-director and founder, Irish Studies Program, New College, San Francisco,The Inside Story on How the Irish Invented Slang.

• Special Event: Anne Enright, winner of the 2007 Man Booker Prize: read from her work and in conversation with May 2006 ILHS speaker and IMPAC Award winner, Colm Toibin. This event was co-sponsored with The Irish Arts Foundation and The Consulate General of Ireland.

• Catherine Duggan, Esq. Ancient Irish Law: An Enlightened Approach to Dispute Resolution. 

• Paul Whitworth, actor, director, and Artistic Director of Shakespeare Santa Cruz, spoke about his productions of The Playboy of the Western World by John Millington Synge and Endgame by Samuel Beckett in their centenary and fiftieth year, respectively. His talk focused on the theme of freedom in each play and how this is dramatically realized in the stage production;

• Actress Mary Rose McMaster on her father, Anew McMaster, legendary actor-manager of the Irish stage;

• Stephen Arkin, Ph.D., Professor of English at San Francisco State University, spoke about John McGahern: His Life and Legacy;

• Robert Tracy, Professor Emeritus of English & Celtic Studies (University of California), What Stood in the Post Office: Placing the Cuchulain Statue;

• Emer Deane, Irish Consul General, San Francisco, Tempers Rising: Reactions to President McAleese’s Remarks at UCC (January 2006) on the 1916 Rising;

• John Borgonovo, author and scholar, A Destiny that Shapes our Ends: the Story of Florence and Josephine O’Donoghue;

• Colm Tóibín, Irish writer and winner of the IMPAC Literary Award, An Evening with Colm Toibin;

• Desmond Byrne, Ph.D., Irish Missions in Nigeria;
  

• Paul Arthur, Professor of Politics and Course Director of the Graduate Program in Peace & Conflict Studies at the University of Ulster spoke on The Irish Peace Process and the Changing Political Landscape. Event co-sponsored by the Irish and British Consulates;

• Irish Broadcaster and author Myles Dungan spoke on Thomas Fitzpatrick & J.Ross Browne, Nineteenth Century Federal Indian Agents in the American West;

• Acclaimed Irish Poet and Stanford Professor Eavan Boland read from her work; 

• Kevin Starr, California historian and recipient of the 2006 National Humanities Medal, was the guest speaker at our St. Patrick’s Banquet;
  

• Professor David Vela, Diablo Valley College, Samuel Beckett and the Gift of Languages;

• Professor Timothy O’Keefe (Santa Clara University), The Irish in the San Francisco Bay Area: Essays on Good Fortune (St. Patrick’s Day Banquet speaker);

• Kevin Mullaney, “Your Abilities [Sir]… are not so formidable”: A Literary Tour;

• Professor Matthew Spangler (San Jose State), African/Asian/Irish: Race, Performing Ulysses, and Dublin Street Theatre;

IMPAC Literary Award Winner Colm Tóibín with ILHS President Kathleen Kovach

Colm Tóibín addresses the ILHS

Ed Callanan, Executive Council Chair and Kathleen Kovach, President present a certificate of appreciation and flowers to Eileen Kivlehan

Members and guests gather for a social hour after meetings, where coffee, tea and Irish breads are served