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The speakers series will be at the Butte Brewing Company on Saturday Aug 15.
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Sean McKearnan Photographic Display documentating the "The Troubles" can be viewed at the Copper Bowl - Finlen Hotel on Friday Aug 14 and Saturday Aug 15 from 10 am to 6 pm.
Saturday Aug 15 @10:00 am
Butte Brewing Company
Leadville Irish Memorial
Professor James Walsh will share the story of the newly unveiled Leadville Irish Memorial, a powerful public history space honoring the lives of the 19th-century Irish immigrants in Colorado's silver mining community. Drawing on decades of research, Walsh will explore the history of the Irish workers buried in unmarked pauper graves and the importance of preserving their stories. Walsh is a Political Science Professor at the University of Colorado Denver and founder of the Rocky Mountain Irish Roots Collective, dedicated to highlighting the Irish immigrant history throughout the American West.
Saturday Aug 15 @ 11 am
Butte Brewing Company
The 1916 Fiddle
Tommy Byrne will share the story of his great-grandfather, Thomas Traynor, a participant in the 1916 Easter Rising who was executed at Mountjoy Prison and became one of the "Forgotten Ten" - Irish Republican volunteers buried in unmarked graves until they received state funerals in 2001. Before his execution, Traynor's final words to his eldest son were, "Keep playing the music, son, I will always hear you". Tommy continues that legacy, playing Traynor's fiddle for more than 35 years around the world.
Photographic display @ The Copper Bowl in the Finlen Hotel. Friday Aug 14 & Saturday Aug 15 from 10am to 6pm.
Saturday Aug 15 @ 12 pm
Butte Brewing Company
Belfast-Conflict to Peace
Documentary photographer Sean McKernan will present a compelling talk on his powerful photographic exhibition, a rare collection of images captured in Belfast over four decades during a period of conflict, change, and transition toward peace. Through his lens, Sean McKernan documents the realities of a city shaped by unrest, revealing the impact of conflict on everyday life and the resilience of communities along the fragile path of peace. His photographs will be on exhibit at the Finlen Hotel throughout the An Ri Ra Irish Festival, offering visitors a unique opportunity to experience this remarkable visual history.
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