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O'Brien, Cathleen, 2014, inclusive

Box: Electronic records, E-records: TW_AIA_30_ER_13 (Material Type: electronic records)

Scope and Contents

This interview was conducted by Danielle Zach in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx, New York on July 1, 2014.  The interview covers Cathleen O'Brien's childhood and her political activities. O'Brien discusses her childhood, the importance of Irish cultural activities in her family, and the participation of her parents and grandparents in Irish and Irish American organizations, including Clan na Gael, Friends of Irish Freedom, and Irish Northern Aid Committee (NORAID).  She recounts becoming aware of Irish republican issues, becoming involved in NORAID, and hosting an annual commemoration of the events of Bloody Sunday in 1972. She also discusses the 1981 hunger strike in Northern Ireland and the acquittal of George Harrison in 1982.

Biographical Note

Cathleen O'Brien was born in 1955 in New Rochelle, New York and was raised on Long Island.  She was a member of Irish Northern Aid Committee (NORAID).

Digital materials

O'Brien, Cathleen: 2014- (Material Type: Electronic Record)

O'Brien, Jack, Mar 22, 2011, inclusive

Box: 3, Folder: 24 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Historical/Biographical Note

Jack O'Brien (b. Hoboken, New Jersey, 1928) played fife for the Jefferson Street Hoboken Playground Band, New York World's Fair Champions in 1939. In 2002 he was inducted into the New Jersey Drum Corps Hall of Fame. He has also taught classes at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.

O'Brien, Jack, 2014, inclusive

Box: Electronic records, E-records: TW_AIA_30_ER_24 (Material Type: electronic records)

Scope and Contents

This interview was conducted by Danielle Zach on September 9, 2014 at New York University's Glucksman Ireland House in Manhattan, New York. The interview covers Jack O'Brien's early life in Washington, D.C. and the significance of Irish culture in his life. He recounts how his experiences in the United States Army aided his work representing labor unions in Washington and his involvement with the Irish Republican Information Services in Dublin, Ireland.

Biographical Note

Jack O'Brien was born in Washington, D.C.  in 1938. He graduated from McKinley High School in Washington. He joined the United States Army after high school and served in the Korean War. He left the Army in 1967 and served in the Army Reserves for the next 12 years.

Digital materials

O'Brien, Jack: 2014- (Material Type: Electronic Record)

O'Callaghan, Anne, 2015, inclusive

Box: Electronic records, E-records: TW_AIA_30_ER_54 (Material Type: electronic records)

Scope and Contents

This interview was conducted by Íde B. O'Carroll on April 17, 2015 at the offices of John O'Malley and Associates in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The interview contains Anne O'Callaghan's family ancestry and her early education. She recounts the story of her immigration to the United States,and her work at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. She describes meeting and marrying Sean O'Callaghan and having three children. Callaghan recounts her involvement with the Irish Immigration Center in Philadelphia and her work with Tom Counihan to establish  the original board of directors in 1998.

Biographical Note

Anne O'Callaghan was born in 1942 in Ballybay, County Monaghan, Ireland. She graduated from St. Louis Secondary School in Monaghan. She immigrated to the United States, settling in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1970. She married Sean O'Callaghan in 1971.

Digital materials

O'Callaghan, Anne: 2015- (Material Type: Electronic Record)

O'Callaghan, Patricia, Nov 2, 2007, inclusive

Box: 3, Folder: 25 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)
Box: 5, Cassette: 030_0019 (Material Type: Audio)

Scope and Content Note

Ms. O'Callaghan discusses a variety of topics beginning with her family and childhood in Cork, Ireland and what life was like growing up on a farm. After obtaining a Bachelor of Arts in English, French and Sociology at the University of County Cork, she moved to Dublin to pursue a Higher Diploma in Education at Trinity College. In Dublin she was given the chance to teach inner-city kids, a far cry from the one room school house she attended as a child. She describes returning to Cork to work for Cork Local Radio as a news presenter. Wanderlust led her to answer an ad in the newspaper for a job marketing Irish hand-crafts in San Francisco, California. Ms. O'Callaghan was handed an H-3 Visa to live in what describes as a fantasy life in the United States, an experience that was somewhat different from the lives of the people she helped later in life.

She talks about how she turned a temporary stay into a permanent move after she left California for New York to work as a flight attendant for Transamerica Airlines. Reintegrating the Irish back into her life, she became involved with Adrian Flannelly's Irish radio talk show. She describes how the growing number of undocumented Irish in the mid-1980s led Adrian Flannelly to discuss solutions with the Archdiocese of New York. The talks led to the formation of Project Irish Outreach within the Catholic Charities division of the archdiocese, under the supervision of Monsignor James Murray.

Asked to help with the project's establishment, Ms. O'Callaghan found a real purpose in helping the undocumented. She wrote a small booklet titled Immigrating USA: A Guide for Irish Immigrants to answer immigrants frequently-asked questions. Project Irish Outreach had a great impact on Ms. O'Callaghan and the Irish community and she discusses at length the work that the project was able to do through community outreach, immigration and social services, and partaking in efforts to inform people of their rights. The program became a social worker network in a number of fields.

She recalls the mobilization of the Irish American community along with various other social service and legal organizations during the 1980s, also noting the always positive attitude that Americans, especially New Yorkers, have had towards the Irish.

While discussing the way her position and role within Catholic Charities has diversified and evolved, Ms. O'Callaghan explains the transformation of Project Irish Outreach since its establishment in 1987. She expresses the many ways in which immigration and the immigrants themselves have changed over time, including the complexity of the immigration system and the choices available to immigrants and emigrants. She delves into the hurdles that the undocumented and documented have to face and the ways the immigration system and legislation can evolve to fit the needs of the immigrant population.

She closes with describing the strength of the Irish community and the people that have affected her life through her work and what her Catholic and Irish identities mean to her.

Patricia O'Callaghan was interviewed on 2 November 2007 at Glucksman Ireland House at New York University by Katie Hiebert, Linda Dowling Almeida, and Joe Ready. This oral history was digitally recorded on a Marantz CDR420. The interview is 1 hour, 41 minutes long, on two CDs and had been logged at ten minute intervals.

Historical/Biographical Note

Patricia O'Callaghan (b. 1951 Cork City, Ireland). She emigrated to San Francisco and has become an advocate for immigratant rights. She has run Project Irish Outreach for 20 years.

Other Finding Aids

This interview has been logged at ten-minute intervals, and the Word file is available upon request at tamiment.wagner@nyu.edu.

O'Cearna, Micael, 2014, inclusive

Box: Electronic records, E-records: TW_AIA_30_ER_5 (Material Type: electronic records)

Scope and Contents

These interviews were conducted on April 3, 2014 by Miriam Nyhan and on May 1, 2014 by Siobhra Aiken.  The interviews were conducted at Micael O'Cearna's home in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts. Both of the interviews were conducted in Irish.

Biographical Note

Micael O'Cearna was born in 1920 on Great Blasket Island, County Kerry, Ireland.

Digital materials

O'Cearna, Micael: 2014- (Material Type: Electronic Record)

O'Connor, Patricia Young, May 21, 2011, inclusive

Box: 3, Folder: 26 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Historical/Biographical Note

Patricia Young O'Connor (b. Co. Cork, 1928) became President of the Cork Ladies' Auxiliary of New York in 1960 and served as their delegate to the United Irish Counties Association and to the St. Patrick's Day Parade Committee. She owned a bookstore in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn and worked for the Board of Education at Beach Channel High School until retirement.

O'Donnell, Lisa, 2015, inclusive

Box: Electronic records, E-records: TW_AIA_30_ER_48 (Material Type: electronic records)

Scope and Contents

This interview was conducted by Íde B. O'Carroll in Amherst, Massachusetts on April 10, 2015.  The interview covers Lisa O'Donnell's family, education, and career as an artist. O'Donnell describes her family members, her education, and her interest in the arts.  She discusses her love of drawing as a child, her realization as a teenager that she could become an artist. She discusses her experiences and teachers at Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT) in the 2000s.  She describes relationships she developed with her instructors and other students at GMIT and her decision to immigrate to England. She discusses her influences, her working methods, and projects on which she was working at the time of the interview.  She describes pieces of her work to O'Carroll and the inspiration behind them.

Biographical Note

Lisa O'Donnell was born in 1986 in County Galway, Ireland.  She received her bachelor's degree from Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology in Galway in the 2000s and received her master's degree from Central Saint Martins in London, England in 2011.

Digital materials

O'Donnell, Lisa: 2015- (Material Type: Electronic Record)

O'Donoghue, Clare, Oct 10, 2013

Box: 4, Folder: 72 (Material Type: Audio)

Historical/Biographical Note

Clare O'Donoghue (b. Clonmel, Co. Tipperary, Ireland, 1960) worked as a banker in Ireland, came to Boston in 1992 on a Donnelly visa and works in the health sector.

O'Donoghue, Margaret, Jul 8, 2011, inclusive

Box: 3, Folder: 27 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Historical/Biographical Note

Margaret O'Donoghue (b. Limerick City, Ireland, 1960), a psychotherapist and an adjunct professor at the New York University School of Social Work, emigrated to America in 1982 and is raising two children in New Jersey.

O'Donoghue, Myra, 2015, inclusive

Box: Electronic records, E-records: TW_AIA_30_ER_49 (Material Type: electronic records)

Scope and Contents

This interview was conducted by Íde B. O'Carroll in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on April 15, 2015.  The interview covers Myra O'Donoghue's early life in Ireland and her working life in the United States (US).  O'Donoghue describes her family and recounts memories from her childhood in Ireland. She discusses her interest in the sciences and her experiences in college.  She discusses spending the summer of 1988 in Boston, Massachusetts and her decision to remain in the US. She discusses her decision to apply to doctorate programs in chemistry in 1993 and describes her experiences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology between 1994 and 1998.  She describes the type of work she has done between 1998 to the time of the interview and recounts her experiences as a woman in the chemistry field.

Biographical Note

Myra O'Donoghue was born in 1966 in Clonmel, County Tipperary, Ireland.  She received her bachelor's degree from University College Cork in 1988. She received her doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1998.

Digital materials

O'Donoghue, Myra: 2015- (Material Type: Electronic Record)

O'Donoghue, Noreen Lydon, Jan 22, 2011, inclusive

Box: 3, Folder: 28 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Historical/Biographical Note

Noreen Lydon O'Donoghue (b. Tourmakeady, Co. Mayo, 1947), a fluent Irish speaker, emigrated to New York at the age of 16. She has been active in the Irish Immigration Reform Movement and the Emerald Isle Immigration Center in Woodside, Queens since 1988.

O'Donovan, Brian, Oct 16, 2013

Box: 4, Folder: 73 (Material Type: Audio)

Historical/Biographical Note

Brian O'Donovan (b. Clonakilty, Co. Cork, Ireland, 1957) is host of WGBH radio's 'Celtic Sojourn' and a central figure in the Boston Irish music scene.

O'Dowd, Niall, 2016, inclusive

Box: Electronic records, E-records: TW_AIA_30_ER_89 (Material Type: electronic records)

Scope and Contents

This interview was conducted by Íde B. O'Carroll at Niall O'Dowd's office at the Irish Voice in New York, New York on April 21, 2016.  The interview covers O'Dowd's family, working life, and his involvement in the immigration reform movement. O'Dowd discusses his family and the education and work experiences of his parents.  He discusses his immigration to the United States; his experiences in Chicago, Illinois and San Francisco, California; and his decision to settle permanently in New York in 1985. He recounts his establishment of numerous publications focused on Irish and Irish American issues, including The Irishman, Irish-America Magazine, the Irish Voice, and IrishCentral.  O'Dowd describes the Irish Voice as the main vehicle for promoting the aims of the Irish Immigration Reform Movement in the 1980s, and its advocacy for temporary visa programs sponsored by Representatives Brian J. Donnelly, Bruce Morrison and Howard Berman.  He discusses the decline of print newspapers and the rise of online news sources, and the future of the Irish Voice and IrishCentral.  He recounts his introduction to the politics of Irish and British relations in 1981, his participation in the Northern Ireland peace process, and his involvement in the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform.

Biographical Note

Niall O'Dowd was born in 1953 in Thurles, County Tipperary, Ireland.  He immigrated to the United States in the 1980s, settling in Chicago, Illinois before moving to San Francisco, California and then New York in 1985.  He has launched a number of publications, including The Irishman, Irish-America Magazine, the Irish Voice, and IrishCentral.

Digital materials

O'Dowd, Niall: 2016- (Material Type: Electronic Record)

O'Driscoll, Mae, Nov 18, 2005, inclusive

Box: 3, Folder: 29 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)
Box: 5, MiniDV: 030_0001, 030_0005 (Material Type: video)

Scope and Content Note

In this interview, O'Driscoll provides detailed information on her childhood in Skibbereen, County Cork, Ireland, including living in rural Ireland and the effects World War II had on her family such as power outages and food rationing. She discusses the options available to her after secondary school at the time and her decision to immigrate to the United States in 1958 to further her education.

Upon arriving in New York City, O'Driscoll interviewed with the three companies in the city known for hiring large numbers of Irish: the phone company, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, and Citibank. Within one month of her arrival, O'Driscoll began working at Citibank, a job she kept until 1964. She discusses in detail the discrimination faced by immigrants at the time, including the perception vocalized by an interviewer that the Irish were uneducated. O'Driscoll continues to speak about her early accounting jobs and her eventual hiring at JP Morgan & Co. in 1974.

In 1975, O'Driscoll enrolled at Brooklyn College and received her Bachelor of Science degree in accounting in 1981. She talks about her decision to return to school and the impact it had on her career. She discusses the discrimination she dealt with as a woman working on Wall Street at the time including being passed over for promotions and eventually having to change departments because of the lack of advancement opportunities open to her.

Active in the Irish community, O'Driscoll became involved in the Ladies Auxiliary of the Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH), the National Association for Irish Justice 1969, the Cork Association and in 1989 its first woman president. O' Driscoll served an integral part in the formation of the Irish Immigration Reform Movement (IIRM) in 1987. She discusses in detail the grassroots efforts of the organization including interaction with legislators and the campaign to raise awareness locally and nationally on the issue and is frank in her assessment of the great obstacles facing the very small group. The IIRM was successful in their efforts in 1990 with the passing of HR-4300, the Immigration Act of 1990. O'Driscoll also speaks about her continued involvement with the Emerald Isle Immigration Center in Woodside, Queens.

O'Driscoll currently resides in Brooklyn, New York and is still a member of the Cork Association and a trustee and secretary of the Emerald Isle Immigration Center Executive Committee.

Mae O'Driscoll was interviewed at New York University's Glucksman Ireland House on 18 November 2005 by Bethany Hartzell and Linda Dowling Almeida. This oral history was digitally recorded on a Marantz CDR420. It is 1 hour, 38 minutes, 27 seconds long, on two CDs, and has been logged at ten minute intervals.

Historical/Biographical Note

Mae O'Driscoll (b. 1939), retired Assistant Vice President of the facilities management department for J.P. Morgan Chase, one of the organizers of the Irish Immigration Reform Movement, and a Trustee and Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Emerald Isle Immigration Center.

Other Finding Aids

This interview has been logged at ten-minute intervals, and the Word file is available upon request at tamiment.wagner@nyu.edu.

O'Dwyer, Brian, 2016, inclusive

Box: Electronic records, E-records: TW_AIA_30_ER_62 (Material Type: electronic records)

Scope and Contents

This interview was conducted by Íde B. O'Carroll at Brian O'Dwyer's office at O'Dwyer & Bernstein in New York, New York on May 5, 2016.  The interview covers O'Dwyer's family and working life. O'Dwyer discusses his parents, their extended families, and his siblings. He discusses his experiences in New York Irish American circles and the difficulties he faced making a name for himself after the work of his father and his cousin Frank Durkin in promoting Irish republican issues in the United States.  He recounts his decision to focus on the issues of Irish immigrants, and eventually all immigrants, in New York. He discusses his early involvement in the Irish Immigration Reform Movement in the 1980s, the role of O'Dwyer & Bernstein as the first stop for newly arrived Irish immigrants, and how his involvement in both of these organizations led to the founding of the Emerald Isle Immigration Center (EIIC) in 1986.  He describes the support provided to immigrants through the EIIC. O'Dwyer discusses current immigration issues in the United States at the time of the interview, including division between Democrats and Republicans on the topic and the need for a new immigration policy in the US. He also discusses the Northern Ireland peace process in the 1990s and his views on the Catholic Church.

Biographical Note

Brian O'Dwyer was born in 1945 in New York, New York.  His father was Paul O'Dwyer, who was a prominent lawyer and politician in New York City, and his uncle was William O'Dwyer, who served as mayor of New York between 1946 and 1950.  He founded the Emerald Isle Immigration Center and was serving as the Chair of the organization at the time of the 2016 interview.

Digital materials

O'Dwyer, Brian: 2016- (Material Type: Electronic Record)

O'Fianghusa, Seamus, Apr 21, 2011, inclusive

Box: 3, Folder: 30 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Historical/Biographical Note

Seamus O'Fianghusa (b. Brooklyn, New York, 1976), the grandchild of immigrants from Counties Limerick and Clare, has Korean ancestry through his mother. A fluent Irish speaker and member of the Donegal Association of New York, he served in Afghanistan with the New York National Guard (69th New York Infantry).

O'Hanlan, Terry, Nov 1, 2005, inclusive

Box: 3, Folder: 31 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

O'Hara, Mary, Oct 8, 2009, inclusive

Box: 2, Folder: 32 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Biographical Note

Mary O'Hara was born in Co. Sligo, Ireland, in 1935. A singer and harpist, she became an acclaimed artist in the 1950s and early 1960s. After a twelve-year stint in a monastery, she returned to her passion in 1974 and retired from performing in 1994. Creativity runs in the family; her sister was the well-known actor Joan O'Hara and her nephew is the writer Sebastian Barry.

O'Hara, Teresa, Jul 31, 2013

Box: 4, Folder: 74 (Material Type: Audio)

Historical/Biographical Note

Teresa O'Hara (b. New York, New York, 1965), co-founder of the Irish Immigration Center, Boston, and a Health Policy specialist. She returned to Ireland to teach, currently at the Athlone Institute of Technology.

O'Leary, John and Ellen O'Leary, 2014, inclusive

Box: Electronic records, E-records: TW_AIA_30_ER_1 (Material Type: electronic records)

Scope and Contents

This interview was conducted by Marion Casey at New York University's Glucksman Ireland House in Manhattan, New York on February 27, 2014. The interview covers John O'Leary's early life and family history including his mother's immigration to the United States (US) when she was 13 years old. Ellen O'Leary relates her family history and her experiences growing up in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn. They both share their families's immigration stories and the professions available to them in New York City. Ellen recounts her visit with family in Dromore West, County Sligo, Ireland with her father in 1966.

Biographical Note

John O'Leary was born in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens, New York. Ellen O'Leary was born Ellen Gorry in Brooklyn. Both Ellen and John attended Catholic schools in New York City. Ellen became a public school teacher in 1966. In 2014, they lived together in the Bay Ridge neighborhood of Brooklyn.

Digital materials

O'Leary, John and Ellen O'Leary: 2014- (Material Type: Electronic Record)

O'Leary, Stella, undated

Box: 3, Folder: 33 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Historical/Biographical Note

Stella O'Leary (b. Dublin, Ireland, 1938) won a UNESCO scholarship to travel to America to archive a collection of rare Irish books and manuscripts at the Catholic University of America. In 1996 she founded Irish American Democrats, an organization whose goal was to ensure continuation of the Irish peace process.

O'Mahony, Donal, Oct 5, 2013

Box: 4, Folder: 75 (Material Type: Audio)

Historical/Biographical Note

Donal O'Mahony (b. Clonakilty, Co. Cork, Ireland, 1968) studied ceramics, worked as a painter/decorator in Boston, and as a barman at the Brendan Behan pub. He is facilities manager at Canton High School.

O'Mahony, Rosaleen, Oct 5, 2013

Box: 4, Folder: 76 (Material Type: Audio)

Historical/Biographical Note

Rosaleen O'Mahony (b. New York, New York, 1967) studied ceramics before emigrating to Boston in 1989 where she re-trained as a nurse who specializes in elder care.

O'Malley, James, 2015, inclusive

Box: Electronic records, E-records: TW_AIA_30_ER_46 (Material Type: electronic records)

Scope and Contents

This interview was conducted by Íde B. O'Carroll at James O'Malley's office in New York, New York on March 20, 2015.  The interview covers O'Malley's early life in Ireland and his working life in the United States (US). O'Malley describes his family members and his experiences growing up in Limerick City.  He discusses his education, his decision to transfer from Trinity College in Dublin to University College Galway, and his graduate education in the US. He discusses his decision to enter New York Law School and recounts his experiences working as a paralegal while attending classes at night between 1980 and 1984.  He recounts opening his law office in Manhattan in 1985, describes the growth of the firm, and discusses his decision to focus on immigration law. He also recounts his first impressions of the US in the 1978, his opinion about the creation in Ireland of a minister for the diaspora, and the politicization of New York's St. Patrick's Day Parade.

Biographical Note

James O'Malley was born in 1951 in Limerick City, County Limerick, Ireland.  He graduated from University College Galway in 1977.  He received his law degree from New York Law School in Manhattan, New York in 1984.  He opened his law office in 1985.

Digital materials

O'Malley, James: 2015- (Material Type: Electronic Record)

O'Neill, John, undated

Box: 3, Folder: 34 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Historical/Biographical Note

John O'Neill (b. Labasheeda, Co. Clare, 1930) came to United States in 1949 and within two years joined the County Clare Association of New York. He worked for the MTA for 39 years and at weekends played music in the John O'Neill Band. He raised 4 children on Long Island.

O'Rourke, Hugh, Jan 14, 2009, inclusive

Box: 3, Folder: 35 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Content Note

Some of the themes discussed in this interview include: Irishness and the police force; growing up in the Bronx in the 1940s; Irish New Yorkers and some degree of apathy towards further education; his father and being a Democrat; his parents' view of Ireland versus Hugh's view of Ireland (more positive); and the Irish enclave in East Durham, New York.

This oral history was digitally recorded on a Marantz CDR420. The interview is approximately 160 minutes long, on 3 CDs. The interview took place in New York City on January 14, 2009, and the interviewer was Myriam Nyhan.

Biographical Note

Hugh O'Rourke was born in the Bronx, New York in 1942. He was the son of immigrants from Tyrone and Kerry, Ireland, who arrived in the 1910s and 1920s. Hugh is now retired from the NYPD and has a Ph.D. from the City University of New York. Hugh is the father of Mary O'Rourke who is also a contributor to this collection of oral histories.

O'Rourke, Kevin, Jun 10, 2013

Box: 4, Folder: 77 (Material Type: Audio)

Historical/Biographical Note

Kevin O'Rourke (b. Bern, Switzerland, 1963) studied for a Ph.D. in economics at Harvard University before returning to Ireland in 1994 to teach at University College Dublin, Trinity College Dublin, and, as Chichele Professor of Economic History, University of Oxford.

O'Rourke, Mary, Apr 17, 2009, inclusive

Box: 3, Folder: 36 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Content Note

This oral history was digitally recorded on a Marantz PMD660. The interview is approximately 1 hour long, on 1 CD. The interview took place in New York City on April 17, 2009, and the interviewer was Myriam Nyhan.

Biographical Note

Mary O'Rourke was born on Long Island, New York, in 1980. A teacher by profession, she is an avid soccer and gaelic football player. She is third generation Irish and has a lot of interaction with young Irish immigrants, due to her involvement in Irish sports. Mary is the daughter of Hugh O'Rourke, who is also a contributor to this collection of oral histories.

O'Rourke, Sheila, Jun 1, 2009, inclusive

Box: 3, Folder: 37 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Content Note

This oral history was digitally recorded on a Marantz PMD660. The interview is approximately 2 hours, 43 minutes long, on 3 CDs. The interview took place in San Francisco, California, on June 1, 2009, and the interviewer was Myriam Nyhan.

Biographical Note

Sheila O'Rourke was born in San Francisco in 1939, the daughter of Kerry immigrants who arrived in the 1910s and 1920s. She has worked in financial and customer service environments for most of her career.

O'Sullivan, Kathleen and Downing, Albine, undated

Box: 3, Folder: 38 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

O'Sullivan, Kieran, 2015, inclusive

Box: Electronic records, E-records: TW_AIA_30_ER_37 (Material Type: electronic records)

Scope and Contents

This interview was conducted by Íde B. O'Carroll in Cambridge, Massachusetts on February 12, 2015.  The interview covers Kieran O'Sullivan's early life in Ireland and his working life in Boston. O'Sullivan describes his parents and his childhood in County Kerry.  His discusses his decisions to visit the United States (US) in 1982 and to settle in Boston. He recounts jobs he held in the Boston area in the 1980s, issues he faced as an Irish immigrant in Boston at that time, and help he was able to provide to Irish who arrived in the late 1980s.  He describes the difference in experiences of undocumented immigrants in the US before and after September 11, 2001. O'Sullivan discusses his work as an immigration counselor at the Irish Pastoral Centre in Boston and events the Centre holds at pubs in the Boston area for immigrants in the 2010s.

Biographical Note

Kieran O'Sullivan was born in 1964 in County Kerry, Ireland.  He immigrated to the United States in 1982 and settled in Boston, Massachusetts.  At the time of the 2015 interview, he was an immigration counselor at the Irish Pastoral Centre in Boston.

Digital materials

O'Sullivan, Kieran: 2015- (Material Type: Electronic Record)

O'Sullivan, Sheena, Feb 13, 2009, inclusive

Box: 3, Folder: 39 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Content Note

Some of the key themes in this interview are: her parents' break-up in 1970s Ireland and lack of overt class differences; the significance of returning to higher education in the US; why London didn't ever appeal to her; Irish nurses in the US and how they are seen in comparison with Ireland; the American Dream (track 5); and the Celtic Tiger.

This oral history was digitally recorded on a Marantz PMD660. The interview is approximately 48 minutes long, on 1 CD. The interview took place in Middle Village, New York, on February 13, 2009, and the interviewer was Myriam Nyhan.

Biographical Note

Sheena O'Sullivan was born in London, to Irish immigrants, in 1969. At the age of six months, her family returned to Cahirciveen, Co. Kerry, Ireland. Sheena immigrated to New York in 1994 and has since trained as a nurse. She is married to another Irish immigrant and is the sister of Catriona Hayes, who is also a contributor to this collection of oral histories.

Other Finding Aids

Subject notes have been created by track number, and the Word file is available upon request at tamiment.wagner@nyu.edu.

O'Toole, Larry, 2015, inclusive

Box: Electronic records, E-records: TW_AIA_30_ER_38 (Material Type: electronic records)

Scope and Contents

This interview was conducted by Íde B. O'Carroll in Somerville, Massachusetts on February 13, 2015.  The interview covers Larry O'Toole's family, early life in Ireland, and his working life in the United States (US).  O'Toole describes his family and childhood in Ireland in detail. He describes his paternal grandparents who lived in Shanghai, China in the early 20th century.  He recounts stories told to him by his father about Shanghai in the 1930s and 1940s, in particular his grandfather's work as a policeman with the Shanghai Municipal Police, his father's experiences of conflicts between Chinese communist and nationalist forces, and his work at a newspaper in from the age of 14.  He discusses his childhood and his education in Ireland, and his parents's decision to immigrate to the US in 1965. He discusses, in detail, the death of his father and issues he had in his personal life as a result of this. O'Toole describes in detail jobs he held prior to founding the Gentle Giant Moving Company and relates numerous anecdotes about his life in the US in the 1970s.  He describes his decision to found Gentle Giant and his opinion about the success of the business being due to the camaraderie and physical fitness of his team of movers.

Biographical Note

Larry O'Toole was born in 1950 in Dublin, Ireland and raised in County Clare.  He immigrated to the United States and settled in Somerville, Massachusetts. He founded Gentle Giant Moving Company in 1980.

Digital materials

O'Toole, Larry: 2015- (Material Type: Electronic Record)
Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
2nd Floor
New York, NY 10012