The Historical Irish Times – and a lot of other Irish research options at your fingertips

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Learn all you can about this exuberant holiday and a few other topics, through ProQuest. 

Here are a few fun facts about the day to get you started…

• • The first St. Patrick’s Day was established on March 17, 1903, in honor of Ireland’s Patron Saint Patrick.
  • St. Patrick’s Day was established to be a day of prayer for truth and settlement.
  • The color green is in memory of St. Patrick.

Where can you find more information about the Irish people and their culture? Glad you asked! We also have a treasure trove of research on Irish topics, such as:

• • The Historical Irish Times (1859-2008) offers full page and article images, with searchable full text, back to the first issue of both the Irish Times and the Weekly Irish Times (1876-1958). The collection includes digital reproductions, providing access to every page from every available issue.
  • There is a lot of research on the Great Potato Famine of 1840, like this: “Analyzing Spatiotemporal Change by Use of National Historical Geographical Information Systems: Population Change during and after the Great Irish Famine.” (Gregory, Ian N; Ell, Paul S. Historical Methods 38.4  (Fall 2005): 149-167.)
  • And of course there are dissertations, like “An historical archaeology of the Irish proletarian diaspora: The material manifestations of Irish identity in America, 1850—1910.” (Brighton, Stephen Anthony George. Boston University, ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 2005. 3171128.)
  • We can’t forget the music! “Sound Reviews: Irish Traditional Music on Audio Recordings: A Core Historical Collection.” (Smith, Christopher J. Journal of American Folklore 125  (Summer 2012): 343-358.)
  • Or that accent: “Victories fastened in grammar: historical documentation of Irish English.” (McCafferty, Kevin. English Today 27.2  (Jun 2011): 17-24.)