Thursday, February 7
5:30—8 PM
New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park
33 William Street, New Bedford
Frederick Douglass, Ireland,
and Daniel O’Connell
A Symposium on the 19th century
Abolitionist Movement in the U.S.
and Ireland
Join the New Bedford Historical Society, the Irish Institute of Boston College, the Irish Network
Boston, the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, and the Frederick Douglass Family Foundation in an evening of
presentations by noted scholars that will explore Douglass’s journey in Ireland in 1848 and the impact he
made on the Irish who were fighting their own battles against English oppression. The event will also
highlight the relationship between Douglass and Irish abolitionist Daniel O’Connell as they worked to advance the cause of civil rights both in the U.S. and Ireland.
Historians from Boston College, Drew University, the University of Ulster (Jordanstown), and Hofstra University, along with representatives of All Hallows College (Dublin), the Irish government and the
Douglass family, will participate in two roundtable discussions.
The host for this special event is the Frederick Douglass/
Daniel O’Connell Project which is dedicated to strengthening the bonds between Ireland and the United States, encouraging greater understanding of Irish and African diasporas, and promoting and protecting civil and human rights
around the world. A press conference to launch the project
will be held in earlier during the day at the Nathan and
Mary Johnson House, the first free home of Frederick and
Anna Douglass after Douglass’s escape from slavery in
Maryland.
Admission is free. For additional information contact the New Bedford Historical Society at
508-979-8828 or RSVP to [email protected]
Program partners include the Boston College Irish Institute, the Irish Network Boston, the Friendly Sons of St.
Patrick, the Frederick Douglass Family Foundation, the Frederick Douglass Daniel O’Connell Project, the Frederick Douglass Unity House of the University of MA Dartmouth, the New Bedford Historical Society, and the New
Bedford Whaling National Historical Park.