Mary C. Kelly

Professor of History

Affiliation

College of Liberal Arts, Business, Social Science, and Education

kellymc@franklinpierce.edu

Phone

(603) 899-4392

ACADEMIC PROGRAM(S)

History
Global Irish Studies Certificate

EDUCATION

B.A. (Hons.): History/English. National University of Ireland, Galway, 1988
M.A. (1st Class): Modern Irish History. National University of Ireland, Galway, 1988
Ph.D. Modern American History. Maxwell School (History), Syracuse University, 1997

COURSES TAUGHT

HS132: Reel History: American Stories on Film
HS200: Who’s Who in American History
HS203: War & Peace in Modern America:1877-1945
HS204: U.S. History Since 1945
HS206: Protest in America
HS210: Sports Cultures and American History
HS228: Witches: Witch-Hunts in Early Modern Transatlantic History
HS229: Thrones & Drones: Modern European History
HS246: Multimedia History
HS275: History Workshop
HS314: American Immigrant History
HS322: American Gender History
HS323: The Big Idea: American Intellectual History
HS337: Nazi Germany
HS340: Ireland Since 1500
HS341: American Women’s History
HS410: History Research Seminar
HS491: Field-based Experience in History

RESEARCH INTERESTS AND AREAS

My research in the field of Irish-American history focuses on 19th and early 20th century immigrant and settlement experiences, with particular attention to New York and Boston. I have published on Irish-American Famine impact and memory, and aspects of ethnic political, intellectual and religious expression. My current research centers on Famine-era immigrant Irish culture in Boston.

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

American Historical Association
American Conference for Irish Studies
American Federation of Teachers-NH
American Association of University Women
Charitable Irish Society (Boston)
Organization of American Historians
Holyoke St. Patrick’s Day Parade (Honorary lifetime membership)

New Hampshire Humanities “Humanities To Go” Program Speaker: "Ireland’s Great Famine in Irish-American History" and “Soldiers of Destiny: Ireland’s Struggle for Independence.”
NHH-Humanities-To-Go Book group host; various titles
NHH Big Read Book Group Host, Fall 2023; selected book: The Bear
Panel Chair and presenter, “Co- and Extra-Curricular Adventures in Irish Studies Programs.” New England-American Conference for Irish Studies, Boston College, October 2023
Invited talk on Navigating Historical Crosscurrents in the Irish Atlantic: Irish Studies Department, Boston College, September 21, 2022
Contributor, The Hunger: The Story of the Irish Famine documentary film; aired on national TV network RTÉ One (Ireland) November 30th and December 7th, 2020; PBS, 2022.

FPU Faculty Research Grants: 2024-25, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016 and previously
FPU Faculty Development Grants (annual)

External Reviewer for a New England-area institution's History Department; January-March 2025
Boston Globe interview on the Irish in NH and St. Patrick’s Day, March 14, 2025
Slate Magazine interview on St. Patrick’s Day, February 28, 2025
Book manuscript reviewer, Syracuse University Press, 2025
Grant Proposal reviewer, December 2024; SSHRC Canada
Prof. Mary C. Kelly is featured in Getting to Know You Podcast 2023
https://soundcloud.com/franklinpierceu/mary-podcast-g

HONORS AND AWARDS

2019, 2017, 2012, 2011, 2009: FPU Faculty Appreciation Awards
2016: City of Holyoke St. Patrick’s Day Ambassador Award
2014: Keene State College President’s Outstanding Women of NH Award
2001-2002, FPC Faculty of the Year

PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS

Books

Editor: Navigating Historical Crosscurrents in the Irish Atlantic: Essays for Catherine B. Shannon, Cork University Press, 2022.

Ireland’s Great Famine in Irish-American History: Enshrining a Fateful Memory. 2014; Rowman & Littlefield. Paperback ed. 2016.

The Shamrock and the Lily: The New York Irish and the Creation of a Transatlantic Identity, 1845-1921. New York: Peter Lang Publishing, 2005.

Book Chapters/Articles

"How Remembering the Famine Shaped Irish American Identity." Chapter in Routledge Handbook of Irish America. Eds. Cian T. McMahon & Kate Costello-Sullivan. Routledge, 2024.

"Spiritual heirs of the great Protestants who gave their lives for Ireland: Expanding Irish-American Nationalist Landscapes, 1919-1922.” Journal of American Ethnic History vol. 40, no. 4 (Summer 2021): pp. 5-40.

“The Hand of Friendship: Protestants, Irish Americans and 1916-era Nationalism.” Chapter in Ireland’s Allies: America and the 1916 Easter Rising, ed. Miriam Nyhan Grey. Dublin: UCD Press, 2016: 218-227.

Book Reviews

The Green Space: The Transformation of the Irish Image, by Marion R. Casey; forthcoming, 2025

Of Memory and the Misplaced: Irish Immigrant Life Writing in the United States, by Sarah O’Brien. Irish Literary Supplement 44, no. 2 (Spring 2025)

Ambush at Central Park: When the IRA Came to New York, by Mark Bulik. Choice (ALS) 2023.

The Beat Cop: Chicago’s Chief O’Neill and the Creation of Irish Music, by Michael O’Malley. Journal of Social History (November 2023); https://doi.org/10.1093/jsh/shad077.

The Coffin Ship: Life and Death at Sea during the Great Irish Famine, by Cian T. McMahon. Choice (ALS), fall 2021; also reviewed for Irish Literary Supplement, Spring 2022.

General Editor, Navigating Historical Crosscurrents in the Irish Atlantic: Essays for Catherine B. Shannon. Cork University Press, 2022.

Ireland’s Great Famine in Irish-American History: Enshrining a Fateful Memory. Rowman & Littlefield. Hardback 2014; paperback, 2016.

The Shamrock and the Lily: The New York Irish and the Creation of a Transatlantic Identity, 1845-1921. Peter Lang Publishing, 2005.

Conference Papers/Keynotes/Invited Talks

New Hampshire Humanities “Humanities To Go” Program Speaker and Book Group Host; NH libraries, historical societies, community groups. Public Lecture Programs:
“Ireland’s Great Famine in Irish-American History”
“A Nation Once Again: Ireland’s Road to Independence, 1169-1999.”
-NHH Book Group Host; various titles
-Fall 2023 NHH Big Read Book Group Host, The Bear

Panelist, Roundtable: Living Book Review of Becoming Irish American, by Timothy J. Meagher. ACIS National Conference, Savannah, GA, February 24, 2025

Panel Chair and presenter, “Co- and Extra-Curricular Adventures in Irish Studies Programs.” NEACIS, Boston College, October 2023

Invited talk on Navigating Historical Crosscurrents in the Irish Atlantic: Irish Studies Department, Burns Library, Boston College, September 21, 2022