HARRY POTTER AND THE CRIMSON DRUIDS
Cullinane Scholars
Kate Chadbourne and Gene Haley Honored
Fifth Kelleher Lecture
28th Annual Harvard Celtic Colloquium
Mission Statement
The Friends of Harvard Celtic Studies, formed in 1993, participate in and support the numerous programs and activities of Harvard's Celtic Department. The primary mission of the Friends is to help fund the following programs:
- Stipends for students attending intensive language courses in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and Brittany.
- Honoraria for visiting students and artists.
- Travel support for students attending conferences or workshops devoted to Celtic studies
- Assistance to middle and high school teachers in introducing Celtic literature and history to their students
- Publications related to research in the Celtic cultures
Another important goal of the Friends is to make accessible to the community at large a rich and assorted presentation of Celtic culture and scholarship and to encourage non-academic member of the area's large Celtic community to partake of Harvard's Celtic activities. We welcome anyone who appreciates Celtic culture and wishes to participate in its dissemination.
Friends Executive Committee
Co-Chairmen
Phil Haughey, Jack Reardon
University Liaison
Elizabeth Gray, Seamus Malin
Public Relations Committee
Kate O'Kelly, Michael Quinlin
Development Committee
Mary MacMillan
Program Committee
Joyce Flynn
Editing
Gene Haley & Margo Granfors
Editorial Assistance
Peggy Anthony
Photography
Margo Granfors, Sandie McDade-Allen
Website
http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~celt_fcs
©Friends of Harvard Celtic Studies 2008
DON'T FORGET
WINTER CÉILÍ
2009
Thursday, March 5, 2009
7:00 pm. - 9:00 p.m., Theatre Room
Harvard Faculty Club
Parking, a block away, at the University's Broadway Garage on Felton Street, has to be described as "limited," but it has always been adequate for Friends and other Celtic Department events.
For more information, call the Celtic Department front desk at 617-496-6305.
Convince a friend to join the Friends!
Commencement 2008
With author J. K. Rowling in attendance Celtic Studies degree recipients made a magical appearance at this year's Commencement exercises. Graced by a most impressive Ph.D., 2008 also saw three Masters hooded.
And for the first time ever, Celtic Department affiliation reached down into the commencement class of the College, as two members of '08 graduated with the new Secondary Field of concentration in Celtic Languages and Literatures.
Katharine K. Olson, PhD
On Tuesday of Commencement Week, Kate (now Doctor) Olson presented to friends, colleagues, and family in the Kates Room at Warren House her dissertation, "Fire from Heaven: Popular Religion and Society in Wales, c. 1400-1603." A fine and fascinating piece of work it is, and very well-received in what was totally 'Kate's Room' for the day.
Not surprising to us is the fact that our Kate has also recently won a 3-year British Academy Fellowship in the History Department of the University of Wales, Bangor. A rare tribute to the talents of a scholar from outside the UK, and richly deserved, though we are already missing her gentle, acute, and industrious presence.
Edyta A. Lehmann, AM
After receiving her Master's degree, Edyta had only a few days before leaving to take an intensive two-week Modern Irish course at Oideas Gael, the highly regarded Irish language and cultural center, some 25 miles west of Donegal town, in Glencolumbkille. Then she would be attending the summer school of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. A native of Poland and the mother of little Max, Edyta is a shining example of today's multi-tasking women.
Sarah E. Zeiser, AM
Sarah took her new Master's degree to London last summer, where she conducted as much pre-dissertation research as was humanly possible. We're sure to be hearing more from this quarter in the months to come.
Helen Scanlon, ALM
Helen's Master's in Liberal Arts in Celtic comes from the Division of Continuing Education, familiarly known as the Extension Program. Extension scholars typically hold down full-time career path jobs, pursuing academic interests at the end of their long working days. So 'Way to go, Helen!'
Mary J. "Molly" Hester, AB
Receiving her baccalaureate in History and Literature, with a secondary field in Celtic Languages and Literatures, Molly Hester '08 has become one of the most welcome members of the Harvard Celtic family. For the last few years, she's been a dependable presence at just about every Friends and Departmental event and affair, her solid performances on the Uileann pipes joining with master fidler Larry Reynolds and other traditional musicians in toe-tapping jigs, reels, and come-all-yas.
An excellent scholar, Molly's been awarded an Inaugural Fulbright Irish Language Grant to study for a master's degree in Irish Gaelic next year at the National University of Ireland (NUI), Galway. The weather in the West will look a lot brighter when that smile arrives.
Timothy J. Smith, AB
Enthusiastic, hardworking Tim Smith '08 owns another great smile. A native of Duxbury Mass., Tim graduated with his degree in Government and a secondary field in Celtic Languages and Literatures. Last summer he directed a capital campaign seeking major donors for the American Legion's Boys and Girls State programs. He's off to law school this fall but hopes to continue his interest and learning in Irish Studies.
Next Story HomeCullinane Scholars
Edyta A. Lehmann, AM '08, was pleased to receive a Cullinane travel grant to attend the Oideas Gael language program in Co.Donegal and the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies summer school.
Rebecca M. Fradkin '12 also received a Cullinane grant for travel to Wales, to attend the Wlpan Awst* intensive summer course in Welsh at Aberystwyth University.
* Awst is Welsh for August; wlpan, which is not to be found in my 1963 edition of the Geiriadur Mawr, derives from Hebrew ulpan, a studio of some sort. GH
Previous Story Next Story HomeKate Chadbourne and Gene Haley honored
In late April, recipients of the Harvard University Certificate of Distinction in Teaching included two members of the Celtic Studies family. Dr. Kathryn A, Chadbourne was again highly prized by her students, this time in Expository Writing, and Dr. Gene C. Haley was likewise praised by graduates and undergraduates in his Celtic 107, Early Irish History course. The award for distinguished teaching is a product of the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning.
Previous Story Next Story HomeFifth Kelleher Lecture
The Faculty Club Library was filled to capacity on Thursday evening, October 9, when Professor Damian McManus kicked off the 28th Harvard Celtic Colloquium with the 5th annual John V. Kelleher Lecture.
Professor McManus hails from the School of Irish & Celtic Languages at Trinity College, Dublin, and his meticulously documented paper, entitled "Good-Looking and Irresistible: The Irish Hero from Early Saga to Classical Poetry", completely captivated his audience.
Beginning with a terse literary illustration from an early metrical tract of duinediglaim, "person-profile" – "profile of the person's form, as two black brows, yellow hair, etc." – he proceeded to share examples from the earliest sagas to bardic praise poems of the high middle ages.
For the greater part of a millennium, Irish literary heroes and noble patrons continued to be described by poets and storytellers as not only superbly flawless in form but also possessed of a luminosity, a brilliance, which set them apart from mere mortals and immortals. All this male perfection had its effect on the fictional female population, of course, and Professor McManus supplied a full two dozen examples from the literature, wherein maidens and married women alike lost self-control in the presence of a storied hero.
At the reception following the Kelleher Lecture members of the audience had the opportunity to ask questions of the speaker. An opening comment frequently overheard was "Loved your talk!"
Previous Story Next Story Home28th Annual Harvard Celtic Colloquium
The 28th Annual Harvard Celtic Colloquium was held Friday through Sunday, October 10-12, 2008, and a fine exhibition it was of brainpower, creativity, and scholarly passion.
Organized by Celtic Department graduate students Kassandra Conley, Edyta Lehmann, and Sarah Zeiser, the event drew speakers from ten countries and three continents.
Two of the scheduled thirty-three speakers (popular scholars Philip Freeman and Timothy Bridgman) were forced by illness to excuse themselves, but Dr. Natalie Franz graciously stepped in to fill one of the open slots.
Of the thirty-two papers thus presented, six were given by graduate students of the Harvard Celtic Department and another eight by graduate students from around the globe. The members of the Friends of Harvard Celtic Studies and the University itself may thus be assured that their support and approval make possible an increasingly important, increasingly popular educational event.
A new addition to the Colloquium program this year was a céilidhe held in the Kates Room of Warren House on the Friday evening and attended by more than fifty people. At one point it seemed at least a quarter of them were waiting in a queue for the chance to sing a favorite song. Everyone agrees that a new Colloquium tradition has been born.
The by-now Saturday night tradition of the Colloquium Banquet at Christopher's in Porter Square had an impressive turnout as well, with even more singing and jollity. On top of all that, the Sunday morning session of papers was so well-attended, and attendees so loath to leave, that the lunchers totally exhausted the supply of sandwiches.
To the organizers, three cheers for a terrific job, Sarah, Edyta, and Kassandra!
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