Irish dead of American Civil War recalled

Former Irish diplomat Con Howard has been on a mission for many years to bring the real story of Irish involvement in the American…

Former Irish diplomat Con Howard has been on a mission for many years to bring the real story of Irish involvement in the American Civil War to a wider audience.

A regular at the Merriman Summer School and one of its founding members, he has, says broadcaster Ciaran Mac Mathuna, a passion for the subject. His work in the diplomatic service in America focused his attention on what he believed was a great but untold story.

A large number of Irish soldiers laid down their lives in that bitter war in which 600,000 died - but despite a plethora of books about it, the Irish involvement has not been catalogued properly. Mr Howard was determined to right that wrong.

On October 13th at three venues in the US - Boston, Washington and New York - academics will gather for two weeks to discuss a divisive epoch in the making of America and the role played during that time by Irish soldiers and officers.

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Sponsorship will come from both sides of the Atlantic. Up to 40 people are expected to travel from Ireland to the conference - an inaugural event which Mr Howard hopes will mark the start of something permanent. About 120 people are expected to attend from the US.

The conference will be addressed by Dr Sam Newland of the US Military Institute who will discuss the Irish in the Union forces; Dr David Gleeson, Savannah State University, on the Irish on the Confederate side; Dr Eileen McMahon, Loyola University, Chicago, on the role of the Chicago Irish in the conflict; Dr Lawrence Kohl, University of Alabama, on the Irish Brigade in the Union army; and Ciaran Brady of Trinity College, Dublin.

The expectation is that it will lead to similar conferences every two years, alternating between the US and Ireland.

"There is no end to the amount of stories that are waiting to be told. Not only were there great feats on the battle field but think of all that flowed from the war afterwards. The emergence of the Irish as a political force in America, their growing confidence in the commercial sector and as educators - it is a fascinating subject," Mr Howard says.

Somewhat in the spirit of the Merriman School, the introductory conference will include visits to historic sites as well as lectures and academic interaction. "It's an enormous story but for almost a century and a half, it has not been told as it should have been."

The idea for the conference was spawned when the St Brendan Society was founded by Mr Howard in the US more than 20 years ago. The society is dedicated to the spirit of enterprise and international friendship.

The hope existed that scholars would come together to spotlight the significant part the Irish played during the war. On both the Union and Confederate sides, they died in considerable numbers at the battles of Shiloh (1862), Gettysburg (1863), and Petersburg (1864). "There were rivers of blood, heroic actions on a grand scale and mad idealism. The story is a blockbuster and finally, it's going to be told," he says.

On the Confederate side the Irish were in fact the most numerous foreign-born group in all states. The society has sought to further Irish-American relations by bringing the Asgard to America and making an hour-long film about the Irish contribution in the new world. It has been shown on American, British and Irish television. "On each side there were tremendous acts of heroism. The aim of the conference, which is a bit like a seed germinating for a very long time, will be to explore all of this and bring it into the public domain."

One discussion will centre on the "soldiers' general", Gen Curtin of the Union army who was originally from the parish of Dysart O'Dea in Co Clare. His humanity towards the wounded and the widowed in the war was legendary. He was also the director of elections for Abraham Lincoln and governor of Pennsylvania.

"He was from my own parish in Clare but very few people in the county know about him. During my years in America I discovered the real story and telling it will be my contribution to the conference."