About the Autumn School

Who belongs? Migration didn’t invent the question, but it refuses to let anyone dodge it. Every wave of people arriving somewhere new forces the same reckoning: who gets called local, who gets called outsider, and who decides?

The 2026 Allihies Autumn School explored migration, identity, and the politics of place through scholarship, lived experience, creative work, and public conversation. Over three days, it brought together researchers, archivists, artists, historians, and community voices from Ireland and the United States.

Speakers and contributors

Teresa Buczkowska

Immigrant Council of Ireland

CEO of the Immigrant Council of Ireland, writer, and media commentator on migration, democracy, and women’s rights. Her work has appeared in The Irish Times, Irish Independent, Dublin Inquirer, The Journal, and openDemocracy. She received the Women of Europe – Woman in Media Award in 2024 and is a 2022 Obama Scholar.

Dr Andrea Ciribuco

University of Galway

Lecturer in the School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures at the University of Galway. His work focuses on translation, intercultural communication, and migrant integration, and his presentation addressed migration in rural areas.

Prof. Flora Cornish

London School of Economics

Born on the Beara Peninsula, Flora Cornish is Professor in Research Methodology at the London School of Economics. Her session reflected on family migrations into and out of Beara and invited participants into a writing exercise on mobility and memory.

Aubrey Edwards

Artist and Public Humanities Researcher

A multidisciplinary artist, cultural anthropologist, historical archaeologist, and memory worker based in Wyoming. Her project An American Wake: Filleadh explores the lives, labour, and legacies of Irish immigrant workers in the American West.

Kathleen Fitzsimmons

Leadville History Hub

Educator, public historian, and researcher from Leadville, Colorado, Kathleen Fitzsimmons focuses on Irish immigration to the American West, immigrant identity, and the social history of mining communities.

Luke Finken

Leadville, Colorado

Educator and community leader in Leadville, Luke Finken has been involved in public life, heritage, and business, including the Leadville Irish Miners’ Memorial and the twinning of Leadville and Allihies.

Prof. Mary Gilmartin

Maynooth University

Professor of Geography at Maynooth University whose research focuses on contemporary migration to and from Ireland. Her presentation was titled Making sense of migration.

Aubrey Jaap

Butte-Silver Bow Public Archives

Director of the Butte-Silver Bow Public Archives, Aubrey Jaap works to preserve and share Butte’s cultural heritage through exhibits, oral history, public programming, and community outreach.

Lindsay Mulcahy

Butte-Silver Bow Public Archives

Assistant Director of the Butte-Silver Bow Public Archives, Lindsay Mulcahy is passionate about helping people discover Butte’s rich history and also serves on local historical and festival committees.

Zak Moradi

Featured film subject

Semaco “Zak” Moradi is a Kurdish-Irish hurler who moved from Iraq to Ireland in 2002. His story is featured in Home: The Story of Zak Moradi.

Local voices

Community contributors

Pat Holland, Donal Kelly, and Michael “Miney” O’Sullivan shared stories of emigration and return, and of life in the 1950s and 1960s.