Tipp historian lands much-coveted role at Dublin’s EPIC museum

EPIC, the Irish Emigration Museum, has announced Dr Maurice J Casey as its new Historian-in-Residence.

Dr Casey, who is from Cahir, will conduct pioneering research on Irish emigration and the diaspora as part of his new role. He is the second historian to take up this residency at EPIC, which was created in partnership with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Minister for the Diaspora, Ciarán Cannon. welcomed the appointment: “Our partnership with EPIC is an important aspect of our engagement with the global Irish Diaspora. EPIC’s role in researching and promoting the experiences and lives of the many Irish who left our shores illuminates our past and strengthens our connection to the Irish Diaspora. I’m pleased to support the appointment of a new Historian-in-Residence to continue this work."

To date, Dr Casey has researched social movements in modern Ireland and the Irish diaspora’s contribution to activism abroad. He has studied the lives of Irish rebels and writers involved in various movements across the world, from San Francisco to Siberia. Dr Casey recently received his DPhil at Oxford University and holds degrees from both Trinity College and Cambridge University. Before university, Dr Casey attended Coláiste Dún Iascaigh in Cahir. During his residency at EPIC, which is based in Dublin’s docklands, Dr Casey plans to delve into the hidden stories of Ireland’s emigrants.

“I’m looking forward to helping the team at EPIC highlight diverse and challenging histories of the Irish abroad,” he said. “I’m particularly excited to explore lesser-known diaspora stories, such as the experiences of Irish LGBTQ+ emigrants.”

He also plans to research how the Irish diaspora has interacted with other diaspora communities over the centuries.

 

EPIC’s Historian-in-Residence role was created to help develop strong connections with the Irish community around the globe. As well as conducting in-depth research, Dr Casey will be promoting greater awareness and understanding of our shared history. Over the next year, he will be tasked with developing a series of new exhibitions, workshops and lectures. Tipperary is already well-represented at EPIC. Dr Casey will work alongside Aherlow native, Aileesh Carew, who is the museum’s Director of Sales and Marketing. The museum’s 20 galleries also feature dozens of people with connections to the county.

 

From outlaws and missionaries, to sporting heroes and politicians, the museum’s interactive exhibition tells the story of Tipperarians from every walk of life. Some names of note include Ronald Reagan, who had Irish heritage through his Tipperary-born grandfather, and Ned Kelly, who was the son of an Irish convict from Moyglass. After committing a series of crimes in Tipperary, John Kelly was sent away to Australia in 1841. His son, Ned, then went on to become a notorious bank robber, cop killer and friend of the poor. This divisive character is just one of the 300 explored as part of the museum’s exhibit.

Less conspicuous names include Joseph Shanahan - a Tipperary man who went to Nigeria as a Catholic missionary in 1902. He converted over two million Africans through the foundation of hundreds of schools and two Irish orders. There’s also Walter Butler of Roscrea who was named a Count of the Holy Roman Empire in 1634, because of his work as a ‘soldier of fortune’ in the Imperial Army. Other names with Tipperary roots include Nellie McClung, a suffragette whose campaigning was largely responsible for securing women’s right to vote in the Canadian province of Manitoba, as well as the radical Australian Prime Minister Joseph Benedict Chifley.
Both adults and children are welcome to discover these stories and more at EPIC - the world’s first fully digital museum. Based in the elegant vaults of an 1820s cargo store along Dublin’s Docklands, the museum tells the story of Ireland’s 10 million emigrants.

The interactive exhibitions explore why they left, as well as the adventure, adversity and triumph that awaited them abroad. EPIC reopens to the public on June 29th.