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Debunking the Irish-Caribbean Connection: Unravelling Myths and Historical Realities

Dr. Ellen Howley joins Hema to discuss the complex and nuanced history between Ireland and the Caribbean. 

In the context of Irish history from the 17th century, the British Empire, and the forced migration under Cromwell, Dr. Howley shares the complexity of some Irish people being sent to the Caribbean as indentured servants, while others chose to go and even prospered under the British Empire.

The Irish presence in the Caribbean, particularly on islands like Montserrat and Barbados, remains today, including the ongoing St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in Montserrat. 

Dr. Ellen Howley is an assistant professor at Dublin City University's School of English. Her book Oceanic Connections: The Sea in Irish and Caribbean Poetry will be published by Syracuse University Press later this year. The book examines how anglophone poets from Ireland and the Caribbean write about the sea. She completed her PhD in 2020 and has published work in academic journals and online publications. 

Website

Article: Entangled Islands exhibition explores the history of the Irish people in the Caribbean - an expert review

Resources

• EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum 
• Entangled Islands - Ireland and the Caribbean YouTube video
• Donald Harman Akenson, If the Irish Ran the World: Montserrat, 1630-1730
• Sean O'Callaghan, To Hell or Barbados
• Finola O'Kane and Ciaran O'Neill (eds.) Ireland, Slavery and the Caribbean
• Jerome S. Handler; Matthew C. Reilly, "Contesting "White Slavery" in the Caribbean: Enslaved Africans and European Indentured Servants in Seventeenth Century Barbados"
• Alison Donnell, Maria McGarrity, Evelyn O'Callaghan (eds) Caribbean Irish Connections: Interdisciplinary Perspectives
• Liam Hogan's work on the "Irish Slave" meme
• Liam Hogan, Laura McAtackney and Matthew Reilly. "The Irish in the Anglo-Caribbean: Servants or Slaves?" 
•  M. M. O'Connor, Caribbean Slave Owners & Other Lesser Known Histories of County Mayo
• Karst de Jong, The Irish in Jamaica during the long eighteenth century (1698-1836) 
• Nini Rogers, Ireland, Slavery and Anti-slavery
• Michael Malouf, Transatlanti

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