13/10/2026
Join us at New Ross Library for a fascinating exploration of history, memory, and identity on Thursday, October 15 at 3:30pm.
A Ghost from the Past: O’Neill, the Emigrant Experience & Intergenerational Memory
Book here:
https://wexfordcoco.libcal.com/event/4583428
Richard Hayes and Kieran Cronin explore Eugene O’Neill’s connections to New Ross, the dramatic life of his father James, and the circumstances surrounding the mysterious death of his grandfather, reflecting on the extent to which O’Neill can be considered an “Irish” playwright, and on the influence of the emigrant experience on his writing.
With this evening’s performance of Long Day’s Journey Into Night in mind, the discussion explores universal questions about human relationships in the context of societal devastation, whether through emigration, poverty, or political and cultural change, considering how the past still shapes the present, and how memory can be a form of entrapment.
Dr Richard Hayes is Vice President for Strategy at South East Technological University.
Kieran Cronin is Special Collections, Heritage & Outreach Librarian at South East Technological University.
