“Long looked for, come at last”: Whiteboyism*, Ribbonism, and Resistance in Irish Newfoundland in the 18th and 19th Centuries.

A public talk by Willeen G. Keough

Many writings about the Irish in Atlantic Canada follow themes of early marginalization, the rise of an ambitious middle class, and ultimate acceptance into dominant culture. This was not the trajectory, however, for the many Irish immigrants who remained in the popular class.

In Newfoundland, where the fisheries were the paramount economic activity, Irish-Catholic fishing families worked alongside English-Protestant neighbours.

Yet both class and ethnic tensions flared, especially in moments of economic downturn, and the thrum of resistance against an Anglo-Protestant oligarchy underscored moments of communal violence in the 18th and 19th centuries.

*”Whiteboys” – a secret rural society that fought for tenants’ rights in 18th century Ireland.

Admission is free.  All are welcome.

Willeen G. Keough is a Professor in the Department of History at Simon Fraser University. She hails from Newfoundland, and her research and teaching have been deeply immersed in issues affecting Atlantic Canada. She has written and published extensively in the fields of gender, ethnicity, communal violence, and collective historical memory.