S3E11: John Greene & Maurice Casey - Telling the EPIC Story of Irish Emigration
In this episode we explore the “roots” and “routes” of the Irish diaspora for a very “Global Irish Nation Conversation” with CEO Patrick Greene and Historian-in-Residence Maurice J. Casey Ph.D. of Dublin’s EPIC: The Irish Emigration Museum, voted Europe’s leading tourist attraction the last three years running.
Patrick shares how an apprenticeship in archeology led him into a lifelong international career at the forefront of the movement to make museums more vibrant, relevant, and engaging for visitors.
Maurice describes himself as an “expert in histories of hope, solidarity and the Irish abroad,” and tells of his efforts to include a more diverse range of experiences in the telling of the Irish diaspora story.
We learn how EPIC transformed a vaulted warehouse basement into 20 galleries of immersive sights, sounds, and stories that connect with both the Irish diaspora and the people of Ireland exploring their emigration story.
Join us for a lively discussion on the rich history of emigration from Ireland and the lesser-known story of immigration into Ireland through the lens of EPIC: The Irish Emigration Museum.
Links:
EPIC: The Irish Emigration Museum
John Patrick Greene, CEO & Museum Director
Maurice J. Casey, Ph.D., DFA Historian in Residence
Patrick Greene
Museum Director and CEO
Dr. J. Patrick Greene joined EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum as its new Museum Director and CEO in September 2019. Dr. Greene has extensive experience in the museum, cultural heritage, and tourism sectors in Australia, Europe, and the UK. A published author, keynote speaker, archival researcher, and archaeologist, Dr. Greene is internationally recognized as a visionary leader.
Patrick directed the development of the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester, where he spent 19 years as the Director. He was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Museums Victoria in Australia in August 2002. Under his leadership Museums Victoria became the largest and most-visited encyclopedic museum organization in Australia, comprising the Melbourne Museum, Scienceworks Museum (incorporating the Melbourne Planetarium), the Immigration Museum, the World Heritage-listed Royal Exhibition Building, the Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre, and IMAX Melbourne cinema.
Patrick led the organization and developed the concept of the networked museum that broke down barriers and encouraged teamwork.
EPIC was named Europe’s leading Tourist Attraction in 2019. Patrick has led the Museum’s growth as an internationally recognized visitor attraction
Maurice J. Casey
Research Fellow at Queens University Belfast School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics
Maurice J. Casey is an Irish historian originally from Cahir, Co. Tipperary, and currently a Research Fellow in the School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics, Queen’s University Belfast. His work focuses on the history of modern Ireland, queer history, and the history of international communism in the interwar world.
He holds degrees from Trinity College Dublin, the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford, where he completed his DPhil in History in 2020. He was a Fulbright Scholar at Stanford University from 2018 to 2019.
His writing has appeared in various publications, including History Today, the Irish Times, and Tribune magazine. He also writes a regular newsletter about his research, Archive Rats. Hotel Lux—An Intimate History of Communism's Forgotten Radicals is his first book, and it was shortlisted for an An Post Irish Book Award in the Hodges Figgis History Book of the Year category.
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