DIANE MAKAR MURPHY With luck, group will preserve Irish heritage

"Being Irish," said Kaye Smith, "is like being a magnet. Everyone knows someone who is Irish or wants to be."
"Especially at St. Patrick's Day," added James Dunn with a laugh.
Dunn and Smith are officers of the Irish American Archival Society, an organization devoted to preserving the history of the Irish in the Mahoning Valley and surrounding areas.
"I founded it in '96 ... because we're losing the stories," said Sally Murphy Pallante, society president. "Our goal was to preserve history, but we weren't sure how at first."
Their dream: The charter members began with a dream of a cultural center, perhaps a multicultural center.
"And this is certainly the place for it," said another member, Mary El'Hattan.
They envisioned a building with various rooms for different cultures, with an area devoted to the Irish, a library of books about Ireland and the Irish in the Valley, and various exhibits.
Although they still have that dream, the society has busied itself with gathering books, artifacts, genealogies and oral histories, the latter in cooperation with Youngstown State University's history department, which has archived the tapes and provided transcripts to the IAAS.
So far, they have taped 18 oral histories, coaxing memories from loved ones and others. They hope to record many more.
"People are reluctant to share. They don't think what they have to say is important, even my own father," Pallante said. "But just in talking with him in 1997, we have 20 pages, and there are wonderful stories there. Simple stories."
Special prayer: Anthony Murphy, Sally's father, told her he said a special prayer, including the names of priests. When she asked him when he started praying that prayer, he told her he had begun in the 1920s and had done so daily for the next seven decades.
"Their stories aren't always profound," El'Hatton said, "but they can be charming. My mother-in-law recalled going to her first movie theater and genuflecting! It was so quiet and dimly lit."
"We've lost so many first-person stories, and that is where all the real history is," Pallante added.
"Every day we hesitate, we lose more," Smith continued.
The society needs participation on many levels. Volunteers are needed not only to pass on the history but also to be trained to record it -- "to ask little questions about [the interviewee's] childhood and get them to do the talking," Pallante said.
Seeking roots: They want to encourage people to hunt their own Irish roots and can provide resources to assist in that hunt. They want books for their proposed library and memorabilia to keep Irish history alive.
"We need people to gather, proofread, contact people, help with writing the histories and giving them," Pallante said.
Members are determined to carry on the Irish stories and heritage in the Valley. Their HARP newsletter announces a calendar of local events. An Irish Cultural Suitcase, created by the IAAS for the Warren and Youngstown Arts Councils, tours schools.
Filled with books, lesson plans and "things we feel represent the Irish" from a tin whistle to a Celtic cross, it was borrowed more last year than any other suitcase, Pallante said.
Their newest proposal is a book based on the oral histories and the contributions of area experts, plus snippets of memories from Irish who live in the Valley area. It is no more than a proposal at this point, Dunn said.
Urgent mission: As the possible contributors get older, and the society members near or pass retirement age, the group has a sense of urgency.
"I passionately want to make this happen," Pallante said. "We hope some people will join us."
murphy@vindy.com
XFor information about the IAAS, which meets quarterly, call Pallante at (330) 533-7542 or Eleanor Carney, trustee, at (330) 856-4604.