Launch of Robert Polner & Michael Tubridy's "An Irish Passion for Justice"

Thu Sep 26 2024 at 07:00 pm to 08:30 pm

Glucksman Ireland House NYU | New York

Glucksman Ireland House NYU
Publisher/HostGlucksman Ireland House NYU
Launch of Robert Polner & Michael Tubridy's "An Irish Passion for Justice"
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Join us as we launch Robert Polner and Michael Tubridy's "An Irish Passion for Justice: The Life of Rebel New York Attorney Paul O'Dwyer."
About this Event

An Irish Passion for Justice reveals the life and work of Paul O'Dwyer, the Irish-born and quintessentially New York activist, politician, and lawyer who fought in the courts and at the barricades for the rights of the downtrodden and the marginalized throughout the 20th century.

Robert Polner and Michael Tubridy recount O'Dwyer's legal crusades, political campaigns, and civic interactions, deftly describing how he cut a principled and progressive path through New York City's political machinery and America's reactionary Cold War landscape. Polner and Tubridy's dynamic, penetrating depiction showcases O'Dwyer's consistent left-wing politics and defense of accused Communists in the labor movement, which exposed him to sharp criticism within and beyond the Irish-American community. Even so, his fierce beliefs, loyalty to his brother William, who was the city's mayor after World War II, and influence in Irish-American circles also inspired respect and support.

Recognized by his gentle brogue and white pompadour, he organized Black voters during the Civil Rights movement and denounced the Vietnam War as an insurgent Democratic candidate for US Senate. Finally, he enlisted future president Bill Clinton to bring an end to the Troubles in Northern Ireland. As the authors demonstrate, O'Dwyer was both a man of his time and a politician beyond his years.

Robert Polner is a public affairs officer at NYU, and a former reporter for New York Newsday. He is coauthor of The Man Who Saved New York (winner of the Empire State History Book Award) and Three Men in a Room.

Michael Tubridy is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in Irish America and The Recorder. He writes about Irish and Irish-American history in his blog A Boat Against the Current.

The converstion will be moderated by Robert W. Snyder, Manhattan Borough Historian and Professor Emeritus of American Studies and Journalism at Rutgers University.

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Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Glucksman Ireland House NYU, One Washinton mews, New York, United States

Tickets

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