Melissa will discuss how Irish Americans reacted and responded to the emergence of the civil rights movement in Northern Ireland, exploring the diversity of attitudes and actions from this transnational community in regard to both the issues in and proposed solutions to escalating tensions on the other side of the Atlantic. 

Melissa Baird has just recently obtained her doctorate from Queen's University Belfast in History, studying the role of Irish America in the Northern Irish civil rights movement. For the past year, Melissa has been working as the Special Projects Co-ordinator at the Linen Hall, curating exhibitions and events series on the troubles of 1922 and 1972, as well as the current project which reflects on the 25th anniversary of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement.