Speaker: Leonard Cusack

Admission by Donation

This first lecture in the Benevolent Irish Society Fall Lecture Series (Year 34) takes place on Wednesday, October 28, 2020 with a talk by Leonard Cusack at the Edward Whelan Irish Cultural Centre at 582 North River Road. The lecture starts at 7:30 PM.

During his working career, Leonard Cusack was a high school teacher and principal, a public servant and a sessional lecturer in history at the University of Prince Edward Island. From 2006 to 2016, he represented the province of Prince Edward Island on the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada. Leonard has a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Dunstan’s University, a bachelor of Education from the University of Prince Edward Island and a Master of Arts degree in Canadian History from the University of New Brunswick.

He has written: ❖ A Magnificent Gift Declined: The Dalton Sanatorium of Prince Edward Island                                  1913-1923

                            ❖ A Party for Progress: The P.E.I. Progressive Conservative Party 1770-2000

                            ❖ Owen Connolly: The Making of a Legacy 1820-2016 

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Now retired, Leonard and his wife Catherine, reside in the beautiful community of Emyvale.

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At the beginning of the 20th century, tuberculosis (TB) was the cause of approximately 20% of the deaths on Prince Edward Island each year. To slow down the spread of TB, Charles Dalton built a sanatorium in Emyvale and donated it to the provincial government in 1916. This health care complex showed tremendous promise and hope for suffering tuberculosis patients when it opened in 1916. Leonard Cusack will explain how Dalton was able to finance a fully equipped hospital and will explore the bizarre events that led to the demise of this health care complex. Even though T.B. was the leading cause of death on the Island, the hospital only operated for five years before it closed. Leonard Cusack will explain why a sanatorium was necessary, how it became a large health care complex and why it is not part of our health care system today. According to Cusack there were economics, social and political reasons for the closure of the sanatorium.

Speaker: John Daniel McAskill

Admission by donation

This second lecture in the Benevolent Irish Society Fall Lecture Series (Year 34) takes place on Wednesday November 4, 2020 at the Edward Whelan Irish Cultural Centre at 582 North River Road. The lecture starts at 7:30 PM.

John Daniel McAskill is an author, historian, and genealogist. He is the currently President of the Hillsborough River Association and Editor of the Hillsborough Tidings newsletter.

Dan is also the author of the following recent publications:

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    ❖ Part II of The History of Mount Stewart: Illustrated and Extended Edition

    ❖ co-author of Mammals of Prince Edward Island and Adjacent Marine Waters.

In addition, he is the author of many articles and presentations on natural history, cultural history, forest wildlife enhancement, and bird conservation. Mammals of Prince Edward Island and Adjacent Marine Waters was the winner of the Department of Education and Lifelong Learning 2020 Non-Fiction Award. BIS member Rosemary Curley and a number of other scientific contributors are also to be congratulated on this publication.

Dan lives in Donagh, Prince Edward Island.

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This illustrated presentation discusses Scottish and Irish culture in the Upper Hillsborough Area. It touches upon land and river resource use, shipbuilding, transportation, family history, entertainment, and many other matters of interest to a wide audience. This is sure to be a presentation you will not want to miss.

Speaker: Catherine Hennessey

Admission by Donation

This third lecture in the Benevolent Irish Society Fall Lecture Series (Year 34) takes place on Tuesday, November 10, 2020 at the Edward Whelan Irish Cultural Centre at 582 North River Road. The lecture starts at 7:30 PM.

Catherine Hennessey is the “Grand Dame” of historical architecture on Prince Edward Island as this has been her passion for over 50 years. She takes it as a very serious commitment.

Her focuses today are on writing four books on the following subjects:

           ❖ Artist Helen Haszard

           ❖ History of Victoria Park

           ❖ Bells across the island and

           ❖ Island furniture

These projects should keep her out of trouble, she reports.

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On November 10th at the BIS her talk will focus on historic buildings on Prince Edward Island with a focus on historic buildings in Charlottetown. Many of the buildings which have stood the test of time were built by Irish immigrants who rose from poor beginnings to become prominent landowners and business owners, an example of which was Owen Connolly.

The BIS have been trying to convince Catherine to speak in our lecture series for several years, so we are particularly pleased she agreed to speak this year. This will be a very interesting and informative lecture by one of our most respected scholars on Prince Edward Island and is not to be missed.

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Speaker: Shane O'Neill

Admission by donation

This fourth lecture in the Benevolent Irish Society Fall Lecture Series (Year 34) takes place on Friday, November 20, 2020 at the Edward Whelan Irish Cultural Centre at 582 North River Road. The lecture starts at 7:30 PM.

Shane O'Neill hails from Six Mile Bridge, in County Clare, Ireland. He is one of the founding members of the PEI Celts GAA and Chairperson of the Eastern Canada GAA. He really enjoys promoting the sports of Hurling and Gaelic Football, while also promoting Irish Language and Culture.

He lives with his family in Souris, PEI.

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Shane will discuss the Gaelic Athletic Association and how it came to be in Ireland. He will also speak on how the Association arrived in Canada and eventually came to the mighty province of Prince Edward Island.

An evening of information and fun is promised as well as demonstrations of the Celtic games.

Speaker: John Flood

Admission by Donation

This fifth lecture in the Benevolent Irish Society Fall Lecture Series (Year 34) takes place on Friday, November 27, 2020 at the Edward Whelan Irish Cultural Centre at 582 North River Road. The lecture starts at 7:30 PM.

Having served on the Executive of the BIS for several years, John Flood is the founder (in 1979) and proprietor of Penumbra Press. He is also the publisher of Pádraig Ó Siadhail’s book and the editor and publisher of The Master’s Wife: The Book and the Place; Essays on Sir Andrew MacPhail’s “Masterpiece,” a finalist in the Atlantic Book Award for Non-Fiction and for which Flood was a recipient of a PEI Heritage Award.

Recently, the Wade Hemsworth video animation directed by Allison Wolvers and produced by Penumbra Press was selected as the winner in the Animated Short category at the Toronto Independent Film Awards. The animation is about prohibition, and the “I’m Alone,” a contraband schooner out of Lunenburg (captained by Newfoundland skipper Jack Randall), was attacked and sunk by the American coastguard in 1929.

A professor emeritus at Université de Hearst (1971-1994), Flood also served as president of Carleton University Press (1994-1998).

Katherine Hughes (1876-1925), whose national vision was a monumental force in shaping the Canada and Ireland we know today, is for the most part an unsung historical figure in both countries. This talk will highlight some of her notable achievements as described in Pádraig Ó Siadhail’s 2014 award winning biography, Katherine Hughes: A Life and a Journey, and will also serve as the platform for unveiling plans by the BIS to honor her with a permanent commemoration.

Speaker: Frank Dolan

Admission by Donation

This sixth lecture in the Benevolent Irish Society Fall Lecture Series (Year 34) takes place on Friday, December 4, 2020 at the Edward Whelan Irish Cultural Centre at 582 North River Road. The lecture starts at 7:30 PM.

Frank Dolan immigrated from Dublin in 1966 and has lived "coast to coast" in Canada. He and his wife Carm usually visit Ireland every year, where they until recently had a holiday home in County Leitrim. He has close family ties in both Dublin and Leitrim.

Since emigrating to Canada, Frank has visited Ireland on over forty (40) occasions, sometimes for extended periods of time.

Frank is currently the Sick and Charitable Chair and Membership Chair on the Executive Committee of the Benevolent Irish Society.

There will come a time in the near future when islanders will once again be able to visit Ireland and this information will be very helpful when that time comes. The BIS offered this lecture in the 2019 Fall Lecture Series and it is back by popular demand.

Frank’s presentation will encompass an overview of Irish history, it's impact and relevance to the "Ireland of today" and recommendations on what to see and do while visiting Ireland post Covid 19 in 2021 and beyond. He will suggest itineraries for first time visitors.

He is not affiliated with any tour company and is simply offering information, geared in particular to the "first time visitor," based on his own experience.