Local author, Vincent Quealy, Jr., will discuss and read excerpts from his new book Reflections of an Irish Grandson.

The book is a story of the Meade family of Miltown Malbay, County Clare, Ireland. Three Meade brothers would serve valiantly in the IRA's Mid Clare Brigade during the Irish War of Independence. Quealy recalls, “I remember my grandmother’s Irish accent and Irish expressions and stories of Ireland and I came to learn later about the difficulties and hardships confronting my grandmother and her Meade family in Ireland at a time when Britain still ruled that country very harshly. I wanted, for many years, to discover all that I could about why she left a beloved homeland, along with so many others, and about the struggles of the family she left behind. I set out to find that story and it is written here.” The talk will be followed by a book signing and sale. 

Presenter/Author: Vincent Quealy, Jr. was born in Boston, MA, one of six children of Vincent and Anne Quealy. Grandparents John Quealy and Bridget (Meade) Quealy were both born in Ireland and lived there into early adulthood, eventually emigrating to the United States in the early 1900’s and settling, for a time, in Lowell, MA. Vincent is a graduate of Boston College, Class of 1975, and remains deeply engaged with many university programs and initiatives, including the Boston College Ireland Business Council. He lives in Scituate, MA with his wife, Joanie, and very nearby their three children and five grandchildren

This free program is in collaboration with OLLI, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UMass Boston.