Author/Actor Malachy McCourt to Lecture

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 30, 2010) − Author, actor and outspoken authority on all things Irish Malachy McCourt will present the 2010 Thomas D. Clark Lecture in the Humanities and lead a session of the Mary C. Bingham Seminar, "Across the Atlantic:  Exploring Irish Immigration to the US." The public can hear McCourt speak at the Clark Lecture, titled "Sez I to Myself," which is free and open to the public. The lecture, presented by the Gaines Center for the Humanities, is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, April 1, in the William T. Young Library Auditorium. 

Born in the U.S. to Irish parents, Malachy McCourt and his family moved home to Limerick where he spent his childhood. He returned to New York City in 1952 as a young man. An entertaining speaker and writer, McCourt has published articles in numerous periodicals including Newsday, National Geographic, Conscience Magazine and The New York Times. His column, "Sez I to Myself," appears in The Manhattan Spirit, The Westsider and Our Town in New York City. McCourt is the recipient of numerous awards including the Gadfly Award presented by the City Club of New York.

During his visit to UK, McCourt will participate in the Bingham Seminar led by Diana Haleman, a lecturer in family studies. It was Haleman who selected McCourt to give the Clark Lecture and present to her Bingham Seminar students.

The Bingham Seminar is presented every other year through the Gaines Center, with the seminar topic selected from those proposed by faculty across the university. The seminar includes an on-campus, semester-long course that is followed by a three- or four-week summer travel program, field study or a site visit. Participants in this year’s Bingham Seminar will participate in a three-week travel program to Dublin and Galway, Ireland, in May.

For more information on the 2010 Clark Lecture featuring Malachy McCourt, contact the Gaines Center for the Humanities at (859) 257-1537.