The Society for Irish Latin American Studies was founded on 1 July 2003 to promote the study of relations between Ireland and Latin American countries. Our range of interest includes the settlement, lives, and achievements of Irish emigrants to Latin America and their descendants, as well as the contemporary presence of Ireland in the life and culture of Latin America and the presence of Latin Americans in Ireland.
In 1919, in his The Story of the Irish in Argentina, Thomas Murray encouraged the establishment of an institution with the aim of ‘collecting, preserving, and making public of the scattered, decaying, and hidden treasure of Irish-Argentine historical material that lies about in old family archives, and half forgotten official records, as well as in old pamphlets and periodicals which have not found their way into the public libraries, but still exist in out-of-the-way places’ (Murray 1919: 482). He suggested the American Irish Historical Society, which was established at the close of the nineteenth century, as a model to be imitated. Better late than never! Over eighty years later a group of persons with similar research interests founded the Irish Argentine Historical Society to study the different aspects of the Irish emigration to Argentina, and the development of the Irish-Argentine community. In order to reflect our interest in other Latin American countries and regions, during the General Meeting held on 24 June 2005 in Maynooth members changed the organisation’s name to Society for Irish Latin American Studies.
The first undertaking of SILAS was the development of the web-based journal Irish Migration Studies in Latin America. Other SILAS activities include research projects, publishing of studies and essays, funding of fellowships, grants and research prizes, organisation of field trips, educational programmes and conferences, and involvement in restoration and museum projects. Announcements are regularly published through the web site.
SILAS encourages diversity amongst its members (e.g., gender, age, origin, ideology, or religion), accepting and respecting cultural differences and recognising that no one culture is intrinsically superior to another. The Society is open to any discipline, to any historical period, and to any methodological approach. SILAS is a non-profit international organisation incorporated in Geneva under the Swiss laws.
We encourage you to join now and begin enjoying your Membership benefits.
Please note: SILAS is an academic website. It does not have a database for genealogy. Family tree and ancestry information can be found at ancestry.com and genealogy.com. Also, SILAS is not a service for providing information on citizenship and travel.
Executive Committee
President: Margaret Brehony
Treasurer: Derrick Marcus
Director: Nuala Finnegan
Director: Clíona Murphy
Director: Laura Izarra
Director: Giselle Gonzalez García
Director: Steve Allen
Director: Gabriela McEvoy
Previous Executive Committees
2010-2013 Cliona Murphy (Acting President; Director; Editor-in-Chief of IMSLA), John Kennedy (Director; Editorial Consultant IMSLA), Gabriela McEvoy (Director), Jean-Philippe Imbert (Director); Derrick Marcus (Director), Margaret Brehony (Director), Andres Romera (Treasurer; Administrator)
2009-2010 Claire Healy (President), John Kennedy (Vice President), Hilda Sabato (Director), Mary Harris (Director), Gera Burton (Director), Juan Pablo Alvarez (Director), Carolina Barry (Auditor), Andres Romera (Secretary)
2006-2009 Laura Izarra (President), Oliver Marshall (Vice-President), Edmundo Murray (Secretary), Edward Walsh (Treasurer), Hilda Sabato, William Mulligan, Sharon Newman, Claire Healy, Guillermo MacLoughlin (Directors). John Kennedy (Auditor).
2003-2006 David Barnwell (President), Oliver Marshall (Vice-President), Christina O’Shaughnessy (Treasurer), Edmundo Murray (Secretary), Gonzalo Cané, Thomas Ganly, Andrew Graham-Yooll, Jeremy Howat, Laura Izarra, Guillermo MacLoughlin, Brian McGinn, Cathal McGoey, Patrick McKenna, Hilda Sabato (Directors). Sharon Newman (Auditor).
Founding Members
David Barnwell, Oliver Marshall, Edmundo Murray, J.J. O’Hara, Christina O’Shaughnessy, Gonzalo Cané, Thomas Ganly, Andrew Graham-Yooll, Jeremy Howat, Laura Izarra, Guillermo MacLoughlin, Cathal McGoey, Patrick McKenna, Hilda Sabato, Sharon Newman, Juan Pablo Alvarez, Mónica Barry, Josephine Birkbeck, Santiago Boland, Michael Bulfin, Claire Healy, Sheila Kearney, Helen Kelly, John Kennedy, Brian McGinn, Peter Mulvany, Vivian Sheridan, and Emer Singleton.
Join the Society for Irish Latin American Studies.
Articles of Constitution
Copyright © The Society for Irish Latin American Studies, 2003-2012
