Pioneering Irish composer, pianist, and academic Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin (1950-2018) strongly shaped the course of Irish music and musical education through his fusion of classical, jazz and Irish traditional music styles and his creation of the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance at the University of Limerick.

Ó Súilleabháin also had a long and lasting impact at Boston College, beginning with his first visit and concert accompanying Nóirín Ní Riain in 1979. During his visiting professorship at BC in 1990, he organized and hosted the landmark fiddle festival “My Love is in America,” which inspired the Gaelic Roots festival and later concert series as well as the establishment of the Irish Music Archives in Burns Library. His last visit and concert at Boston College in 2012 included a memorable duet with Séamus Connolly.

The evening program will feature personal and professional reflections from Ó Súilleabháin’s family, including Nóirín Ní Riain, Owen and Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin, and Helen Phelan. Ó Súilleabháin’s contributions to Boston College will be highlighted by librarians Elizabeth Sweeney and Christian Dupont and Gaelic Roots series director Sheila Falls Keohane. Multi-award-winning filmmaker and producer Maggie Breathnach will share and comment on excerpts from her new documentary film, Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin: Between Worlds, which will be premiered on December 3.

The program is free and open to the public. Reservations are not required but those who register in advance will receive event reminders and additional details: https://bit.ly/between-worlds-film

Limited free parking available on Linden Lane with additional parking in the Commonwealth Avenue Garage. For mobility assistance and other information, please contact Elizabeth Sweeney (elizabeth.sweeney@bc.edu).