BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Maine Irish Heritage Center - ECPv6.18.3.1//NONSGML v1.0//EN
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
X-WR-CALNAME:Maine Irish Heritage Center
X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://maineirish.com
X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Maine Irish Heritage Center
REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H
X-Robots-Tag:noindex
X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H
BEGIN:VTIMEZONE
TZID:America/New_York
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:EDT
DTSTART:20240310T070000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:EST
DTSTART:20241103T060000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:EDT
DTSTART:20250309T070000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:EST
DTSTART:20251102T060000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:EDT
DTSTART:20260308T070000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:EST
DTSTART:20261101T060000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:EDT
DTSTART:20270314T070000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:EST
DTSTART:20271107T060000
END:STANDARD
END:VTIMEZONE
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260212T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260212T210000
DTSTAMP:20250708T174703Z
CREATED:20250708T174235Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250708T174703Z
UID:10000729-1770924600-1770930000@maineirish.com
SUMMARY:Maine Irish Reads 'These Days' by Lucy Caldwell
DESCRIPTION:Maine Irish Reads\, our monthly book club\, meets every second Thursday here at the Center!\n\n\n\nFrom 7:30 – 9 PM in the MIHC Library. Bring a friend. The more\, the merrier. \nAbout this month’s book:\nTwo sisters\, four nights\, one city. \nApril\, 1941. Belfast has escaped the worst of the war – so far. Over the next two months\, it’s going to be destroyed from above\, so that people will say\, in horror\, My God\, Belfast is finished. \nMany won’t make it through\, and no one who does will remain unchanged. \nFollowing the lives of sisters Emma and Audrey – one engaged to be married\, the other in a secret relationship with another woman – as they try to survive the horrors of the four nights of bombing which were the Belfast Blitz\, These Days is a timeless and heart-breaking novel about living under duress\, about family\, and about how we try to stay true to ourselves. \nThese Days won both the 2023 Walter Scott Prize For Historical Fiction and the 2022 E. M. Forster Award
URL:https://maineirish.com/event/maine-irish-reads-february-2026/
LOCATION:Maine Irish Heritage Center\, 34 Gray St\, Portland\, ME\, 04102\, United States
CATEGORIES:Maine Irish Reads
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://maineirish.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Maine-Irish-Reads-Feb-26-banner.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Maine Irish Heritage Center":MAILTO:maineirish@maineirish.com
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260108T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260108T210000
DTSTAMP:20250708T174647Z
CREATED:20250708T173944Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250708T174647Z
UID:10000728-1767900600-1767906000@maineirish.com
SUMMARY:Maine Irish Reads 'Wild Houses' by Colin Barrett
DESCRIPTION:Maine Irish Reads\, our monthly book club\, meets every second Thursday here at the Center!\n\n\n\nFrom 7:30 – 9 PM in the MIHC Library. Bring a friend. The more\, the merrier. \nAbout this month’s book:\nThe riotous\, raucous and deeply resonant debut novel from “one of the best story writers in the English language today” (Financial Times) Wild Houses follows two outsiders caught in the crosshairs of a small-town revenge kidnapping gone awry. \nWith his acclaimed and award-winning collections Young Skins and Homesickness Colin Barrett cemented his reputation as one of contemporary Irish literature’s most daring stylists. Praised by the Oprah Daily as “a doyen of the sentence\,” and by the Los Angeles Times as a writer of “unique genius\,” Barrett now expands his canvas with a debut novel that contains as much grit\, plot\, and linguistic energy as any of his celebrated short stories. \nAs Ballina prepares for its biggest weekend of the year\, introspective loner Dev answers his door on Friday night to find Doll English— younger brother of small-time local dealer Cillian English—bruised and in the clutches of Gabe and Sketch Ferdia\, County Mayo’s fraternal enforcers and Dev’s cousins. Dev’s quiet homelife is upturned as he is quickly and unwillingly drawn headlong into the Ferdias’ frenetic revenge plot against Cillian. Meanwhile\, Doll’s girlfriend\, seventeen-year-old Nicky\, reeling from a fractious Friday and plagued by ghosts and tragedy of her own\, sets out on a feverish mission to save Doll\, even as she questions her future in Ballina. \nSet against Barrett’s trademark depictions of small town Irish life\, Wild Houses is thrillingly-told story of two outsiders striving to find themselves as their worlds collapse in chaos and violence.
URL:https://maineirish.com/event/maine-irish-reads-january-2026/
LOCATION:Maine Irish Heritage Center\, 34 Gray St\, Portland\, ME\, 04102\, United States
CATEGORIES:Maine Irish Reads
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://maineirish.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Maine-Irish-Reads-Jan-26-banner.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Maine Irish Heritage Center":MAILTO:maineirish@maineirish.com
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251211T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251211T210000
DTSTAMP:20250708T174644Z
CREATED:20250708T173611Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250708T174644Z
UID:10000727-1765481400-1765486800@maineirish.com
SUMMARY:Maine Irish Reads 'Old God’s Time' by Sebastian Barry
DESCRIPTION:Maine Irish Reads\, our monthly book club\, meets every second Thursday here at the Center!\n\n\n\nFrom 7:30 – 9 PM in the MIHC Library. Bring a friend. The more\, the merrier. \nAbout this month’s book:\nRecently retired policeman Tom Kettle is settling into the quiet of his new home\, a lean-to annexed to a Victorian castle overlooking the Irish Sea. For months he has barely seen a soul\, catching only glimpses of his eccentric landlord and a nervous young mother who has moved in next door. Occasionally\, fond memories return of his family: his beloved wife June and their two children\, Winnie and Joe. But when two former colleagues turn up at his door with questions about a decades-old case\, one which Tom never quite came to terms with\, he finds himself pulled into the darkest currents of his past. \nA beautiful\, haunting novel in which nothing is quite as it seems\, Old God’s Time is about what we live through\, what we live with\, and what may survive of us. \nNamed a Best Book of 2023 by the New Yorker\, Washington Post\, NPR\, and Kirkus Reviews \n“You should be reading Sebastian Barry. [He] has a special understanding of the human heart.” —The Atlantic \n“A prose stylist of near-miraculous skill. . . Barry reaches deep into the messenger bag of mystery fiction and turns the whole business inside out . . . marvelous.” —The Washington Post \n“An unforgettable novel from one of our finest writers.” —Douglas Stuart\, author of Shuggie Bain \nFrom the five-time Booker Prize nominee and 2018-2021 Laureate for Irish Fiction\, a virtuosic\, profound novel exploring love\, memory\, grief\, and long-buried secrets
URL:https://maineirish.com/event/maine-irish-reads-december-2025/
LOCATION:Maine Irish Heritage Center\, 34 Gray St\, Portland\, ME\, 04102\, United States
CATEGORIES:Maine Irish Reads
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://maineirish.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Maine-Irish-Reads-Dec-25-banner.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Maine Irish Heritage Center":MAILTO:maineirish@maineirish.com
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251009T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251009T210000
DTSTAMP:20250708T174636Z
CREATED:20250708T172558Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250708T174636Z
UID:10000725-1760038200-1760043600@maineirish.com
SUMMARY:Maine Irish Reads "A Thread of Violence" by Mark O’Connell
DESCRIPTION:Maine Irish Reads\, our monthly book club\, meets every second Thursday here at the Center!\n\n\n\nFrom 7:30 – 9 PM in the MIHC Library. Bring a friend. The more\, the merrier. \nAbout this month’s book:\n\n\nA NEW YORK TIMES AND ECONOMIST BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • From the award-winning author comes the gripping tale of one of the most scandalous murderers in modern Irish history\, at once a propulsive work of true crime and an act of literary subversion. \n“A masterpiece”—The Observer • “Disturbing [and] compelling”—Colm Toíbín • “Superb and unforgettable”—Sally Rooney • “Brilliant”—New York Times Book Review • “A masterly work”—John Banville • “Fascinating”—Emmanuel Carrère • “Morally complex and mesmerizing”—Fintan O’Toole \nMalcolm Macarthur was a well-known Dublin socialite.  Suave and urbane\, he passed his days mingling with artists and aristocrats\, reading philosophy\, living a life of the mind. But by 1982\, his inheritance had dwindled to almost nothing\, a desperate threat to his lifestyle. Macarthur hastily conceived a plan: He would commit bank robbery\, of the kind that had become frightfully common in Dublin at the time. But his plan spun swiftly out of control\, and he needlessly killed two innocent civilians. The ensuing manhunt\, arrest\, and conviction amounted to one of the most infamous political scandals in modern Irish history\, contributing to the eventual collapse of a government. \nWinner of the Wellcome and Rooney Prizes\, Mark O’Connell spent countless hours in conversation with Macarthur—interviews that veered from confession to evasion. Through their tense exchanges and O’Connell’s independent reporting\, a pair of narratives unspools: a riveting account of Macarthur’s crimes and a study of the hazy line between truth and invention. We come to see not only the enormity of the murders but the damage that’s inflicted when a life is rendered into story. \nAt once propulsive and searching\, A Thread of Violence is a hard look at a brutal act\, its subterranean origins\, and the long shadow it casts. It offers a haunting and insightful examination of the lies we tell ourselves—and the lengths we’ll go to preserve them.
URL:https://maineirish.com/event/maine-irish-reads-october-2025/
LOCATION:Maine Irish Heritage Center\, 34 Gray St\, Portland\, ME\, 04102\, United States
CATEGORIES:Maine Irish Reads
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://maineirish.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Maine-Irish-Reads-Oct-25-banner.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Maine Irish Heritage Center":MAILTO:maineirish@maineirish.com
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250911T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250911T210000
DTSTAMP:20250708T174636Z
CREATED:20250708T172256Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250708T174636Z
UID:10000724-1757619000-1757624400@maineirish.com
SUMMARY:Maine Irish Reads "The Pull of the Stars" by Emma Donoghue
DESCRIPTION:Maine Irish Reads\, our monthly book club\, meets every second Thursday here at the Center!\n\n\n\nFrom 7:30 – 9 PM in the MIHC Library. Bring a friend. The more\, the merrier. \nAbout this month’s book:\n\n\nIn Dublin\, 1918\, a maternity ward at the height of the Great Flu is a small world of work\, risk\, death\, and unlooked-for love\, in “Donoghue’s best novel since Room” (Kirkus Reviews) \nIn an Ireland doubly ravaged by war and disease\, Nurse Julia Power works at an understaffed hospital in the city center\, where expectant mothers who have come down with the terrible new Flu are quarantined together. Into Julia’s regimented world step two outsiders — Doctor Kathleen Lynn\, a rumoured Rebel on the run from the police \, and a young volunteer helper\, Bridie Sweeney. \nIn the darkness and intensity of this tiny ward\, over three days\, these women change each other’s lives in unexpected ways. They lose patients to this baffling pandemic\, but they also shepherd new life into a fearful world. With tireless tenderness and humanity\, carers and mothers alike somehow do their impossible work. \nIn The Pull of the Stars\, Emma Donoghue once again finds the light in the darkness in this new classic of hope and survival against all odds.
URL:https://maineirish.com/event/maine-irish-reads-september-2025/
LOCATION:Maine Irish Heritage Center\, 34 Gray St\, Portland\, ME\, 04102\, United States
CATEGORIES:Maine Irish Reads
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://maineirish.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Maine-Irish-Reads-Sept-25-banner.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Maine Irish Heritage Center":MAILTO:maineirish@maineirish.com
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250612T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250612T210000
DTSTAMP:20241212T034800Z
CREATED:20240806T041527Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241212T034800Z
UID:10000406-1749756600-1749762000@maineirish.com
SUMMARY:Maine Irish Reads "Surrender: 40 Songs\, One Story" by  Bono
DESCRIPTION:“Surrender: 40 Songs\, One Story” is a compelling memoir by Bono\, the frontman of the legendary rock band U2. Released in November 2022\, the book intertwines personal anecdotes and reflections with insights drawn from the band’s music\, featuring forty pivotal songs that have shaped his life and career. Through heartfelt storytelling\, Bono explores themes of love\, loss\, faith\, and activism\, offering readers an intimate glimpse into his journey as an artist\, a humanitarian\, and a husband and father. The narrative is both a celebration of his musical legacy and a poignant examination of the experiences that have informed his identity over the decades.
URL:https://maineirish.com/event/maine-irish-reads-26/
LOCATION:Maine Irish Heritage Center\, 34 Gray St\, Portland\, ME\, 04102\, United States
CATEGORIES:Maine Irish Reads
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://maineirish.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/surrender.jpeg
ORGANIZER;CN="Maine Irish Heritage Center":MAILTO:maineirish@maineirish.com
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250508T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250508T210000
DTSTAMP:20250411T233710Z
CREATED:20240806T041052Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250411T233710Z
UID:10000405-1746732600-1746738000@maineirish.com
SUMMARY:Maine Irish Reads "Trespasses" by Louise Kennedy
DESCRIPTION:Trespasses by Louise Kennedy is a haunting\, intimate portrait of ordinary lives upended by political violence. Set in 1975 near Belfast\, the novel follows Cushla Lavery\, a young Catholic woman living a quiet life split between her family’s pub and her job as a schoolteacher. But in a town riven by sectarian hatred\, nothing stays quiet for long. \nWhen Cushla falls into a reckless affair with Michael Agnew — an older\, married Protestant barrister — she crosses invisible lines that mark every street\, every conversation\, every choice. As their relationship deepens\, so does the threat of exposure — not only to gossip and scandal but to real and devastating violence. \nWith sharp wit\, aching tenderness\, and a fierce moral clarity\, Trespasses captures the claustrophobia of life during The Troubles — where love itself becomes an act of defiance. Louise Kennedy’s extraordinary debut is a powerful reminder that even in a divided world\, moments of connection can be both beautiful and profoundly dangerous.
URL:https://maineirish.com/event/maine-irish-reads-25/
LOCATION:Maine Irish Heritage Center\, 34 Gray St\, Portland\, ME\, 04102\, United States
CATEGORIES:Maine Irish Reads
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://maineirish.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/trespasses.jpeg
ORGANIZER;CN="Maine Irish Heritage Center":MAILTO:maineirish@maineirish.com
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250410T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250410T210000
DTSTAMP:20241212T034317Z
CREATED:20240806T040555Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241212T034317Z
UID:10000404-1744313400-1744318800@maineirish.com
SUMMARY:Maine Irish Reads "Prophet Song: A Novel" by Paul Lynch
DESCRIPTION:“Prophet Song: A Novel” by Paul Lynch is a dystopian narrative set in a near-future Ireland on the brink of societal collapse. The story follows Eilish Stack\, a scientist and mother\, as she navigates a world where authoritarianism and civil unrest threaten her family’s safety and freedom. Lynch’s novel explores themes of resistance\, survival\, and the human spirit’s resilience against oppressive forces\, creating a gripping and thought-provoking tale of a family’s struggle in the face of impending doom.
URL:https://maineirish.com/event/maine-irish-reads-24/
LOCATION:Maine Irish Heritage Center\, 34 Gray St\, Portland\, ME\, 04102\, United States
CATEGORIES:Maine Irish Reads
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://maineirish.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/prophetsong.jpeg
ORGANIZER;CN="Maine Irish Heritage Center":MAILTO:maineirish@maineirish.com
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250313T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250313T210000
DTSTAMP:20241212T033951Z
CREATED:20240806T040104Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241212T033951Z
UID:10000403-1741894200-1741899600@maineirish.com
SUMMARY:Maine Irish Reads "Long Island" by Colm Toibin
DESCRIPTION:“Long Island” by Colm Tóibín is a novel that explores the lives of Irish immigrants in America\, focusing on their struggles\, dreams\, and sense of identity. Set primarily on Long Island\, the story delves into themes of displacement\, cultural adaptation\, and the search for belonging\, all told with Tóibín’s signature lyrical prose and deep empathy for his characters.
URL:https://maineirish.com/event/maine-irish-reads-22/
LOCATION:Maine Irish Heritage Center\, 34 Gray St\, Portland\, ME\, 04102\, United States
CATEGORIES:Maine Irish Reads
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://maineirish.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/longisland.jpeg
ORGANIZER;CN="Maine Irish Heritage Center":MAILTO:maineirish@maineirish.com
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250213T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250213T210000
DTSTAMP:20241212T033621Z
CREATED:20240806T035625Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241212T033621Z
UID:10000402-1739475000-1739480400@maineirish.com
SUMMARY:Maine Irish Reads "Rememberings" by Sinéad O'Connor
DESCRIPTION:“Rememberings” by Sinéad O’Connor is a candid and compelling memoir that delves into the life of the iconic singer-songwriter. The book offers an intimate look at O’Connor’s personal and professional journey\, from her tumultuous childhood and rise to fame to her struggles with mental health and controversial moments in the public eye. Through her raw and honest storytelling\, O’Connor provides insights into her creative process\, spiritual beliefs\, and the experiences that have shaped her life and music. “Rememberings” is a powerful testament to O’Connor’s resilience and unique voice\, both as an artist and an individual.
URL:https://maineirish.com/event/maine-irish-reads-21/
LOCATION:Maine Irish Heritage Center\, 34 Gray St\, Portland\, ME\, 04102\, United States
CATEGORIES:Maine Irish Reads
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://maineirish.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/sineadoconnor.jpeg
ORGANIZER;CN="Maine Irish Heritage Center":MAILTO:maineirish@maineirish.com
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250109T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250109T210000
DTSTAMP:20241212T033303Z
CREATED:20240806T034931Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241212T033303Z
UID:10000401-1736451000-1736456400@maineirish.com
SUMMARY:Maine Irish Reads "The Bee Sting" by Paul Murray
DESCRIPTION:“The Bee Sting” by Paul Murray is a novel that delves into the lives of the Barnes family\, who are grappling with personal and financial crises. The story explores themes of resilience\, identity\, and the complexities of familial relationships. Through a blend of humor and poignancy\, Murray weaves a narrative that captures the struggles and triumphs of the human spirit\, set against the backdrop of contemporary Ireland.
URL:https://maineirish.com/event/maine-irish-reads-20/
LOCATION:Maine Irish Heritage Center\, 34 Gray St\, Portland\, ME\, 04102\, United States
CATEGORIES:Maine Irish Reads
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://maineirish.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/beesting.jpeg
ORGANIZER;CN="Maine Irish Heritage Center":MAILTO:maineirish@maineirish.com
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR