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Paddy Leonard, 8 Jul
A special programme of events will take place throughout July, August
and September to mark the anniversary of the US Declaration of
Independence and celebrate our wider local and historical links to
North America.
The programme is being delivered by Derry City and Strabane District
Council following on from a notice of motion approved by Council
Members last year to explore opportunities to celebrate Strabane’s
historic connections with North America.
Events, which will be held in Strabane, will include an exhibition, a
series of talks and open days, and the dedication of a Blue Plaque to
one of Strabane’s famous sons, Alexander Ector Orr.
The Alley Theatre will host a special exhibition curated by Council’s
Museum Services, titled ‘Ulster-Scots and the Declaration of
Independence’ opening on July 4th and running until August 30th.
The travelling exhibition is on loan from the Ulster Scots Agency and
includes a selection of objects from Derry City & Strabane District
Council’s Museum collection.
A series of talks delivered throughout the month of July by a number of
leading experts in Ulster-American history will also be held at the
Alley Theatre in tandem with the exhibition.
The featured guest speakers are Dr Paddy Fitzgerald of the Mellon
Centre for Migration on the 4th July; Dr William Roulston of the Ulster
Historical Foundation on the 18th July; and concluding the series of
talks on the 25th July will be William Blair, Director of Collections
at the National Museums of NI.
The programme will focus on some of the key figures of the age, who
originally hailed from Ulster, including John Dunlap, who printed the
new US constitution in 1787, and Charles Thomson who designed the Great
Seal of the United States in 1782.
William will also touch on the narrative around the forefathers of
President Woodrow Wilson, who have long been associated with the
townland of Dergalt and the homestead building located just outside
Strabane, which is currently maintained by the Ulster American Folk
Park.
Looking ahead to the exhibition, curator at the Tower Museum, Roisin
Doherty, said: “With the mass emigration of the Ulster Scots to the US,
it was inevitable that many rose to prominence within the spheres of
business and politics within the new colonies.
[Ulster_Scots_and_The_Declaration_of_Independence_Exhibition_in_The_All
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The programme of events taking place will highlight the important role
immigrants from Strabane and the surrounding areas played in the laying
the foundations of society in America.
It offers the chance to find out more about some of the individuals
whose prospects flourished in the US, and who left a lasting legacy in
the new world.”
Among the events taking place is a special talk on Strabane’s very own
John Dunlap. Born in Meetinghouse Street in 1747. Dunlap left his
native Strabane for America in 1756 and went on to be a Printer,
Soldier and Newspaper Publisher.
Today he is most frequently recalled as, not just the man who printed
the US Constitution, but also as the printer of the Declaration of
Independence.
Fittingly the National Trust’s Gray’s Printing Press in Strabane will
be open on the 4th and 27th July, and further dates in August and
September, to give an insight into an industry in which the Strabane of
the very late 1700s and early 1800s played a leading role.
[Ulster_Scots_and_The_Declaration_of_Independence_Exhibition_in_The_All
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In August, a blue plaque will be unveiled by the Ulster History Circle
to commemorate the prominent New York businessman and financier
Alexander Ector Orr, who was born in Strabane in 1831. He is known as
‘the Father of the New York Subway’ for arranging the financing and
construction of this major rapid transport system which opened almost
120 years ago in October 1904.
For more information on the full programme of events go to
www.derrystrabane.com/subsites/4th-july