Joseph Banigan and Samuel P. Colt, with Dr. Scott Molloy

Dr. Scott Molloy, Award-Winning Writer of “Irish Titan, Irish Toilers: Joseph Banigan and Nineteenth-Century New England Labor,” will discuss the relationship between Joseph Banigan and Samuel P Colt. The event will be in the Ballroom.

Dr. Molloy, a highly regarded authority on Irish history is a Carnegie Foundation Rhode Island Professor of the Year, a University of Rhode Island Foundation Teaching Excellence Award winner and member of the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame. He’s authored several books on Irish and labor history and currently is the Education Director of the Providence Irish Famine Memorial.

The book, “Irish Titan, Irish Toilers: Joseph Banigan and Nineteenth-Century New England Labor” chronicles the life of Joseph Bannigan, the first Irish Catholic millionaire in Rhode Island, who founded the Woonsocket Rubber Co. during the Gilded Age. He became the president of the U.S. Rubber Co., now known as Uniroyal. Dr. Molloy will tie in Woonsocket Rubber Co., its relationship to the National Rubber Company of Bristol, the interaction of Joseph Banigan with Samuel Pomeroy Colt and the United States Rubber Company.

The Clan Lir Academy Step Dancers will perform, and a spot of tea with scones will be served.

Thanks to funding from the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities, this program is free and open to the public but reservations are required as space is limited. To make a reservation, call 401-253-0390 or use the Eventbrite link here.