Island Lecture Series features author Frank Gillan on March 17

The Institute of Island Studies’ Island Lecture Series will present a talk titled “Finding Place: An Irish Story” by author Frank Gillan on March 17, 2026, at 7 pm, in the Faculty Lounge (Room 201), SDU Main Building, UPEI.

During his talk on St. Patrick’s Day, Gillan will share a personal story about one Irish family’s search for security. In 1953, Marion Gillan’s husband was killed piloting a private plane. Their only family income disappeared on that May afternoon, and employers were not interested in hiring a widow with five young children. But challenge was something Marion had seen before. In 1919, her father died, leaving her 34-year-old mother, Jennie McCarthy, with a 70-acre mixed farming operation and four young children, Marion being the oldest at age seven. In an era where women had few rights, both women were determined to find a way to keep the family together. Both had inherited resilience and resourcefulness from their Irish roots.

For generations, their ancestors had lived under oppressive British laws in Ireland. Their land was taken from them, and they were forced to be tenants in their own country, living under the constant threat of eviction. In addition, Irish Catholic daily lives were regulated under the stifling Penal Laws, intended to obliterate their culture and religion—and to keep them poor. The Gillan ancestors’ emigration from Ireland to PEI was a search for better opportunities. PEI offered hope but also considerable challenges.

A sixth-generation Irish Canadian, Gillan published The Gillan Journey: County Antrim to Peakes Road in 2022 and They Can’t Take the Kids: the Mooney/McCarthy/Gillan Legacy, his mother’s family story, in 2025. He and his wife Cathy are retired and live in Charlottetown.

The lecture is free, and all are welcome. For more information, contact Bren Simmers at 902-566-0386 or ispstaff@upei.ca.