Wreath Laying at World War I Monument - New Scotland Ave and Lake Avenue
Brunch, Exhibit, and Presentation on Albany Memories of WWI
On the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day, the Irish American Heritage Museum will lay a wreath at the World War I monument in Albany. Everyone is then welcome back to the museum for brunch and a short lecture on the Irish- and German-American response to World War I by Dr. Elizabeth Stack, Executive Director of the IAHM, which will complement a new exhibit on the topic. We will complete our commemoration with a spotlight on two Albany veterans and their wartime experience. Debbie Brennan and Margaret Lasch-Carroll, the grand-daughters of two veterans will present extracts from their grandfather's diaries and letters home. John Joseph Brennan served at the Somme, and his diary records many of his experiences there. Phillip Joseph Gallagher was stationed at Lough Foyle Naval Air Station in Ireland, and his letters home give an intriguing insight into the Irish experience of the war, even as many struggled to gain independence form Britain.