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The “Gaelic Gotham” Dispute: Analysis of an Exhibition Controversy in New York City

a special session of the Columbia University Seminar on Irish Studies took place on April 12, 1996 when it convened a month after the controversial exhibition, “Gaelic Gotham: A History of the Irish in New York,” opened at the Museum of the City of New York. Departing from usual concerns, the Seminar session was devoted to this exhibition and its issues—topics of importance for the history of the Irish and the histories of other groups in America. During the year preceding “Gaelic Gotham,” the Museum’s actions in preparing the exhibition, and reactions to these, connected the New York exhibition with an ongoing wider debate over the construction of history though public institutions. Thus, the “Gaelic Gotham” controversy occurred simultaneously with a national discussion over the administration of historical and cultural exhibitions at major institutions like the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Institution.1 Issues in this discussion remain unresolved and are centered on questions such as: who should be involved in constructing the histories of ethnic and other social groups through museums and similar institutions; what experience and credentials should individuals bring to this involvement; what should be the cultural and intellectual sensitivities of administrators at museums, and what should be the public accountability of museums and their funding organizations, particularly organizations like the National Endowment for the Humanities that get money and authority from public sources.