| | Manuscript Collection | Requires cookie* | | 1 | Title: | Robert O'Connor Family Papers
| | | | Creator: | O'Connor, Robert Family | | | | Dates: | 1890-1994 | | | | Abstract: | Robert O'Connor (b. 1939) was born in Dublin, Ireland, and immigrated in 1964 to New York, as there was such high unemployment in Ireland at that time. After completing a science degree, he traveled first to the United Kingdom, and subsequently to the United States. He moved to Chicago, Illinois, as part of a job transfer, and a new career took him to Ohio in 1988. O'Connor married Diane Baron in 1967, and together they have four children. Since coming to the United States, O'Connor went back to Ireland once to seek employment, but did not find the same opportunities there as in the United States. O'Connor has traced his family history in Ireland back a number of generations, identifying relationships primarily with the Sullivan family in County Cork. Living and growing up in Ireland during the turbulent times of the 1960s and 1970s left a deep impression on O'Connor. Believing that children are the true victims of the conflict in Northern Ireland, O'Connor and his wife set up The Irish Children's Fund in 1982. The aim of this fund is to provide money to allow Catholic and Protestant children of poor families in Belfast and Derry, Northern Ireland, to come to the United States and experience life with families in an area free of conflict. This program attempts to foster relationships between these two religious groups. In 1986, the O'Connors set up the Creative Irish Gifts Catalog Company, based in Streetsboro, Ohio, with a sole purpose of providing funding to continue the Irish Children's Fund. The collection consists of photocopies of certificates of birth, marriage, naturalization, diploma from University College Dublin, Ireland, an essay, family tree, genealogy, passport, and five short stories. | | | | Call #: | MS 4881 | | | | Extent: | 0.20 linear feet (1 container) | | | | Subjects: | O'Connor, Robert, 1939- | O'Connor family -- History -- Sources. | Sullivan family -- History -- Sources. | Creative Irish Gifts Catalog Company. | Irish Children's Fund | Irish Americans -- Ohio -- Cleveland -- History -- Sources. | Irish Americans -- Archives.
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