LOWELL -- In the 1840s, the city housed the largest Irish community in a planned industrial city. The migration to the U.S. was fueled by the potato famine.
It was described as an "industrial utopia," as men and women moved here to find steady work. But the Irish were treated as second-class citizens to the ruling Yankees.
To help preserve the rich history, UMass Lowell will host the first Irish in Massachusetts conference on Sept. 24 to 26 with Queen's University in Belfast, Ireland. The conference will focus on the historic significance and lasting legacy of the Irish in the state.
"It's a unique experience that differs from New York and Philadelphia," said Dr. Timothy Meagher, an associate professor at The Catholic University of America. "The Irish community is late-forming in Massachusetts. Ethnicity here is very self-conscious and for a longer time than other parts of the country."
An agreement to form an academic partnership with Queen's University was signed in 2009. The partnership has been enforced through study abroad programs, which allowed students from both sides to study local Irish history.
"It's a trans-Atlantic conference," said Brian Mitchell, former president of Bucknell University. He will be giving a lecture on the history of the Irish in Lowell.
"We're bringing people from both sides."
Mitchell's book "The Paddy Camps: The Irish of Lowell" inspired the archeological dig at St. Patrick's Church in Lowell and one in Belfast.
"You feel the intensity of a small community," Mitchell said. "Everywhere you look, there's history."
David McKean, who is in charge of the expedition in Lowell, said his team has found more than 1,300 artifacts, including clay marbles, oyster shells and a rare slate rock with a shamrock carving.
"Lowell is made up of this great fabric of culture," McKean said. He will be giving a lecture on St. Patrick's Cemetery. "It's a lifelong ambition to record the Irish."
The conference will cover topics ranging from the Irish Civil War to Irish politics in Massachusetts.
The conference will take place at the UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center. Registration is open online.
"It's important for me that we get this story down," Meagher said. "It's my story, but we should get also get it right."
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