Cíara Emmanuel Shares Her Black & Irish Story
AAIDN Marketing Assistant Cíara Emmanuel with mother Eileen Emmanuel & friends at the AAIDN Diaspora Leadership Awards Gala
By Cíara Emmanuel
March 3rd, 2025
“We would wake to find my father cooking pancakes and playing Irish traditional music throughout our house, seasoning them with the nutmeg and cinnamon bark we had gotten from our last family trip to Dominica.”
Graduation day at The Glucksman Ireland House (NYU)
February 7th, I had the incredible opportunity of joining founder Dennis Brownlee and board member Christine Kinealy of the African American Irish Diaspora Network (AAIDN) for the February First Friday breakfast and panel discussion at The Consulate General of Ireland, New York. Following an inspiring introduction to the unique mission of AAIDN by Brownlee and an enlightening presentation on underrepresented Black abolitionist visitors of Ireland by Kinealy, I shared my experience of finding AAIDN, recalling the generosity of Dr. Miriam Nyhan Grey—the beloved AAIDN board member, humanities advocate for Black, Brown & Green Voices & assistant professor at Mary Immaculate College in Limerick, Ireland—who connected me to the organization while spearheading significant work within The Glucksman Ireland House during the time of my freshman year at New York University.
My first semester, I took a course called The Irish in America at The Glucksman Ireland House, where we were discussing the historical presence of the Irish within the Caribbean island of Montserrat, a shock to me at the time. I proceeded to raise my hand that day in class, sharing how baffled I was to learn of that connection as an Afro-Caribbean woman of Irish descent, frequenting the southeast Caribbean to visit family since childhood. My professor emailed me that week, connecting me to the wonderful brilliance that is Miriam—who, like a fairy, flutters about, sprinkling fairy dust everywhere she graces. She was kind enough to invite me on as an interviewee for her magnificent brainchild, Black, Brown & Green Voices. As we spoke, we bonded over our shared family stories and backgrounds, a moment of unexpected healing for us both.
Parents Eileen & Len Emmanuel ; young Cíara & siblings Sean Emmanuel & Nora Emmanuel scraping cinnamon bark
Before performing my song ‘Tawana’ (released under the artist name Hired Girl by my entertainment company Flabbergasted LLC) at The Consulate, I also mentioned my parents, who were present at the event—and who raised me on the music that continues to influence my compositional work today.
I remember special mornings growing up. We would wake to find my father cooking pancakes and playing Irish traditional music throughout our house, seasoning them with the nutmeg and cinnamon bark we had gotten from our last family trip to Dominica. It was something I always loved, but never questioned. For us, it was always natural.