Patrick O'Malley Wins Robert Rhodes Prize for Books on Literature

Posted in Announcement

Patrick O’Malley has been awarded the Robert Rhodes Prize for Books on Literature by the American Conference for Irish Studies for his Liffey and Lethe: Paramnesiac History in Nineteenth-Century Anglo-Ireland.

The Association tells us this about the prize:

A founding member in 1960 of what was then the American Committee for Irish Studies, Robert E. Rhodes served on the ACIS executive committee for many years and as ACIS president from 1986-88. When the book prize in literature was established in his name by Maureen Murphy in 1999, Rhodes began the practice of buying the books of every prize winner, and writing a congratulatory note to each recipient.

Born in Cortland, NY in 1927, he served with the U.S. Army in the Philippines, and graduated from Cortland State Teachers College. He went on to earn his M.A. in 1955 and his Ph.D. in 1964 in English at the University of Michigan. Returning to New York, he taught literature from 1958 to 1988 at the State University of New York at Cortland. Rhodes was the recipient of the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching and the SUNY Cortland Distinguished Alumnus Award. He retired from SUNY Cortland as Professor Emeritus of Anglo-Irish Literature, and remained active on campus until shortly before his death on September 24, 2016. Grateful students established the Robert Rhodes ‘53 Scholarship at SUNY Cortland in his honor.

Congratulations Patrick!