Born in Brooklyn to Irish parents, Dr. Jane O’Meara Sanders is a founding member of the Sanders Institute , a fellowship comprised of leaders dedicated to transforming democracy through the research, education, outreach and advancement of bold, progressive ideas and values. Dr. O’Meara Sanders was also at the centre of the 2016 American presidential election as senior political advisor to, and wife of, Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders.

In conversation with Joseph O’Connor, award winning novelist and Frank McCourt Chair of Creative Writing in UL, Dr. O’Meara Sanders will discuss the 2016 Presidential election, the Sanders campaign and Institute, the Republican and Democratic rivals faced, and the current political climate in America. She will discuss as well her own Irish heritage, her upbringing in 1950’s Brooklyn in an Irish-American home, and the influence of Irish art, music and literature on her life. Finally, she will tell her and Bernie Sanders’ shared story, having grown up just blocks from each other in Brooklyn, but who first met decades later as political candidate and activist in Vermont.

Over 11 days in October, I.NY explores and celebrates the deep and vibrant connection between Ireland and New York City. The festival invites artists, writers, musicians, educators, entrepreneurs and more to tell the story of how the Ireland New York relationship has impacted their personal, professional and creative lives. It invites as well an audience, from home and abroad, to share their own stories, hear those shared by others, and experience the broader Ireland New York story through a diverse programme of cultural events.

Dr. Jane O’Meara Sanders appears in conversation with Joseph O’Connor as part of the I.NY festival’s Annie Moore Talks series in University Concert Hall on Thursday 12 October, 2017.