Matthew Barker first became interested in Irish history when he was only 8 years old.

“My mother said, you know, be proud of your Irish heritage,” said Barker, who has now been studying Irish American history for over 40 years.

The author, genealogist, and historian is particularly interested in Irish Americans based in Portland, where he lives.

Historian and author Matthew Jude Barker. (Photo courtesy of Matthew Barker)

Last year, Barker released two volumes on Portland Irish American history, and he’s currently working on another book about Irish Americans during World War II. Barker is seeking stories from Irish American Portland-based descendants of World War II veterans to contribute accounts of the war to his upcoming book. 

Barker’s two previous books on Irish American history, published in October last year, are “Becoming American: Portland, Maine’s Irish and the Making of Immigrant America, 1840-1861” and “The Blue and the Green: the Irish of Portland, Maine During the Civil War Era, 1861-1870.” 

These books are available for purchase at several places in Portland, including Longfellow Books, Nonesuch Books & More, the Maine Historical Society gift shop, and Portland Public Library.

The two books, which range in length from just over 600 pages to nearly 900 pages, were originally supposed to be one volume, but Barker decided they would be more readable as two, because of their length. 

Maureen Norris and Hannah Field, who work with Barker at the Maine Irish Heritage Center, said that Barker’s knowledge of Irish Americans in Portland is considerable. 

“He can tell a lot of people who they are related to and how,” said Norris, the Founding Board chair of the Maine Irish Heritage Center. “And that’s invaluable in this community, as I see it.”

Field, Norris’ personal assistant, agreed that Barker’s knowledge of Irish American history makes him an impressive and valuable asset to their community. 

“He’s like a walking encyclopedia,” said Field.

Eric Brown, the executive director of the Maine Irish Heritage Center, said that the nonprofit boasts a large community of just under 400 members as well as an email list with about 3,000 subscribers.

Bob Kearney, the board chair at the Maine Irish Heritage Center, right, talks with Matthew Jude Barker, a historian and genealogist, at the Maine Irish Heritage Center in 2023. (Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer) Purchase this image

According to Brown, in the last census, one in six Mainers identified as being of Irish heritage, making it the fifth most Irish state in the country. In Portland, about 20 percent of Portland residents identify as Irish, Brown said.

Beyond chronicling Irish American history through his books, Barker has also been involved in other projects with Norris and Field. One of these projects is a genealogy program that connects people in the Connemara region of Ireland with their relatives in Maine, as well as the Portland Bridget Project, which tells the stories of Irish women who were domestic servants who came to Maine in the late 1800s and early 1900s. 

Bridget, the name of one of Ireland’s patron saints as well as an Irish goddess, was used as a slur to bully these Irish domestics, many of whom were named Bridget because it was a common name in Ireland.

“You can see a lot of comics or newspaper comics talking about Irish maids, making mistakes, calling them Bridget and that sort of thing,” said Field. 

Many women who were named Bridget would change their names or go by a middle name because of the negative stereotype.

“We think that’s really, really heartbreaking because it is a name with such significance to Irish history,” said Field. “So we kind of feel like we’re taking it back.”

For Portlanders eager to learn more about Irish American history, The Maine Irish Heritage Museum is open to the public and has a library with over 8,000 items in its collection. Portlanders can also find Barker’s books in local bookstores or on Amazon and eBay. 

Irish American families in Portland eager to tell their stories about World War II can reach Barker at [email protected].