Irish, Ann B. 1934-

PERSONAL:

Born November 4, 1934, in Cleveland, OH; daughter of Monroe J. (a chemist) and Jane Byrns (a librarian; maiden name, Cutler) Bahnsen; married Leslie A. Irish (an engineer), January 31, 1954; children: David, Jane Irish Nelson, Ellen, Rosemary Irish Shattuck. Ethnicity: "White." Education:Attended Radcliffe College, 1952-54; University of Washington, Seattle, B.A., 1960, M.A., 1977, Ph. D., 1985. Hobbies and other interests: Playing Japanese koto.

ADDRESSES:

Home—16832 McIntyre Rd. S.W., Vashon, WA 98070. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Writer and educator. Vashon Island School District, Vashon, WA, high school teacher of U.S. government and Japanese, 1968-94, 1999. Exchange teacher in Japan, 1988-89, 1992.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Tennessee History Book Award, best book on Tennessee history, Tennessee Historical Commission and Tennessee Library Association, 2001, for Joseph W. Byrns of Tennessee: A Political Biography.

WRITINGS:

Joseph W. Byrns of Tennessee: A Political Biography,University of Tennessee Press (Knoxville, TN), 2001.

Contributor to periodicals, including Social Educationand NAASP Bulletin.

WORK IN PROGRESS:

Be Ambitious: The Story of Japan's Northern Island, Hokkaido, completion expected in 2006.

SIDELIGHTS:

Ann B. Irish told CA: "From my early years, libraries have been important to me, and when I was a child, one of my goals in life was to see my name in library catalogs. It took a long time, but I did eventually see that dream fulfilled—but by then, card catalogs were being replaced by computer catalogs."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Journal of Southern History, August, 2003, Gordon E. Harvey, review of Joseph W. Byrns of Tennessee: A Political Biography, p. 732.