Dr. Catherine Leen, Associate Professor, Department of Hispanic Studies, Trinity College Dublin will introduce the event. Based on the true story of John Riley and the Saint Patrick’s Battalion—the Irish immigrants who chose conscience over empire, deserting the U.S. Army during the Mexican-American War to defend Mexico. In A Ballad of Love and Glory, follow the fearless John Riley and defiant healer Ximena Salomé as they find love and strength in one another amidst a brutal invasion. One fought for a new home; the other fought to save hers. Together, they risked everything to resist the land theft of a rising empire. Reyna Grande is an award-winning author whose work powerfully illuminates the complexities of immigration, family separation, and the pursuit of the American Dream. Born in Mexico, Grande embarked on a perilous journey to the U.S. at age nine to reunite with her parents—a defining experience that fuels her writing. Breaking generational barriers, she became the first in her family to graduate from college, earning a BA from UC Santa Cruz and an MFA from Antioch University. Her diverse body of work includes her celebrated memoirs, The Distance Between Us and A Dream Called Home, and the novels Across a Hundred Mountains , Dancing with Butterflies , and the historical epic A Ballad of Love and Glory . She amplifies undocumented voices as co-editor of Somewhere We Are Human: Authentic Voices on Immigration, Survival, and New Beginnings . She has earned numerous accolades, such as the American Book Award, the Premio Aztlan Literary Award, the Luis Leal Award, and the Hummingbird Award in Literary Arts. In May 2026, her memoir-in-essays, Migrant Heart: Essays About Things I Can’t Forget, was published in English and Spanish. Grande lives in Woodland, California. This event is organised in partnership with Languages 250 at Trinity (1776-2026) . Throughout 2026, the School of Languages, Literatures and Cultural Studies is marking the 250th anniversary of the

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