New book by NIU professor, former student sheds light on towering roles of Irish Americans March 9, 2021 DeKalb, Ill. — Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, NIU History Professor Sean Farrell and his former doctoral student Mathieu Billings, now a faculty associate in history and political science at the University of Indianapolis, have a new book out titled, “The Irish in Illinois.” How did the Irish help shape the Prairie State? Who have been some of the most unheralded Irish in state history? Where does Illinois rank in terms of its St. Paddy’s Day celebrations? Farrell and Billings have the answers.