AUBURN — Local author and artist John Henderson will discuss the role of Irish immigrants in Lewiston and Auburn history, in a series of five lectures during September sponsored by the Androscoggin Historical Society.

* Thursday, Sept. 8, noon to 1 p.m. at the Auburn Public Library, 49 Spring St., “Origins and Beginnings.” A look through the lens of art and architecture at the origins of the Androscoggin Irish and what drew them here.

* Thursday, Sept. 15, 7 to 8:30 p.m., Androscoggin Historical Society, 2 Turner St., Court Street entrance, “Living on the Patch: Irish Neighborhoods.” Six neighborhoods that were almost exclusively Irish.

* Thursday, Sept. 22, 7 to 8:30 p.m., Museum L/A, 35 Canal St., Lewiston, Bates Mill, “The Irish Parishes: St. Joseph’s and St. Patrick’s.” The history, art and architecture of these parishes.

* Tuesday, Sept. 27, 7 to 8:30 p.m., Androscoggin Historical Society, 2 Turner St., Court Street entrance, “Politics, Professions and Community Participation.” The doctors, lawyers, teachers, politicians, undertakers and social organizations in the Irish community.

* Thursday, Sept. 29, 7 to 8:30 p.m., Lewiston Public Library, Callahan Hall, “Merchants and Businessmen.” A visual stroll down Lewiston’s Lisbon Street, which is laced with buildings constructed or used by the Irish.

Henderson, who lives in Auburn, is a graduate of the Maine Maritime Academy graduate logistics management program and holds bachelors degrees in political science and German studies from the University of Southern Maine. A former teacher, he is a member of the Androscoggin Historical Society, Maine Historical Society and the Irish American Club of Maine. He has authored two books, “Early Murphy Descendants of Mary Hurley and James McCarthy” and “Androscoggin Irish.”

The lectures are free of charge. Each session will feature Henderson’s artistic renderings of the Lewiston and Auburn architectural landmarks that were established or used by the immigrant Irish community.