Irish America

Irish America

An Gorta Mor

Commemorating An Gorta Mór

By Terry Golway

IA Newsletter, September 26 2026

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They left Ireland more than 150 years ago, seeking to escape starvation and disease in their native land, hoping to find a new life in New York. Many went on to build a new life in the United States, others were less fortunate. Thousands died before they could rebuild their lives in the New World. Some died aboard ship, some in a quarantine station in what is now the St. George … [Read more...] about Commemorating An Gorta Mór

Hibernia

By Irish America Staff

November December 1993

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In 1863 President Lincoln proclaimed the first national designation of a date for Thanksgiving. He named the fourth Thursday in November and Lincoln's choice remained undisturbed for 75 years. In 1938 President Roosevelt essayed moving the day back a few weeks. He gave as his reason the complaints of merchants that Christmas and Thanksgiving were too close and the public spent … [Read more...] about Hibernia

New York Rock Band: Black 47

By Aliah O'Neill
June / July 2010

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Irish America speaks to Larry Kirwan about the Irish Famine's Musical Legacy. Think of any major event in Irish history and a song or two will spring to mind that describes the emotions of a people. Except, that is, for the Great Famine, which left its sufferers at a loss for words to describe their anguish and devastation. With the exception of “Skibbereen,” the musical … [Read more...] about New York Rock Band: Black 47

The Good Samaritan

By Maureen Murphy
June / July 2010

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During the worst winter of the Famine, the American reformer Asenath Hatch Nicholson began her one-woman relief operation, organizing a soup kitchen, visiting homes of the poor and distributing bread in the street. In May 1844, Asenath Nicholson left New York aboard the Brooklyn to “personally investigate the condition of the Irish poor.” She had been a schoolteacher in … [Read more...] about The Good Samaritan

Hunger Memorials in America

By Tara Dougherty
June / July 2010

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Some crimes are so terrible, an affront to humanity, that they are impossible to capture in a memorial. But it could be said that memorials are for the living, not for the dead, a way to comfort the survivors, a way to redeem the suffering through beauty, and a reminder that we have to care for the hungry citizens in the world today. New York Thousands suffering in … [Read more...] about Hunger Memorials in America