Thomas Cahill writes on the great catastrophe that became known as the Famine. The mass exodus of people during and following this period would forever change the course of Irish and American history. The potato blight that arrived in Europe in the summer of 1845 was, like the potato itself, an American export. The fungus that caused the blight was a microscopic organism … [Read more...] about Why Famine Came To Ireland
Frederick Douglass
Following in Frederick Douglass’s Footsteps:
A Walking Tour of Dublin
Irish America Staff
In August 1845, an American “fugitive slave” named Frederick Douglass arrived in Dublin. He was seeking refuge from capture and a return to enslavement in his home country. Twenty-seven-year-old Douglass referred to his four months in Ireland as the “happiest moments” of his life. He also described it as “transformative”. Ireland changed Frederick … [Read more...] about Following in Frederick Douglass’s Footsteps:
A Walking Tour of Dublin
Frederick Douglass and Irish Home Rule
Born a slave, Frederick Douglass died as a champion of human rights, and Ireland played an important role in his political awakening. In 1845, Ireland provided a safe refuge to Frederick Douglass, a 27-year-old “fugitive” slave from America. Douglass described his four months in the country as the “happiest times” in his life and the Irish people as the most “ardent” … [Read more...] about Frederick Douglass and Irish Home Rule
The Black O’Connell
Christine Kinealy writes about the American abolitionist Frederick Douglass who visited Ireland and came to be known as the “Black O’Connell.” In 1845, Frederick Douglass traveled to Ireland. He stayed there for only four months, but regarded the experience as “transformative.” Fifty years later, an American friend, who claimed to have accompanied the recently deceased … [Read more...] about The Black O’Connell
“TransAtlantic,” by Colum McCann
An excerpt adapted from Colum McCann's novel, TransAtlantic. ℘℘℘ Colum McCann won the National Book Award in 2012 for Let the Great World Spin, which through an extraordinary feat of storytelling connects a disparate group of ordinary New Yorkers to Philippe Petit’s 1974 tightrope walk between the Twin Towers. His novel TransAtlantic is another tour de force: a series of … [Read more...] about “TransAtlantic,” by Colum McCann