"Gunmen Kill Irish Aid Worker in Somalia." The story made the headlines on Monday February 22, 1993. The worker was Valerie Place, 23, of the Irish charity Concern. For months the media had been bringing us the latest on famine-ravaged, war-torn Somalia, and it seemed that in almost every story an Irish volunteer was quoted. Now one had been killed. Relief workers have no … [Read more...] about “Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor…”
Immigration
Supreme Court to Rule on Birthright Citizenship
By Abdon Pallasch
IA Newsletter, June 6 2026
The 1800s were not all that different than our current times when it comes to scape-goating immigrants – the difference is that the target back then were Irish immigrants, an attorney told Supreme Court justices in April. “They believed Irish Catholic immigrants were unassimilable and could never become Americans,” attorney Cecilia Wang said of the Know-Nothing Party, which was … [Read more...] about Supreme Court to Rule on Birthright Citizenship
The Exile
By Pete Hamill
October 1986
A Story of Ireland Whenever Michael Walsh thought he was finished at last with Ireland, all of it would come flooding back, like a sudden wave on a glassy sea. He had tried to rid himself of that sad green country with cheap whiskey in too many bad bars in a city that was not his own. And now, on this perfect spring day in his eleventh year of New York exile, he could feel … [Read more...] about The Exile
Photo Album: “Give Me a Wee Step”
By Maureen Foster
Winter 2024
In this photograph taken in 1925, my mother Kathleen (far left), her mother and father Sam and Ellen Bell, and 10 other siblings pose as they leave their home in Crossgar, County Down. They journeyed to the United States and settled in Chicago, where, after only four years, my granddad died, leaving Grandma Ellen to raise a family of 11. Ellen was a woman of tremendous faith … [Read more...] about Photo Album: “Give Me a Wee Step”
Taking the Lead
By Tom Deignan Fall 2022
by Tom Deignan Northwell CEO Michael Dowling talks about leadership, the future of healthcare, and what immigrants can teach the rest of us You could understand why someone like Michael Dowling – who grew up amidst extreme poverty in Limerick – might turn out to be a bit of a pessimist. Especially if they also spent the last two-plus years weathering the grim storm … [Read more...] about Taking the Lead