I took a pilgrim's trip in September to the Irish mass graves at Grosse Íle, the quarantine station in the St. Lawrence River near Quebec City. I stood by a sunken green field where 5,424 were buried in 1847 in wooden coffins, three deep. Nearby, a small rust-colored metal sculpture garden symbolized the passage from the Ireland of shamrocks to the black shale of death. I … [Read more...] about In Canada, the Irish Disappeared
Immigration
Immigrant Ghosts on the Street of Ships
There's a row of lead laundry sinks on the third floor of an old building on the Lower Manhattan waterfront where Irish women worked in the 19th century. And beyond the laundry drying racks, Gaelic graffiti appear in ghostly but bold script on the old brick walls. "Erin Go Bragh" is writ large. So is "Faugh a ballagh" (clear the way), a famous battle cry, perhaps recorded by a … [Read more...] about Immigrant Ghosts on the Street of Ships
Irish American of the Year: Michael Flatley
For what he has done for the world of Irish dance, Irish America is proud to honor Michael Flatley as our Irish American of the Year. Flatley talked to Debbie McGoldrick about his extraordinary journey and what's next on the cards. It's hard to remember the days when Irish stepdancing wasn't in vogue, when it wasn't scintillating and sublime and sexy, when it wasn't a global … [Read more...] about Irish American of the Year: Michael Flatley
Jeanie Sets Sail for New World
After many false starts, the Jeanie Johnston famine ship replica is on its way to the United States. If there is a symbol of the trials and tribulations of getting the Irish replica famine ship Jeanie Johnston to sea on its homage to history, Tom Kindre is the poster boy. When Tom McCarthy, the captain of the ship, quizzed him on crewing across the Atlantic, the member of the … [Read more...] about Jeanie Sets Sail for New World
EU Search for Death Smugglers
Police across Europe are trying to find the gang who transported eight asylum seekers to their death in Ireland. The dead, who included three children, were found in Wexford on December 14, when a truck driver opened the sealed steel container of his lorry. Five others, suffering pulmonary and kidney problems caused by low oxygen levels, hypothermia and dehydration, were … [Read more...] about EU Search for Death Smugglers