Oscar Handlin, the eminent Harvard historian, argued that immigration was and is the key to understanding American history. For Newport, the arrival of large numbers of Irish immigrants in the late 1840s and 1850s shaped the history of the city to present times. One question that arises is the degree of upward mobility: To what
Irish immigrants faced a punishing arrival in our state, and their forward progress over the years was not much kinder. By the end of the 1800s, Rhode Island Irish had at least progressed from “shanty” Irish to “lace curtain” status in some quarters. Prof. Molloy will discuss the conditions in Providence’s Irish-dominated Fifth Ward (Newport
The 1830s and 1840s were arguably the lowest moment for Irish Catholics in American history. Michael Feldberg will recall those difficult years by recounting the attacks by xenophobic Protestants (including some Orangemen) on two Irish Catholic churches in Philadelphia, one of which was burned to the ground. The immigrant Irish Catholics fought back, and several
If you have at least one grandparent who was born in Ireland, you are eligible for Irish Republic (dual) citizenship and then can obtain an Irish passport. Our speaker will walk us through the process for fulfilling all the requirements of both Irish citizenship and getting your Irish passport. In addition, she will share how
The Great Hunger led to massive emigration to the U.S., Canada, Australia and Europe. Shiploads of emaciated Irish adults, children and families arrived daily on coffin ships in New York City, America’s Golden Door. Many parents, already emaciated, died aboard ship and were buried at sea, or shortly after their arrival. Families and parentless children
Newfoundland was an early destination for Irish immigrants during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The beginnings of this migration were deeply embedded in the growth of the Atlantic cod fishing trade which saw many Irish venture to Newfoundland as seasonal fishermen. As Arthur Young recounted in 1776, “The number of people who go passengers
This lecture will be held in St. Mary's Church, which was designed by Irish-born architect Patrick C. Keely (1816-1896). Patrick Charles Keely (1816-1896) designed and built an estimated 700 ecclesiastical structures including churches, cathedrals, schools, colleges, and other parish buildings. He left Thurles, Ireland, for America in 1842, and arrived in Brooklyn, NY where he
As this April marks the centennial of the Easter Rising, which helped usher in the Irish Free State (1922), the Museum is pleased to present this timely lecture and welcome three special guest speakers. Dean Robinson will provide an overview of the week-long Rising--the Irish leaders, the Proclamation, the casualties and the British treatment of
Who was the Irish Bridget? What relevance does her story have to the history of Irish immigration to America? Learn the answers to these questions in Dr. Margaret Lynch-Brennan’s presentation “The Irish Bridget: Irish Immigrant Women in Domestic Service in America, 1840-1930” which is based on her book of the same name. The young Irish
On April 8, 1824, the Newport Mercury announced, “We learn, that surveys are now being completed by an officer of the Engineer Corps, preparatory to commencing and extending the works at Fort Adams, (Brenton’s Point,) in this harbor." Over the next 20 years, the construction of this massive, state of the art fortification would change
A local labor activist once said that the Providence Journal hated unions like the Devil hated holy water! You could easily have substituted “Irish” for “unions” at almost any time in the newspaper's long history. But there were a couple of exceptions. Alfred Williams, a Civil War era reporter, eventually became the paper's editor in
Why did over a million people die of starvation and disease, and more than two million leave during roughly six years in mid-1800s Ireland? The label "potato famine" does not begin to explain a crisis that was hundreds of years in the making, and one that happened in the midst of plenty. This 49-minute documentary
