Brendan O’Malley, Ph.D. Newbury College, “How the Irish Shaped Immigrant Politics in Nineteenth-Century New York”

Between 1820 and 1920, about five million Irish crossed the Atlantic. Almost all faced formidable challenges, but the wave of two million arriving between 1845 and 1860 in the wake of the famine encountered especially difficult conditions. Decades of scholarship have documented the hardships of the famine migrants, including crushing poverty, hard labor for low

Dr. Lucy Salyer, author of “Under the Starry Flag: How a Band of Irish Americans Joined the Fenian Revolt and Sparked a Crisis over Citizenship”

In 1867 forty Irish American freedom fighters, outfitted with guns and ammunition, sailed to Ireland to join the effort to end British rule. They never got a chance to fight as British authorities arrested them for treason as soon as they landed, sparking an international conflict that dragged the United States and Britain to the

Christopher Klein, “When the Irish Invaded Canada: The Incredible True Story of the Civil War Veterans Who Fought for Ireland’s Freedom”

Did you know that after the Civil War an Irish-American army attacked Canada with the plan of holding it hostage and ransoming it for Ireland’s independence? It is no blarney. The self-proclaimed Irish Republican Army invaded Canada not just once, but five times between 1866 and 1871 in what are known collectively as the Fenian

Rev. Robert W. Hayman, Ph.D., “The Early and Mostly Forgotten History of the Ancient Order of Hibernians and Ladies Auxiliary in Rhode Island From 1849 to 1920”

Except for St. Patrick’s and Independence Day, this society has worked quietly to alleviate the physical needs and satisfy the emotional needs of its Irish members. While its works of charity have passed without notice, its internal disputes have attracted public attention. The fact that the Order has survived and, at times, flourished is a

Steve Marino, “Here’s the church, here’s the steeple, open the door and see all the people: Newport’s early Irish community and Rhode Island’s first Catholic church.”

The 1820s were tough times for Newport. No longer was the harbor the international entrepôt that it had been during the colonial era. The mills along Thames Street were yet to be built and summer visitors were scarce. Yet, in 1828 Benedict Fenwick, Bishop of Boston, procured a lot of land with a schoolhouse on

Joseph Lennon, PhD, “Famine Memories: Terence MacSwiney’s 1920 Hunger Strike”

One hundred years ago, in 1920, daily newspapers around the world told the story of the starvation of a man. That man, Terence MacSwiney, the Lord Mayor of Cork, eventually died in England’s Brixton prison after a seventy-four day fast. The release of his corpse, his funeral, and a series of international commemorations held the