The Irish Were Boston's First Refugees

-


History is replete with stories about refugees from around the world coming to Boston, Massachusetts, seeking help from tragedies of historic proportions that were too massive for them to face. Very often they were poorly received, as locals feared the burden these immigrants would have on society. 

One of the most compelling chapters in the city's history involves Irish immigrants who fled Ireland in the 1840s, fleeing starvation, disease and death.

Many of these refugees fled to Boston, where they arrived, traumatized and ill, having lost parents and children, neighbors and friends. 

News reports describe Irish families huddled in doorways in downtown Boston, begging for food.  A  group of 50 Irish refugees camped out on Boston Common because they had no where to stay.  Many never made it to the mainland, but were held at the quarantine station on Deer Island in Boston Harbor to see if they carried with them typhus or cholera, diseases that later turned up in the crowded tenement buildings along Broad Street and in the North End.

A large number of Irish who made it ashore were eventually sent to the lunatic asylum in South Boston, since they were unable to cope with the tragedy they had experienced.

In June 1998, Boston's Irish community joined with city officials to unveil an Irish Famine Memorial Park in downtown Boston, to commemorate the 150th anniversary of this tragic episode in the city's history.  The Memorial remains a stark reminder that many Bostonians today are the descendents of that Irish famine generation. 

The Famine is also a reminder that refugees are still leaving their homelands to escape certain death, and that humanitarian crises in our lifetime must be solved by those who can. 

For learn more about this episode in Boston's history, visit the Irish Famine Memorial, on the corner of School and Washington Street in Downtown Boston, a stop along Boston's IrishHeritageTrail.com. 

To read more about Boston's Irish history from the 17th century to the present, read Irish Boston: A Lively Look at Boston's Colorful Irish Past. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Blazing the Trail" depicts early Irish filmmaking, showing on November 23 in Brookline

-
Image
The Boston Irish Film Festival is presenting a fresh new look at early Irish filmmaking with the presentation of Blazing the Trail: The Story of the Kalem Film Company in Ireland. The multimedia event takes place on Monday, November 23, 2009, at the historic Coolidge Corner Theater at 290 Harvard Street in Brookline, MA, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. The project was created by film scholar and director Peter Flynn, founder of the Boston Irish Film Festival , and produced by Dawn Morrissey. They will show a selection of rarely-seen films from the early 20th century, as well as several short films that put the historical film in retrospect and modern context. Live music will be interspersed between the films to create an old-time Nickelodeon atmosphere. Musicians are pianist Peter Freisinger and vocalists Victoria Hayes and Liz Hayes. There is also a chance to win free tickets to this premier event through the Boston Irish Tourism Association . Tickets to the show are $9.75 and are availa
Read more

General Edward L. Logan, Namesake of Boston's Logan International Airport

-
Image
General Edward L. Logan (1875-1939), namesake of Boston’s Logan International Airport , died on July 6 1939 from a sudden 'heart ailment.'  His brother, Reverend Leo J. Logan, presided over the funeral mass at the Gate of Heaven Church in South Boston, with tributes by leading politicians like Senator David I. Walsh , former Massachusetts Governor and Boston Mayor James M. Curley and former Mayor John F. Fitzgerald .  Logan is buried at the Calvary Cemetery in West Roxbury.  A first generation Irish-American, military leader, civic leader and municipal judge with family roots in Galway and South Boston,  Edward was the oldest of nine children of Lawrence and Catherine (O’Connor), according to Michael Cummings of Milton, an expert on the Logan Family. Edward’s father Lawrence immigrated to Boston from Ballygar, County Galway, in 1858, and became a successful businessman at a young age when he became president of the Boston Brewing Company in South Boston.  The family resided a
Read more

Damian McGinty, former Celtic Thunder Star, Performs in Hartford and Providence this Fall

-
Image
Damian McGinty , the young singing star from Derry, Northern Ireland who performed with Celtic Thunder , is returning to New England in October as part of a national tour with  Ethan Bortnick . They will be performing in Hartford, CT on October 5, followed by two shows in Providence, RI on October 12, 2014. Find details here. McGinty was part of the original Celtic Thunder ensemble for several years, and left the band in 2012 when he won a coveted spot on the television show Glee .  Since then he has embarked on a solo career that has taken him around the world.  In 2013 McGinty was Cultural Ambassador for his home city of Derry, Northern Ireland . Find year round details on Celtic and Irish cultural activities at IrishMassachusetts.com .
Read more