08/21/2026
Patricia Harty left Ireland in 1972. "There's nothing for you here," her mother had said. Her early travels in America introduced her to the world of the Irish in America - and inspired her to co-found Irish America Magazine.
"I knew little about the Irish in America before I left home. We had been told about the Famine in school and the “coffin ships” that ferried the starving Irish to the New World, but they didn’t tell us what happened when they got here.
No one mentioned how many died on the journey or that thousands were buried in mass graves on Grosse Île and all along the St. Charles River in Canada. They didn’t tell us that in New Orleans the Irish died of yellow fever building the canals, or that there’s a statue there to 'Margaret,' an Irish woman who built an orphanage and supported it with a bakery, though she could neither read nor write.
They didn’t tell us about the Irish who fought in the American Revolution, the Civil War, and all the wars since, earning more Medal of Honor citations than any other ethnic group; and they didn’t tell us that the Irish helped build the railroads, and skyscrapers, that they panned for gold, and worked in the copper mines in Butte, Montana, that they would go on to became the face of public service, and even become legends of stage and screen.
And no one told me that there were then 40 million Irish in America, so that I needn’t worry; I would always feel at home."
Patricia shared her Irish story - share yours! See the comments for details.
