The Irish in New York

While downtown DC often has the feel of a new apartment - pristine and shimmering; New York feels lived in. The smell of hot dog stands, the music of reggae bands punctuated by the incessant beep of a taxi’s horn and as many accents as even the most diverse city can accommodate.

However, it was from a speed boat that raced us down the Hudson toward the Statue of
Liberty that we had our most unique view of the city; not from the street but from
original passageway of the huddled masses of Irish men and woman.

It is a temptation to think of history’s passage and events as pre- ordained but
was it really inevitable that some 150 years after the post- famine wave of Irish reached
these shores a boatload of their countrymen would be making their way down this waterway in such a removed context. The original Irish that arrived faced hardship and an often hostile reception, we have been welcomed with open arms. The journeys could not be more different but reminds us of the historic bond between the nations - a mutual bond in which neither country should forget the debt owed in human and economic terms.