The story of Irish emigration to New York did not end with the great migrations of the nineteenth century. In this episode of Transatlantic Damian and Fin explore two later waves: the Irish who left for New York in the 1950s and those who followed in the 1980s.

What drove them to leave and how did they make new lives in a dramatically different society? We also explored the reason why they left Ireland in the tens of thousands; poverty at home and opportunity in New York, the impact of the Catholic Church on life in Ireland and the Troubles from the late 1960s.

Our guest is Linda Dowling Almeida. Linda has BA and MA Boston College and a PhD NYU and taught Irish American history and literature at Glucksman Ireland House NYU for more than 20 years. Her area of interest is 20th century immigration and culture. She is the author of Irish Immigration in New York City, 1945-1995 as well as several articles on migration and culture. She is currently President of the New York Irish History Roundtable and book review editor of its journal. Her upcoming publication (edited with Sally B. Ebest) is These Traits Endure: Irish American Research in the 21st Century

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During the 1820s the Peter Robinson Emigration Scheme saw large numbers of families leave Munster the begin new lives in Upper Canada. Two hundred years later, the headstones these families left behind in Peterborough County, Ontario and in Cork, Limerick and Tipperary are helping to tell their stories in a unique, innovative and intrguing way. Fin and Damian are joined by Dr John Tierney, Director of the Historic Graves Project and Patrick Leahy of the Douro Heritage Group in Ontario to discuss their incredible transatlantic Carved in Stone community heritage project, which is using archaeology and history to explore the graveyards that linked these people across the Atlantic.

The episode begins with John explaining how Historic Graves works, and his long experience of collaborating with local communities in Ireland to record their graveyards. Patrick then takes us through the story of Irish settlement in Douro, Ontario and some of the stories of those who crossed to Canada. The remainder of the show is given over to discissing how their transatlantic collaboration came about, their ongoing work on both sides of the water, and the incredible insights that is bringing for our knowledge of these communities, their origins, and their maintained connections with home.

Historic Graves Website

Historic Graves Youtube Channel

Duoro Heritage Group Facebook Page

Ballyhoura Development Peter Robinson Emigration Page

Carved in Stone Ballyhoura Development Project Page

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Irish America's relationship with African Americans in the mid-19th century has long been a focus for historians, particularly those trying to understand racism and Irish opposition to emancipation. But what if part of the answer lies not in New York or Boston, but in Ireland itself? In this episode, Fin and Damian are joined by Dr Ian Delahanty, Associate Professor of History at Springfield College, Massachusetts. Ian's award-winning work has shed new light on some of the origins of Irish attitudes towards slavery, abolition and emancipation, and how they changed over time. As he explains, if we want to better understand them, we have to begin not in the United States, but in Ireland.

In this episode, Ian takes us back to the years around the Great Famine to explore Ireland's abolitionists, the influence of abolition on Irish politics, and how the tensions that resulted began to shape the views some Irish nationalists developed on abolition and emancipation during the 1840s. These political attitudes were carried across the Atlantic with Famine emigrants and nationalist leaders into a United States on the brink of war over the issue of slavery. We cross the Atlantic to follow that story, discussing how the political scenario in America shaped these pre-existing attitudes during the 1850s, and finally explore the major impact and influence the Civil War had on how Irish America came to view the question of emancipatiing enslaved African Americans.

Our discussion is based on Ian's book, Embracing Emancipation: A Transatlantic History of Irish Americans, Slavery and the American Union, 1840-1865 published by Forduham University Press. It was awarded the Lawrence J. McCaffrey Prize for the best book on Irish America in 2024.

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