One of the most fascinating characters to grace the Irish community in Providence was James Donnelly, a priest from County Monaghan who would one day be anointed Bishop of Clogher, the…
Read More 1854: An Irish Sojourner Visits Providence, Rhode Island
“The Silent City” is how the Providence Visitor referred to St. Patrick’s Cemetery in 1889. At the time, it was estimated that at least 21,136 members of the Irish community of…
Dad training in South Carolina A recent weekend spent with Dad at a World War II air show was more than a treat. I saw the joy in Dad’s face…
It is well known that Irish-Americans have long identified with the issues of their ancestral home. But as someone whose parents and grandparents belonged to “assimilation generations,” it came as…
Read More Inflammatory Words, Found in a Most Unlikely Place
Thomas G. Bradford Map of Rhode Island 1838 The timing could not have been worse. It was November 1841, and Rhode Island’s powerful were feeling threatened by an onslaught of…
Read More The Long and Uneven Fight for Equality: Providence, R.I. 1841
I received two letters in the mail this week that reminded me of a very kind and gentle man from Somalia. The two letters that I received were sent to…
Read More Two Men: Two Continents, Two Centuries, Parallel Experiences
On “St. Paddy’s Day,” while people wear the green and act silly and self-congratulatory, it is worth remembering the sacrifices and the challenges that the earliest Irish immigrants faced in making…
Monday, October 7, 1850, was a day of hope and exhilaration. The decision had been made weeks before, his tickets were bought and his bags packed. Alexander McDonald Lawson said…
Acorn Street in the heart of Federal Hill From at least 1857 to 1862, my great great great grandparents, James and Ellen Duggan lived on Acorn Street. By 1865, ninety-seven…
Read More Thank you, Italians and Italian-Americans of Federal Hill
St. John’s RC Church soaring above Federal Hill, with Holy Ghost RC Church (Italian) to the right. Patrick McEvey was one of the lucky ones. Most of the Irish living…
Read More Pride Comes Before the Fall: The Life and Times of Patrick McEvey
