“May you always walk in sunshine
May you never want for
more
May Irish angels rest their wings
Right
beside your door”
— Old Irish blessing
I have always envied the Irish
their wonderfully colorful language and their inborn talent as marvelous story
tellers. One has only to read authors like Frank McCourt to be aware of their
uniquely lilting method of expression.
Quinnipiac University’s The Great
Hunger Museum, which opened last year on Whitney Avenue in Hamden, has been in
the news for its unprecedented collection of visual arts, artifacts and other
materials relating to the starvation and forced emigration that occurred from
1845 to 1850.
It was these horrific circumstances that caused so many
Irish to come to America. One of the first Irishmen to come to what is now
Connecticut was a nobleman by the name of Riley who settled in the Connecticut
River Valley in 1634. Another Irish immigrant, Darby Field, explored the White
Mountains with a group of Indian guides. In 1640, a group of Irish refugees came
from the West Indies to New Haven, among them was an educated gentleman, William
Collins who taught school in Hartford before going to Boston where unfortunately
he ran into trouble with some church officials who banished him to Rhode
Island.
Edward Brennan, the son of an Irish immigrant, founded St.
Margaret parish in Waterbury and Patrick S. McMahon established Strickland
House, formerly one of the oldest hotels in Connecticut. Particularly
interesting was an influx of Irish immigrants to Newtown. Many came as railroad
workers and lived in the Sandy Hook and Walnut Tree Hill
neighborhoods.
Like all first waves of immigrants, the Irish were at
first, most unwelcome; they were polarizing socially, religiously and
politically. Many came to Newtown from one small area of County Clare and
eventually changed the town’s political majority from Republican to Democrat.
There is an excellent article in the current issue of Connecticut Magazine by David Monagan, entitled “Irish Yearning,” and there is also a Connecticut Irish American Historical Society which maintains a collection of books about Irish history, culture and genealogy at the Ethnic Heritage Center at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven. They also publish a quarterly newsletter, The Shanachie, which means “storyteller” in Gaelic, for their more than 300 members.
They are very involved in interviewing and recording the recollections of senior citizens in the Irish community. Recording and preserving the oral history of our diverse senior population, is, I believe, of tremendous importance.
Have a celebratory dinner of corned beef and cabbage at Nick’s in Madison or Kelly’s Restaurant & Bar or O’Toole’s Irish Pub and Restaurant, both in New Haven.
-And should you have the time, dearie, I’d luv to see the likes of you at 5:30 p.m. March 21 at the Hearth at Gardenside, 173 Alps Road in Branford, where I’ll be talkin’ about “How to Speak to Your Aging Parents.” Call the Hearth at 203-483-7260 for reservations.
Contact Jean Cherni, certified senior adviser for Senior Living Solutions and Pearce Plus, a helpful, full-service program for seniors contemplating a move, at jeancherni@sbcglobal.net or 15 The Ponds at 101 Hotchkiss Grove, Branford 06405.
