Welcome to the Queens Irish Oral History Project, devoted to collecting the stories and experiences of the Irish and Irish-Americans in Queens and beyond.
The goal of this project is to record and preserve the living history of Irish immigrants who made their first home in Queens. From Woodside and Sunnyside to Bayside and Floral Park, the Irish of Queens have made a wonderful and lasting imprint on our country.
Many thanks to the interviewees who have participated in this unique project thus far. It’s been our pleasure to spend time with you. Each of you has provided invaluable insight into the immigrant experience with characteristic Irish wit and wisdom. Because of your efforts many people will be able to hear first-hand accounts of arriving and assimilating to a new life in New York during the past 70 years.
The recordings you can access here are edited versions of some of the interviews that will be preserved in the Queens College Benjamin Rosenthal Library. They will be a valuable resource for relatives, researchers and all those interested in Irish history for generations to come.
This effort to honor and safeguard the memories and voices of Irish immigrants in Queens and beyond will enable all of us to appreciate, understand and remember what this country means to so many people who journeyed here with the hope and intention to create a better life.
We hope you enjoy listening to these stories as much as we did.
Dr. Sarah Covington, Director, Queens College Irish Studies Program
Eileen Colleran Sprague, Director, Queens Irish Oral History Project
J1
The J1 visa allows Irish graduates work and live in the USA for one year. In these interviews we hear about the graduates’ arrivals at JFK, the ups and downs of finding their feet, and their overall reflections on their time as J1 visa holders. The oral histories gathered from these young Irish immigrants show us how much the Irish experience of NY has changed over the past 50 years.
Postcards
An open door, a boiled kettle, a helping hand, your favourite biscuits from home… Years of Irish emigration to New York has led to the establishment of many Irish hubs around the city. In this series we collect some audio “Postcards” from these special places and share what goes on there, who can be found passing through, and how they create a sense of community for Irish people in New York City.
New York Irish Center
Just one stop from Grand Central you will find one of the city’s most well known Irish community centers. Belfast native Fr. Colm Campbell led the campaign to establish The New York Irish Center and aided by fellow dedicated community members it opened its doors opened in Long Island City in 2005. It continues to be one of the city’s most active Irish centers, serving the cultural and practical needs of many Irish people in New York.
Aisling Irish Community Center
The Aisling Irish Community Center is located on McLean Ave. in the heart of the Irish community in Yonkers. They set up the Irish Volunteers for the Homeless group in 1990 to help feed homeless people throughout New York City. The idea came about when Cardinal Tomás Ó Fiaich visited New York and suggested the Irish people give back to the city in some way to show thanks for the success and opportunities they had experienced since immigrating to New York. It is just one activity that goes on in this busy community center which serves the Irish community in many, very important, ways.
Transatlantic Artists
New York has been a place of pilgrimage for many Irish artists. In this series, Carmel McMahon interviews a number of Irish musicians, writers and artists about their journey to New York and how the immigrant experience has shaped who they are and the work that they do.
paddy smith
Paddy Smith
“Immigration has made me who I am…It’s moulded me”
Paddy Smith’s story is one of rock bottom and recovery. His talent as a blues harmonica player brought him to share the stage with many greats in the House of Blues in Chicago but a long battle with alcoholism resulted in homelessness and a difficult homecoming to Ireland. In sobriety, Paddy lives through his music. He records and performs regularly in Ireland and the U.S. https://www.facebook.com/PADDY-SMITH-BAND-183321545194771/
Interviewer: Carmel McMahon
Date: April 16, 2018
A Life Across The Ocean
This series documents the lives of Irish men and women who made the journey across the Atlantic and found a home in Queens. Many left homes without electricity in the 1940s and 1950s to live in the hustle an bustle of New York City. We learn about the struggles and successes of their lives in America as well as how they maintained strong ties to home.
Tim & Mary Ann O’Sullivan
“It was exciting, heartbreaking, wonderful, and everything combined…because it was a completely different life altogether.”
Tim and MaryAnn left Ireland in search of a better life in the 1940s and met one another in the Catskills. They maintain that hard work and determination was what made their time in the States such a success.
Interviewer: Eileen Colleran Sprague
Date: January 18, 2015
Jane Duffy
Jane Duffy photographed by kevin mcgann
“I arrived unloved, unskilled and didn’t know what was going on, but I was ready to take on the world…”
Jane came to New York in 1948. She worked as a nanny and waitress before settling in Sunnyside where she raised her five children.
Interviewer: Eileen Colleran Sprague
Date: February 2, 2015
Madge O’Boyle
Madge is from the Gaeltacht (Irish speaking area) of Gaoth Dobhair in Co.Donegal. She moved to New York so she could see America “before the world ended” in 1960! She lived in Park Slope, Brooklyn and then Sunnyside, Queens. She maintained strong ties with Donegal but never went back to stay and instead made New York home.
Interviewer: Eileen Colleran Sprague
Date: April 18, 2015
Tony O’Reilly
“America takes you over after a while…and its ok….I love it…”
Tony left a struggling farm in Cavan behind to discover Dublin, London, Toronto, Buffalo and finally New York. Through boom and bust, trips home and finding love, he has grown to see himself as a true American.
Interviewers: Pat McCloskey & Eileen Colleran Sprague
Date: April 10, 2015
Bridget O’Brien Anderson
Bridget is originally from Doon in Co.Limerick. She followed her sister to the States in 1957 and began working as a phone operator. She met her husband in Gaelic Park and they settled in Woodside where she raised their nine children.
Interviewer: Eileen Colleran Sprague
Date: November 23, 2015
Mary Twomey
Mary Twomey made the journey across the Atlantic when she was just eleven years old. She left her nine siblings in Co.Kilkenny and joined with her uncle and aunt in Queens, New York in 1950. Seven of Mary’s siblings made the same journey as the years went on and her story is one of family bonds staying strong across oceans and through generations.
Interviewer: Eileen Sprague
Date: August 24, 2015
Oral History Live
brendan fay photographed by kevin mcgann
“We are all active on behalf of one another as human beings”
Brendan Fay is an activist, writer, and filmmaker, who has lived in New York since 1988. In this live interview from November 2016, interviewer Vincent Carey brings Brendan through his upbringing in Ireland, finding himself in New York, and the birth of the all-inclusive “St.Pat’s for All Parade” which takes place every year in Queens.
You can find some of the films mentioned in this interview here: https://vimeo.com/brendanfay
Interviewer: Vincent Carey
Date: November 16, 2016
The Morrison & Donnelly Visa Holders
Liam Doherty
LIam doherty photographed by kevin mcgann
From Dublin to New York to San Francisco and back again, Liam Doherty shares his American adventure after arriving on a Morrison Visa in the 1980s.
Interviewer: Kaitin McDermott
Date: February 5th, 2017