From the Emerald Isle


Eirinn


Cafferty

Creamer

Farrell

O'Brien

Sullivan

During the last century, just after "Black 47" the horrific year of  the Irish Famine, five of my ancestors boarded ships, some in Sligo and others in Cork.

 They were seeking "Tir na Nog", which, according to Celtic legend, could be found somewhere on the other side of the great Atlantic Ocean. This land of eternal youth, sought by the ancient Celts, was now called America.

Patrick O'Brien, farmer's son, came to New York in 1874 from Co Leitrim in the Irish Midlands.  His future bride, also from Co Leitrim, Mary Theresa Cafferty came the same year.

Julia Ann, age seventeen, and her parents, Flurry and Mary Margaret Sullivan, natives of Co Kerry, embarked on their journey from the docks of Cork in 1877.

All came to Rhode Island. This is their story.


Castle Garden, New York 1800's
Immigration Center