History of Lackawanna County, PA

The Irish Are Coming - Sligo To Scranton 1850 - 1900
By Jim Dolan

NOTE: This book, in PDF format, has been generously provided by Jim Dolan. Use is restricted to personal research and may not be redistributed. Permission to link to this page from another website is granted, but permission will not be granted to copy this information to another website, or to link to the book download.

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Introduction

"Over the centuries Ireland has given millions of its sons and daughters to the United States. They came as poor immigrants and helped make the U.S. the country it is today. At first they provided the labor to build the canals and railroads. Then they dug deep into the earth to provide the anthracite coal necessary to feed the hungry industrial revolution. They were no strangers to the steel mills which provided the rails that eventually spanned the vast North American continent. The women would work as domestic help, in the mills, but most dedicated themselves to working at home holding their family together in extremely difficult times in a strange land.

"The intent of the book is to inform American readers of life in the Kilglass area and Irish readers of life in Scranton. It will take you on a journey through time to see what life was like for these courageous people. The account is geographically and chronologically specific. The time is the 19th century and the locations are; Kilglass Parish, County Sligo and Scranton, Pennsylvania. Occasionally the story may drift in time to catch points of interest, but the majority of the effort will center on the 1800s. There will also be some drift on the geographic side. In Ireland it is impossible not to include people from the parishes of Easkey and Castleconnor, which neighbor Kilglass on the western shore of Killala Bay. In America it would be foolish not to include those Irish who settled in communities surrounding Scranton like Dunmore, Throop, Olyphant and Minooka.

"Some of the men and women who emigrated from these parishes would achieve success in their time. But it was mostly their children and following generations that would achieve what was unachievable under the repression they endured in Ireland. There would be doctors, lawyers, judges, scientists, leaders of industry and government. Names that can be found in either the Scranton or Kilglass phone directory. A stroll through Cathedral or St. Joseph’s Cemeteries in Scranton, and a walk through any cemetery in Kilglass, Easkey or Castleconnor parish will leave you wondering which country you are in."

Click image to enlarge

From Page 201: The Irish Are Coming By Jim Dolan

Photo by Mary Alice Kilcullen, caption by Tom Costello
Page 201: Click image to enlarge
[Mary Alice Kilcullen provided this correction, March 2013: Mary Bagley Boland was incorrectly listed as Bridget Boland in the last line.]

PDF of the complete book The Irish Are Coming - Sligo To Scranton 1850 - 1900, by Jim Dolan, in a compressed form (2.5 MB) to download. Most images are fine, except the map and group photo, which are provided above in their original quality. NOTE: This book, in PDF format, has been generously provided by Jim Dolan. Use is restricted to personal research and may not be distributed without permission. Permission to link to this page from another website is granted, but permission will not be granted to copy this information to another website, or to link to the book download.
Copyright 2008

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