Difference of the Position of the Irish in the Old Country, and the New

John Francis Maguire
1868
CHAPTER I

Difference of the Position of the Irish in the Old Country, and the New—Difference in the Countries—Power and Dignity of Labour—The Irish Element strong in Halifax—Their Progress—The Value of a 'Lot'—No Snobbishness—The Secret of Prosperity—The Poor's Asylum—Cause of Poverty—Catholic Church in Nova Scotia—'Sick Calls'—A Martyr to Duty—No State Church—Real Religious Equality—Its Advantages—Pictou—My Friend Peter—Peter shows me the Lions—At the Mines—Irish everywhere—A Family Party—Nova Scotia as a Home for Emigrants.

CROSSING the Atlantic, and landing at any city of the American seaboard, one is enabled, almost at a glance, to recognise the marked difference between the position of the Irish race in the old country and in the new. Nor is the condition of the Irish at both sides of the ocean more marked in its dissimilarity than are the circumstances and characteristics of the country from which they emigrated and the country to which they have come.

The Irish in America, first published in 1868, provides an invaluable account of the extreme difficulties that 19th Century Irish immigrants faced in their new homeland and the progress which they had nonetheless made in the years since arriving on a foreign shore. A new edition, including additional notes and an index, has been published by Books Ulster/LibraryIreland:

Paperback: 700+ pages The Irish in America

ebook: The Irish in America