- Ships from the South Shore brought corn to Cork during The Great Hunger.
- Jobs lured Irish immigrants to Scituate, Kingston, and Plymouth.
- Many South Shore towns had a “little Dublin” or similar Irish enclave.
- Weymouth and Scituate host annual Saint Patrick’s Day Parades.
- Scituate’s Easter Rising Memorial is the only one of its kind in the United States.
- Plymouth High Schools offer an elective in Irish History.
Easter Rising
A granite monument with the words of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic inscribed on it stands next to the bandstand in Scituate Harbor.
“The Easter Rising in 1916 was a hugely significant event in Irish history,” said the Irish Consul General in Boston Laoise Moore. “While the Rising itself did not immediately lead to the creation of an Irish Republic, it set in train a series of events which ultimately led to the creation of the Irish Free State, and after that the Republic.”
“I think a monument in Scituate, officially the most Irish town in the U.S., is particularly appropriate,” she said. “I’m deeply appreciative that the people of Scituate continue to work so actively to celebrate Irish history and links. I’m not aware of any monuments of the kind to be unveiled in Scituate Harbor, so I think this will be a very unique and special monument.”
“The support of the Irish-American community has remained steadfast through the decades, and it is deeply appreciated in Ireland,” she said. “Our close links have been important for our peace, prosperity and cultural vibrancy. It is wonderful to see that the people of Scituate continue to grow and strengthen these.”
John Sullivan, Founder and President of the Easter Rising Memorial Committee, noted, “The Easter Rising was the first fight for freedom by any colony of England since our own American Revolution was started in Lexington and Concord.”
Siobhán Hunter, Chair of the Scituate/West Cork Committee noted the memorial ’s significance is not only to Ireland when she said, “This is a meaningful and timely memorial to the people that have sacrificed so much for freedom and equality here, in Ireland, and around the globe. The struggle is not over, unfortunately, but we appreciate everyone that has and will take action so we can have hope of a better future.”
(Information based on an article by Ruth Thompson in the Scituate Mariner)
