Tina L. Kerrigan, MS, RD
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Each month of the year has holidays with significance to different segments of America’s population. A March holiday that has step-ped far beyond the bounds of being limited to an ethnic group is Saint Patrick’s Day. While some had come to America to seek their fortune for many years, there was a great influx of Irish immigrants into the United States starting in 1847. In New York, the Statue of Liberty greeted 52,000 new citizens from the Emerald Isle. In Boston another 37,000 arrived the same year. Unfortunately, it was not the lure of seeking fame and fortune in the United States that brought most of these expatriates to our shores. Ireland had always been a poor country. It had evolved into an economy that depended on a single crop. For many years the potato had sustained the lives of the Irish. When introduced about 1590 from the new world, it was seen as a godsend. Irish climate and soil were highly suitable to the potato and it thrived. Potatoes are highly nutritious. They are rich in protein, carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins such as riboflavin, niacin and especially vitamin C. Typically the bulk of an Irish diet at that time was potatoes, potatoes and more potatoes, with salt, buttermilk, cabbage, and some fish. Despite the overall poverty in Ireland, their diet was probably better than that of contemporary England where bread was the culinary staple. In 1845, the potatoes started to die. An airborne fungus (phytophthora infestans), probably carried in ships from North America, began to devastate the potato crop. First detected in England, and spread to Ireland by the wind, the plague started around Dublin. Soon thereafter it had spread throughout the country and the famine began. |
Potato blights had occurred before, but they had been regional and short lived. This one lasted several years and covered the entire country. It is difficult, if not impossible for those who live in our society to truly understand the total collapse that occurred in Ireland during these years. It is beyond the scope of this brief column. To seek a better life many impoverished Irish took passage to the United States. At that time, they were just the latest wave of immigrants and suffered their share of abuse and prejudice. Time however conquers all. The Irish immigrants adapted and became a vital life force in America. John Fitzgerald Kennedy, our 35th President is a descendant of a famine immigrant. He was the grandson of Patrick Kennedy, a farmer from County Wexford, who emigrated to the US in 1849. Saint Patrick’s day has also evolved over the years. Many of us will tip a glass of Guinness on that day and celebrate our Irish heritage. A deeper context is to celebrate the great contribution Irish Americans have made to the United States. Tina Kerrigan is a Registered Dietitian and owner of Corner Office Healthcare Consultants. |