Anyone who has ever stopped to ponder what a 4th of July celebration would be like in Ireland will get an answer this Independence Day.
On July 4th, the town of New Ross, Co. Wexford will celebrate its first Irish America Day, in recognition of the strong ties between Ireland and the United States. For New Ross, those connections are particularly important. Patrick Kennedy and Bridget Murphy, John F. Kennedy’s great-grandparents, emigrated from New Ross, as did the grandparents of playwright Eugene O’Neill. Thousands of other immigrants left from the quays of New Ross, and their journeys have been immortalized by the Dunbrody Emigration History Center.
The Irish America Day celebrations will include the best of American history, tradition and fun, with a flag raising, a reading of the Declaration of Independence, Boston Tea Party re-enactments, Mark Twain readings, barbecues, an Irish America Day parade, and the naming of a town Prom King and Queen. Comedian Des Bishop will perform on July 3 at the Brandon House Hotel and The Three Tenors will be joined by special guest Declan O’Rourke at the JFK Arboretum on the night of the 4th.
As one future attendee put it, “America celebrates Ireland’s national holiday, why not the other way around?”
More information: www.irishamericaday.com
Irish America Day: 4th of July in Ireland!
My grandfater left Dublin and arrived in Charleston, S.C. in 1910. I have dual citizenship (Irish & American) and hold an Irish passport. As the
4th of July approaches I have both my American & Irish flags flying in front of our home in Charleston. Charleston has a very large Irish heritage and are very proud of it. Our Mayor of 40 years is of Irish descent(Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr) who I graduated from high school with.