Speaker. it is fitting that on the feast on St. Patrick I rise to pay tribute to the Irish community of Boston and Massachusetts for building a poignant memorial to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Irish Famine. The Boston Irish Famine Memorial sits at the corner of Washington and School Streets. near Downtown Crossing. just a few blocks from where Famine Irish refugees originally settled in the 1840s. The memorials place along the citys Freedom trail serves as a constant reminder of what the Irish and others sought when they braved oceans and continents to reach the United States of America. Irelands Famine. which lasted from 1845 to 1849. drove over 100.000 Irish refugees to the shores of Boston. where they arrived impoverished. sick. and traumatized by one of the great catastrophes of the 19th Century. Their rise from famine to fame is one of the great American success stories. The Boston Irish Famine Memorial committee was headed by Thomas J. Flatley. an Irish immigrant who came to this country in 1950 from County Mayo. Mr. Flatleys reputation as a generous contributor to and tireless advocate of Irish and religious causes is well know in Massachusetts.
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refugees immigrant