By Mary O’KEEFE

This month is Irish American Heritage Month. I know there are some who do not see the value in months dedicated to one subject or one culture. The reasoning appears to be we should honor these cultures or pay attention to these specific issues all year long, which would be true if we lived in a utopian world … but we do not.

Having a month to highlight specific issues, like October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month or February is Black History Month, allows us to hear stories, issues and cultures that we normally would not hear. It gives people who have a connection to these cultures not necessarily a chance to speak about them, but to take time to speak about them with an audience that will listen. 

For me, I am Irish American all the time and do speak quite often about my proud heritage; however, Irish American Heritage Month really reminds me to research and focus on my family’s journey to America. 

My family, like most Irish Catholic immigrants, came over during The Great Famine, or The Great Hunger (am Gorta Mór in Irish), between 1845 and 1852. It was a time when a potato blight destroyed potato crops. During that time over one million Irish died and about two million people emigrated. So why didn’t the Irish eat something other than potatoes? Well, that has to do with economics and the British rule. Potatoes were the only source of food for many people. 

“During the 16th and 17th centuries, England invaded Ireland. The native Irish people were forced to move to the west coast where the land was rocky and the soil for farming was not as good. Most land in Ireland was now owned by English landlords. These landlords rented the land to the Irish at very high prices. The Irish often used the good land to grow things like wheat and corn that they would sell to pay their rent. This left the farmers with a small piece of land to grow their own food. Potatoes took up very little space and were very nutritious. One acre of potatoes could feed a family of four for a year. Potatoes also grew well in the rocky soil. At least two thirds of the farmers in Ireland grew only potatoes for themselves and their family,” according to The Illustrated News, a publication of Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum.

Irish were evicted when they could no longer pay the rent because of their crops dying. Many families lived in small shelters made from holes in the ground or were left with no shelter at all. About 350,000 people were evicted. In 1841 Ireland had more than 8 million people living there and the prediction was the population would grow at least by one million people within 10 years; however, because of the Great Hunger that was not the case. By 1851, the population of Ireland had dropped to 6 million. And by the end of 1921, 4.5 million people had left Ireland. The country has never recovered from the Great Hunger; in 2017 the population was 4.75 million, according to the Great Hunger Museum. 

Many of the Irish came to America hoping for a better life. After emigrating to the U.S. they faced prejudice and judgment. 

My dad was born in 1930 and he faced judgments not only from the outside world but from members of his own family who were not Irish Catholic. My dad and his older brother shared stories of this time. They were remarkably forgiving and saw the bright side of if all … I was not that forgiving and certainly did not have an understanding nature. 

I recently saw a video of filmmaker Frank Capra, famous for films like “It Happened One Night,” “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” and “Meet John Doe.” These are all films from the late 1930s and ’40s but honestly – if you haven’t seen these films, find them and spend time watching them. If you have seen them but not in a while, watch them again.

In this recording Capra was receiving the Life Achievement Award from the American Film Institute. At the end of his speech he shared how he arrived at this country from Sicily, Italy. He was 6 years old and he shared his first memories of arriving in America. 

“I celebrated my 6th birthday in the black dark hole of a creaking ship crammed with retching, praying, terrorized immigrants. Thirteen days of misery and then the ship stopped,” Capra said. 

His father carried him to the deck of the ship and said, “Look at that.”

“At first, all I saw was a deck full of people on their knees, crying and rejoicing. My father cried. ‘That’s the greatest light since the star of Bethlehem,’ my dad said. I looked up and there was the statue of a great lady, taller than a church steeple, holding a lamp over the land we were about to enter. And my father said, ‘It’s the light of freedom,’” he said. 

Capra spoke of when he and his family arrived at the Southern Pacific Station in Los Angeles and how his parents kissed the ground. He then compared that arrival to now receiving the Life Achievement Award from the American Film Institute. He thanked his family, many of whom had already died, and all of his friends who made the same journey. 

“But for America, just for living here, I kiss the ground,” he said. 

That is what coming to America meant to so many who left their home – hoping for a new life. I know my family left during the Great Hunger, not because they wanted to leave their homeland – Ireland was always in their hearts – but because they needed to survive and America has always offered that hope, that dream. It is really what makes us American – the melting pot of cultures.

The statue of the great lady Capra referred to – the Statue of Liberty – even states that sentiment: “…your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”

There is a saying that everyone is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day so maybe this March 17 we can all celebrate Irish American Heritage Month by remembering and honoring our ancestors who chose to come to this country and hoped for a better life. 

St. Patrick’s Day may see light rain and cool temperatures. NOAA has issued a Flood Watch for March 12 from 6 p.m. to March 13 at 6 p.m. It is for LA County in general but with an emphasis in the burn areas. 

The heaviest rain is expected from Wednesday into Thursday with lower level elevations experiencing winds of 20 to 30 mph. Light rain is expected to continue through Monday. Temperatures will be cool with highs in the low 60s, according to NOAA.