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A History of Discrimination and Immigration in Albany: Capital District Irish American Association to Host Educational Presentation

By KATE PIERCE
News Editor

With immigration continuing to prompt heated reactions at home and abroad, the Capital District Irish American Association hopes to relate back to the discrimination immigrants in Albany once encountered.

The Association is hosting a presentation on the historic experiences of immigration and discrimination of the Irish, Italian and German communities in Albany.

The event starts at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 26, in the Irish/Hibernian Hall at 375 Ontario St. The building has a large parking lot and is entirely handicap accessible.The event is free and donations are highly encouraged.

“Down at the Hibernian Hall we are acutely aware that we were all immigrants and we were not particularly welcome,” said Paul Collins, director of the association.

The grouping of the three communities of immigrants together for the discussion arose from the amount of each who make up a large portion of the capital region, according to Collins.

“It’s a history from the beginning,” said John Carswell, the coordinator for the event. “There’s always been a group that has been blamed as lazy and not worth being here.”

One of the presenters, Chris White, wrote a master’s thesis on the German-American experience in Albany during World War I in comparison to the greater United States.

For the presentation White said he will focus on laws that were enacted that by the standards of today would be completely biased. In these instances German-Americans were required to be on registry, to notify certain organizations if they moved, and they were not permitted to own wireless radios.

“It’s almost as if society hasn’t learned from sins of the past,” said White.

Collins, whose great-great- grandfather came to the U.S. from Ireland, will be speaking about the Irish immigration experience. He’ll be talking about cases of discrimination, like signs that proclaimed “Irish need not apply,” and about how Irish immigrants made their way to America.

Most Irish immigrants came over during the potato famine, but did not come through Ellis Island, Collins said. It did not open until 1892, or 40 years after the end of the height of the famine.

Instead they came through places like Castle Garden, which today is known as the Castle Clinton National Monument. The Castle was America’s first official immigration center, operating from 1855 to 1890.

The other popular point Irish immigrants came through was Gross Isle in Québec, Canada because shipping restrictions were not as strict as other ports. From there, many Irish immigrants continued their journey into the United States.

Not all Irish immigrants made the journey as far south as the Capital Region. Many decided to stay in Northern New York.

“The Adirondacks are full of Irish men that have bad feet,” said Collins.

A cultural presentation was hosted last month by the Irish-American Association that revolved around the Irish population in the Adirondacks. The association hosts an Irish-centric lecture every month, and a monthly luncheon every third Thursday about Albany history.

In May the luncheon will host a presentation on the history of the water infrastructure in Albany.

“It’s a nice evening out, and you get to learn something,” said Collins.

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