Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
A MAJOR NEW research project has been launched to try to find out how and why so many people from Wexford and the south-east of Ireland emigrated to Savannah in Georgia in the 19th century.
The initiative is a collaboration between Waterford Institute of Technology, the John F Kennedy Trust in Wexford and a number of institutions in Georgia.
Many people in the Savannah area in Georgia claim Irish ancestry and a large number of those within the Irish-American community in the area can trace their ancestry back to the south-east of Ireland – particularly Wexford. The Graves company in New Ross operated a shipping route to Savannah in the 19th century and brought many emigrants on ships like the Dunbrody across the Atlantic.
However researchers will be looking to find out how and why these particular people travelled to Savannah, why they settled and did not move on, how they formed their community and how they prospered.
Launching the project yesterday at Georgia Southern University, Minster for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Leo Varadkar said there is “huge potential to develop links between the South East of Ireland and Georgia and in particular to increase tourist traffic between these two parts of the world.”
We are always pleased to welcome American visitors to Ireland and in this case it will be wonderful to welcome so many people from Savannah home.”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Maybe the people of Wexford moved to Georgia,
because its supposed to be earthquake free area…
Newfoundland was another destination for those from the south east of Ireland area mostly from the fishing communitys, whose decendents even today play the same music and speak with a similar accent.
Always wondered if there was any truth in the tale that Wexford fishermen introduced ice hockey to Canada?? That they ‘flattened’ the sliothars so they could play on the ice!!
Well said Richard. I am emailing from Newfoundland and my Irish roots go back to 1810 1815 when the southeast boys were hired aboard British fishing ships headed for Nfld . Many settled in the coves and bays with names like Kelly,Walsh,Byrne,O’Brien,Dalton,Kennedy,Wall,Corbett.O’Leary,Butler ,Collins.
90% of the Irish that went, came from within 90 miles of Waterford City.
People in Newfoundland have a Ballygarrett accent. Fact.
Wexford is in the South East of Ireland. Georgia is in the South East of the US. It was all about easing the homesickness a bit.
I took part in a charity cycle with a group from Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin in Athens, Georgia a couple of years ago and found that it hosted a large number of people of Irish descent. What surprised me was that most of them were Baptists!
We were visited by the local parish priest, (Fr. McGuinness from Limerick!) who explained that as the railways expanded southward in the US; the Irish labourers moved with them. However, the priests did not and as the workers, being Irish needed some form of Sunday worship, they attended the services of the Baptist Church, which was the main church in the Southern States and found a home there.
They heard there were quare good whirley burgers and rissoles there
Think Salpa
I was in savannah last week and could not get over how big paddy’s day was there. All fountains in the place had green water, every person and I mean every person had some piece of green clothing on and every shop front had green in it. All the pubs were claiming Irish bands playing live over the week.
Did a Savannah walking tour and the guide there claimed the first boatload of Irish were convicts whose ship had blown off course. But the men were needed in the new colony and they settled and contributed. Governor Oglethorpe, despite an initial ban on papists, was happy with them and sent word back to London that more Irish would be welcome. I could never substantiate this story though when I returned to Ireland. We’d be talking 18th cent.
What was very much real though was the keenness of the present day folk of Savannah to put this Irish connection front and centre. There is a nice famine memorial in the town.
Savannah is one great town! Positively alive culture and history. Really hip too with college and youth so prominent! Like New Orleans during Mardi Gras!
And ow and est and minster, Michelle.
Good article, and interesting tourism initiative.
Irish slaves?
I wad in St Kitts and Nevis a few years back and discovered that there were many Irish slaves over the years. Youtube Montserrat (nearby island) and Irish accents. Black people with afro-carribean/cork accents. It’s deadly!
They were descendants from black slaves with Irish names because their masters were probably Irish….
Not Irish but Scots Irish. Read the book ‘To Hell or Barbados’, the ethnic cleansing of Ireland, when the Irish slaves were treated worse than Africans.
At the start of the 1800′s much of this territory was virgin land being opened up for farming. By the time of the American Civil War half of the people in the state of Georgia were black slaves. So my guess is that many the Irish were their masters on the farms and plantations.
Why is there a picture of molly malone.what does she have to do with emigration
Really? Cos all statues look the same, right?
Are you a ten year old on their Dads iphone?! Every comment you spout is like verbal diarrhea. You have proven you do not actually read the articles already.
There are clever trolls and there are dumb trolls, you definitely fall into the dumb category.
We beg your pardon?
Agreed Conor, its just unintelligent word vomit
Would there be any chance that as a boat sailed from New Ross and docked in Savannah could be the reason why so many from the South East settled there.
If that might just be the case does it really warrant major research to figure it out?
have your say