Unintended Consequences: The story of Irish immigration to the US

Ray O’Hanlon, editor of the Irish Echo in New York writes about his subject with great passion, from legislative about-turns to the pain of the undocumented

Immigrants wait to be processed on Ellis Island in New York, circa 1920: the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 reduced the number of Irish people that could emigrate to the US. Picture: Getty

HISTORY

Unintended Consequences: The story of Irish immigration to the US and how America’s door was closed to the Irish

By Ray O’Hanlon

Merrion Press, €19.95

When the novelist Joseph O’Connor was a student, he and some friends staged a sit-in at the Department of Health to protest against their medical cards being taken away. A Garda sergeant arrived with a simple warning.

“If any of you are arrested today, you will never get into ...