Donegal welcome home Duffy’s Cut murder victim John Ruddy after 180 years

Researcher Bill Watson says getting Irish immigrant's remains home is a “miracle”

By

KERRY O'SHEA,

IrishCentral Staff Writer

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Last year's burial service for the Duffy's Cut victims in Pennsylvania

Photo by Philly.com

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"A lot of the people throughout Donegal see this as being important because they've all got stories in their family tree like this — people who left for America and were never heard from again," said Bill Watson, whose own ancestors also hail from the county. 

Vincent Gallagher, another Donegal emigrant and current president of the Irish Center in Philadelphia, donated the grave site in Ardara for Ruddy.

‘‘When I came to this country, there were a bunch of people waiting for me from my own family,’’ said Gallagher, a landscaper. ‘‘But these people — 57 of them — they came here, they didn’t know a soul.’’ 

With the burial comes another step to concluding the Duffy’s Cut research for twin historians Bill and Frank Watson. They both understand the importance of the Duffy’s Cut victims’ stories in Ireland and America’s shared immigrant history.

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