New York's Top 10 Irish historical sites - SEE PHOTOS

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Ellis Island in Upper New York Bay

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Photo gallery - NYC's best Irish historical sites

There’s an old joke that asks what’s the biggest difference between Ireland and the United States? The answer is that more Irish people live here.

Joking aside, the truth is the Irish have made their mark on Manhattan for centuries, building the skyscrapers, policing the streets and eventually running city hall.

That’s why when you visit the Big Apple you won’t be short of fascinating historical sites of enduring importance to the Irish.

Here’s a list of New York’s top 10 Irish historical sites.

1. Ellis Island

Ellis Island, located at the mouth of the Hudson River in New York Harbor was from January 1, 1892, until November 12, 1954 the main entry facility for immigrants entering the United States. Its importance to the story of the United States is inestimable.

More than 12 million immigrants passed through Ellis Island between 1892 and 1954 but the very first immigrant to pass through Ellis Island was Annie Moore who arrived here from County Cork aboard the steamship Nevada on January 1, 1892, her fifteenth birthday. As the first person to be processed at the newly opened facility she was presented with an American $10 gold coin.

www.ellisisland.org

2. Irish Hunger Memorial

One and a half million people died between 1846 and 1850 in the famine in Ireland. New York’s new Irish Hunger Memorial, located at is located on a one-half acre site at the corner of Vesey Street and North End Avenue in Manhattan, is a monument to those who perished during An Gorta Mor (The Great Hunger), and is a symbol to highlight areas of the world affected by hunger today.

Comprising in part a quarter-acre of land, arrayed with barren potato furrows, flora from County Mayo, the memorial features rocks from each of Ireland’s 32 counties.

www.batteryparkcity.org/page/page4_6.html

3. The Five Points

The Five Points was a notorious slum centered on the intersection of Anthony (now Worth Street), Orange (now Baxter Street), and Cross (now Mosco Street) in New York City. The swampy, insect-ridden conditions led to most middle and upper class inhabitants fleeing, leaving the neighborhood open to the influx of poor immigrants that started in the early 1820’s and reached a torrent in the 1840’s due to the Irish famine.

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