Aisling Irish Community Center in Yonkers launched a new documentary, "Memory Brings Us Back: Irish Stories Of Farewells and Fortunes," at the Irish Consulate in New York on Thursday, November 20.

The documentary features 10 Irish immigrants who arrived in the U.S. more than half a decade ago, sharing the story of their journey to the country and how they built a life for themselves over the years.

The idea of the documentary stemmed from the successful book called "While Mem'ry Brings Us Back Again", based on the poetic tales of 35 Irish immigrants who arrived in the U.S. between 1927 and 1964 seeking a better life.

The creation of the book arose from a Friday afternoon's creative writing workshop for seniors at the center led by Frances Browner. The project began as a few simple lines about the immigrants memories of their journey to the U.S. and how they shaped their lives from there.

It began with two words, "I remember." After weeks of story sharing and trips down memory lane, the idea came about to gather each of the individual stories and create a book. The result was a moving 295-page memoir about the journey from Ireland to the U.S. and how they created wonderful lives here.

"We tried to include as many compelling personal histories as we could in this one-hour DVD, which also includes interviews, archival footage, and bonus features," said Agnes Delaney, chairperson of the center.

"This documentary is an heirloom gift that captures forever the sacrifices, successes, tragedies and triumphs of Irish immigrants who came to the U.S. between the 1920s and 1960s. No one has documented this generation of immigrants as extensively as this DVD has." The 60-minute documentary brings to life the vivid and heartwarming memories of 10 immigrants, several of whom featured in the original 2006 memoir.

It includes immigrants such as president of Country Bank Bill Burke from Co. Sligo, 96-year- old musician Joe Cunningham, who hails from Co. Clare, and Eileen Moran, who left Cork City and arrived in America in 1951 at age 16.

After realizing that it was time to take the book to a different level, Delaney contacted the son of Irish immigrants from counties Leitrim and Sligo, Derek Woods, who has been in the media business for more than 15 years. A successful brainstorming session resulted in a year and a half long project with Woods acting as writer and director of the DVD.

"We realized after the memoir's fourth printing that these extraordinary tales from ordinary people resonated within the Irish community," said Delaney. Woods, 40, is very proud of the documentary and told the Irish Voice he enjoyed working on a project that was rich in everything Irish. "It meant a lot to me to work on something so close to my heart and use the skills I have that have been passed down to me from my parents, Kevin and Carmel," said Woods.

Woods, who allowed each immigrant to relive their lives over the past 50 years in front of the camera, focused primarily on two significant experiences, their journey to the U.S. and what is was like for them to leave home at such and young age and begin a new life in a foreign country. He also liked the stories of the old dance halls in New York where many romances blossomed.

The documentary features music by Joanie Madden and Cherish the Ladies, Deirdre Connolly, Paddy Noonan, and Sean Fleming, as well as photographs from John Minihan, the Irish Arts Center, George Zimbel, and many of the seniors at the Aisling Center in Yonkers. James Carney was the associate producer on the documentary and Sean McGinn was the director of photography.

It is hoped in the future that the documentary will receive airtime on a New York station and maybe even back in Ireland. The DVD is available for a donation of $20 plus $5 shipping via www.aislingcenter.org or by sending a check for $25 to Aisling Irish Community Center, 990 McLean Avenue, Yonkers, New York 10704. The proceeds will support the Aisling Center's community outreach programs.