The subject of the talk at the Irish Cultural Society meeting on Wednesday, November 13 will be Irish neighborhoods, called “colonies,” in Old New York. The meeting starts at 7:30 p.m. in the Garden City Library, 60 Seventh Street, across the street from the Garden City Hotel.  The meeting is free and open to the public.

 The speaker, John Ridge, entitles his talk “The Lost Colonies of New York.”  The wave of Irish immigration that came to metropolitan New York in the 19th and early 20th centuries resulted in the establishment of dozens of solidly Irish neighborhoods, many of them predominantly settled by newcomers from a particular county in Ireland.  There were Kerry, Cork, Donegal, and Tyrone settlements and many others that thrived in Old New York. These compact neighborhoods, which were virtual "little Irelands," developed because of Old Country family and county connections and stood apart from the other Irish areas of the city.  John Ridge’s talk traces the conflicts in New York between some of the Irish county groups and the role that competition for jobs, social and language differences and even the struggle for political power played in dividing the Irish.  A series of illustrations will highlight the legacy of this unique period in the history of the Irish in Greater New York.

 John T. Ridge is the President of the New York Irish History Roundtable.   For many years, Ridge has been a researcher of Irish-American history and has recently authored Celebrating 250 Years: New York City's St. Patrick's Day Parade as well as several other books highlighting the role of the Irish in and around the city. He has lectured in both Ireland and the United States and has been a collector of Irish historical artifacts for over forty years.  Those attending John Ridge’s talk should bring a notebook; his talk will be chock full of information.