One Immigrants Story…..

The only difference between me and many of my immigration clients is my Grandmother. Her name was Delia O'Toole and she was 17-years old when she left County Galway in Ireland for Boston, Massachusetts. She had a one way ticket and only 25-cents in her pocket. Her immigration for a new life in America gave me a two generation head start toward the American dream on many of my clients.

Before Delia left the small Galway town of Inverin, her family and friends held an "American wake" for her. An "American wake" is similar to the wake you have when a person dies. It is the chance to celebrate a life and to say good-bye to someone you will never see again.

And while she lived to be 84 years of age, the family and friends at her “American wake” never did see her again as Delia never returned to Ireland.

Like most immigrants, she followed family when she came to America. Her older sister, Mary was waiting for her when the S.S. Corean docked in Boston Harbor on May 5th, 1903. And, like most immigrants, she was working hard from day one. She washed floors on her hands and knees, she cooked and she took care of other people’s children.

Like most immigrants, the letters that Delia mailed home always contained a good part of her hard earned wages to help those left behind.

After settling in Portland, Maine, Delia met a young longshoreman named John Curran who was also from County Galway. They never met in Ireland but many years later, I would measure the distance from her Inverin home to the one room hovel where he was born to learn that they lived less than five miles apart.

Delia married John Curran in St. Dominic's Church, built by Irish immigrants, in the West End of Portland. Over the next decade, they would have four children.

In many ways, Delia was the first immigrant counselor in our family. She was one of the very few who could read and write in both English and Irish. Hard working longshoreman and laborers made their way into her parlor with letters from home.  Delia read the news from home and then wrote back on their behalf.

My brothers, sisters and I called her Gram and she was always talking about Ireland. The Irish Echo newspaper was always on the coffee table and Irish music was always on the record player. She never tired of telling us stories about Ireland and her trip to America.

I remember asking her what surprised her most about America and she replied, "Ice cream on a hot summer day." I asked my Grandfather the same question and he said "A moon on every corner." It wasn't until I was older that I realized he was talking about streetlights. There were no street lights in the tiny County Galway village of Bantrough Bawn where he grew up, and there still aren't any there today.

While my grandparents both loved Ireland and missed the family, friends and Irish way of life, they also loved America. They realized they could earn a living and raise a family here, and that following generations could have a better life. This is the same dream that my clients have today.

I have deep appreciation for the unknown legal expert who helped my grandparents complete their immigration paperwork and attain citizenship in 1924, because I know becoming a US citizen helped them realize their American dream of a better life for their children.

Knowing and appreciating the courage in my grandparents’ immigration gives me a lifelong passion to assist those who are following in her footsteps. Knowing that my clients are following in my grandparent’s footsteps has given me a passion to help my clients in any and every way possible so that they can realize their own American dream.