A cross of saint Bridget made out of dried palms given to me through my father from my grandmother hangs on my wall. The dried palms were from Palm Sunday in a Carna church in Ireland around 2000. My father’s mother grew up in Carna, and she and my Papa were visiting during Palm Sunday. During church, volunteers passed them out to every attendant. This cross represents my family’s cultural identity because not only was it made in Ireland, it was taken back to America by my 100% Irish grandparents. My Grandmother and Papa met in Ireland, then immigrated to Boston after their youngest son (my dad) was born.  They landed in Boston then moved to a house in Quincy, Massachusetts, where they resided until my grandmother's untimely death. My family's personal story is unique because if my grandparents had not migrated from Ireland, my parents wouldn't have ever met, and I would never have been born. This story is unique to me as well because my grandmother passed away suddenly a year before I was born, and although I was named after her, I had no connection to her until my dad gave me the cross of Saint Bridget (the name we share), which she held in her hands.  For the first time, it felt like I shared a true link with her. This story is very similar to other immigrant families from Ireland because the common goal they all shared was to come to "the land of opportunity," to seek better jobs and lives for their kids. Most of the immigrants also landed in Boston Harbor and chose to reside in Southie and Dorchester, where my aunts from Connemara also chose to live.

– BK

Relationship:  Grandchild of im/migrant Grandchild of im/migrant