Irish Immigration Remembered in 33 Cents US
Postage Stamp printed by permission of Irish Gazette newspaper- P.O. Box
65782 St. Paul, MN 55165.
When the United States Postage Service
issued the commemorative
stamp honoring "Irish Immigrations" it was celebrated by many
local Irish Leaders that worked on the national effort to recognize the
contributions of the Irish in the building of America.
The national group urged Postmaster General William J. Henderson and the U. S. Postal Service to issue a commemorative stamp in connection with the 150th Anniversary of the Great Famine in Ireland between 1845-50 when a fungus destroyed successive potato crops on which 1/3 of the population subsisted. it proved to be one of the greatest human calamities of the 19th Century.
As a result of the Great Famine more than one million Irish died and another two million fled to the United States and elsewhere in what came to be called "coffin ships" After their arrival in the United States the Irish immigrants took jobs as laborers and domestics and helped to build much of the nation's communication system of roads, canals, and railroads. The Republic of Ireland also issued a similar stamp. It has been said that it was one the most asked for commemorative stamps this year.
This is just one of the articles that you can read if you receive the IRISH GAZETTE newspaper which is published in St. Paul, Minnesota. Just send your eight dollars for a one year subscription (which means six issues) to P.O. Box 65782 St. Paul, Minnesota 55165.