9/6/26 - The Irish in Ulster County: Migration, Roots, and the Long Road to Irish Freedom

The Irish story in Ulster County is older, deeper, and more politically charged than most people realize. Long before the Great Famine sent waves of desperate emigrants across the Atlantic, Irish men and women were already arriving in this region — drawn by the promise of work on the Delaware and Hudson Canal, by land, by opportunity, and by the simple human need to begin again. But what made the Irish experience in Ulster County distinctive was not just the arrival — it was what the emigrants carried with them, and what they refused to leave behind. Their hearts, their politics, and their loyalty remained fixed on an Ireland still struggling to free itself from British rule. In this program, Ulster County Historian Eddie Moran traces the full arc of Irish migration to this region — the waves that came, the communities they built, and the largely untold story of how Ulster County's Irish immigrant community became an active participant in the transatlantic struggle for Irish independence. From the Fenian Brotherhood to the Land League, the fight for Ireland had roots right here. It is a story that has never been told quite this way before — and one that will change the way you think about your neighbors, your county, and perhaps your own family history.

About the Presenter

Eddie Moran is the appointed Historian for Ulster County, NY — a role he has held since September 2024. A lifelong resident of the Wallkill River Valley and a descendant of New Paltz's founding French colonizers, he brings both scholarly depth and deep personal roots to his work. He began his career as a tour guide at Historic Huguenot Street in New Paltz while still a student at SUNY New Paltz, where he earned his B.A. in History in 2020, and managed historical interpretation there full-time beginning in 2022. His expertise spans the full sweep of Ulster County history — from the Indigenous Lenape/Esopus peoples and the earliest European settlers through the waves of immigration that shaped the county across four centuries. He has presented for the Ulster County Historical Society's Sunday Salon Series previously this season, delivering the acclaimed program From Refugees to Patentees: The Migration Path of New Paltz's Founding French Families. This program marks his return to the series with a story that is equally surprising, equally local, and equally essential.

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