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The Irish Are Coming
The stories, struggles, and influence of the Irish in America
ORIGINS & EXODUS · THE IRISH ROAD TO AMERICA · 1710 - 1850 ·
Leaving Ireland on a Death Ship
Why would a tenant family tear the roof off their cottage before sailing for a new life? The answer reveals the grim bargain between famine relief, landlords, and a tax called the poor rates.
Historian Dr. Cian McMahon takes us below deck on Ireland's famine-era "coffin ships," where survival depended not on luck alone, but on family, friendship, and the networks emigrants built before they ever reached America.
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Leaving Ireland on a Death Ship
The Irish Are Coming · Episode 1
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ABOUT THE GUEST
A Dubliner who crossed two oceans himself — then spent his career mapping the crossings of millions more.
Cian T. McMahon, Ph.D, grew up in Dublin, earned degrees on three continents, and landed at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he's now an associate professor of history. His research sits at the intersection of migration, identity, and the maritime world — how people leave Ireland, what they carry with them, and how they stay connected across thousands of miles.
EPISODE RESOURCES
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EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum (Dublin)
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The Jeanie Johnston Tall Ship & Famine Museum (Dublin)
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Ulster American Folk Park (Omagh, Co. Tyrone)
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National Famine Museum at Strokestown Park (Roscommon)
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Imirce — University of Galway open-access emigrant-letters database
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To Hell or Barbados: The Ethnic Cleansing of Ireland — Seán O’Callaghan (O’Brien Press/Brandon, 2001)
"You see these 'information wanted' ads where people say, 'I arrived on this ship, with this captain. I was supposed to meet my husband. If anybody knows where he is, please tell him that his family is here.'" — Dr. Cian McMahon
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