Christian Science Monitor: No, the Irish were not slaves in the Americas

[Hekate]

10. I had that experience the first time I went to Boston: there was a "cousin" on every street corner

I was as gobsmacked as you. My ancestors just kept moving West until we landed in California (where I was born) and then Hawai'i (where I was raised). As far as I know all the Irish ancestors came during or a bit before the Famine, so there was no one to tell me how very Irish I look.

Of course I looked like my own family (and Mom made sure we all knew our roots) but other than that we were just Anglos in California and Haoles in Hawai'i. I visited Boston in my early 30s and was really startled, not having been in an actual visually identifiable ethnic group before.

When I visited Ireland in my early 50s -- well, you know.

I'm glad I went when I did. It looks like I won't get another chance.