Sir, - Fintan O'Toole's critique of the Boston Irish Famine Memorial (Opinion, July 3rd) reveals an incomplete understanding of the Irish-American perspective. In Boston, the story of the Irish Famine has always had two parts: the tragedy of the Famine itself and the immigrant experience upon arriving in America.
The transformation of the Famine Irish from "wretched foreigner" to accomplished citizen since the 1840s is one of the compelling chapters of American history. It accounts for the tremendous output of writers, entertainers, scholars, business leaders and politicians, including an American president, produced in the wake of the Famine, and it forms the basis of an Irish-American identity that is different from, although complementary to, the native Irish identity.
Like most notable human dramas, the flight of nearly 2 million Famine Irish to North America and other continents offers universal truths about the human condition. The committee wanted the memorial to symbolise the odyssey that all immigrants take when they journey to another land. For that reason various ethnic groups were represented at the official dedication of the Famine Memorial, including a Holocaust survivor, a Vietnamese boat person, a Rwandan refugee, a US Medal of Honour winner, as well as two Irish-Americans, an Irish immigrant and an Irish native.
In addition to paying homage to our own ancestors, we hope that future immigrants coming to Boston will derive some inspiration from the Irish-American experience when they visit the Irish Famine Memorial.
As Mr O'Toole spends more time in the US, we think he will come to recognise and perhaps even appreciate that Irish-American history overlaps, but does not mirror, Irish history.
Readers are welcome to visit the Boston Irish Famine Memorial park, which is located at the corner of Washington and School Street in downtown Boston, about two blocks from City Hall. - Yours, etc., Michael P. Quinlin, The Boston Irish Famine Memorial Inc,
Braintree, Massachusetts, USA.