Lowell Irish

Irish immigrants streamed into the mills of Lowell, Massachusetts, at the start of the Industrial Revolution, fleeing poverty and later the Great Hunger. Irish families established a neighborhood called the Acre, and some rose to roles as successful business owners who shaped the history of their new home. Hugh Cummiskey emigrated from Northern Ireland to become a powerful work gang leader and businessman who in turn hired newly arrived immigrants. The first recorded celebrations of St. Patrick'