Retiring Retirement
Being Irish never gets old An interest in ancestry brings many to Irish American Heritage Museum
A
t 67, Patrick Hale will tell you that being Irish doesn’t get old. In fact, his retirement has only added to his ancestral pride as his nine-tofive is often spent at the Irish American Heritage Museum on Broadway in Albany. Asked why there is an increased interest in one’s ancestry and Hale will sum it up this way: “People may have started looking to their roots when they saw ‘Riverdance’ or heard Irish music and they wanted to know where they came from,” Hale said. “They’re looking to discover their culture. “When visiting the museum, for example, everyone’s reaction is different. For some, it brings back memories and tales they were told by their grandparents. Usually, there was a storyteller in each family who would speak of the old country and sing the songs.
Visitors rediscover what they’ve because I was surroundforgotten or discover what they ed by families with such never knew.” names as O’Keefe, Kelly and Stevens,” Hale said. Besides all of the practical “And you can’t forget behind-the-scenes work that he that the Irish immibrings to the museum and the grants came in by the Ancient Order of the Hiberni- millions to escape the ans, the Albany native has a famine. treasure chest of personal recollections “There were by from growing up signs that read, in the then‘Irish Need Not predominately Apply,” so they Irish and Italian took the jobs neighborhoods that were availof Arbor Hill. able and became the police officers, Taking him even garbage collectors, “closer to home” were the railroad men, factory workers relationships and traditions and Erie Canal laborers.” brought about by his annual summer trips to Sligo in He loves his work at the muIreland, where he grew close to seum because it speaks to him his father’s side of his family. of why immigrants choose to leave their homeland. They are With all of these rich-butthe same drivers throughout possibly-dividing influences, history whether it’s religious did the Irishman ever feel persecution or poverty. separated from his peers? “Sadly, they faced the “I never felt like an outsider same story when they got to
Robert LaCosta
America,” he said. “There was prejudice against their brogue and the Catholic faith. The one advantage that the Irish had at assimilating was they already knew the English language.” Seniors are most likely to enjoy the museum because, as Hale says, “We’re all immigrants.” And the older you are, the closer you are to your heritage. Robert J. LaCosta’s daily devotional blog is on his Facebook page and robertlacosta.com and can also be received in your email by writing to norepcom@gmail.com.
“When visiting the museum, for example, everyone’s reaction is different. For some, it brings back memories and tales they were told by their grandparents. Visitors rediscover what they’ve forgotten or discover what they never knew.”
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