America’s shores have been a beacon of freedom for Irish political exiles who have been imprisoned for trying to make Ireland free. Since the earliest days of the founding of the United States, Irish political exiles have found a refuge here, but recently a completely new chapter in the story of those fighting political oppression has emerged, but before we discuss that let’s recall some of the many Irish political refugees who ended up on these shores and enriched the United States.
For over a hundred and fifty years, Ireland’s misfortunes were America’s gains. Generations of talented men and women were forced out of Ireland for their political beliefs and those political exiles settled in New York and contributed mightily to its greatness. The list of Irish exiles who ended up in New York reads like an honor roll of great Irish patriots.
The first great wave of Irish political refugees occurred after the failed rebellion of 1798. Thousands of the United Irishmen who fought to establish an Irish Republic ended up in British prisons. Many of them chose to come to America and more than 2,000 United Irishmen settled in the United States. Unlike most other migrants who came to the United States, the United Irishmen were a highly educated group, and they made immense contributions to American law, science and medicine. Thomas Addis Emmet, who was a brilliant Irish lawyer and a leader in the rebellion of 1798, established a thriving law practice and later became the Attorney General of New York State. William James MacNeven,a physician and United Irishman involved in the rebellion, became a lecturer in medicine and chemistry in New York and is often called “The father of American Chemistry.” William Sampson, a Protestant jurist and United Irishman who emigrated to New York, successfully argued a case that protected the secrecy of information heard by priests in Catholic Confession.
Later generations of Irish men and women were again forced out of Ireland for their political beliefs and New York would continue to be enriched by Irish refugees. Fenian Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa, whom some have called “The world’s First Freedom Fighter,” was imprisoned in Ireland and later exiled to the United States. A lifelong opponent of British rule, he survived a Manhattan assassination attempt and his Dublin funeral helped spark the 1916 Rising.
Thomas Hunter, who founded Manhattan’s Hunter College, was banished from Ireland for his Republican sentiments. Thomas Meagher, who was sentenced to penal servitude in Australia, escaped and arrived in New York where he achieved fame as a founder of, and general in, the legendary Fighting 69th Regiment. Exiled Irish rebels also include Thomas Clarke and John Devoy who helped make Clan-na-Gael into a powerful revolutionary group that helped jumpstart the Rising. Several Anti-Treaty Republicans also found a home in New York City including the legendary co-founder of the Transport Workers of America Michael Quill. These are only a few names of the tens of thousands of Irish political refugees who have come to these shores.
But nowadays there is a startling movement in the opposite direction. Tens of thousands of Americans are fleeing what they perceive to be authoritarianism in the United States. They are coming to Ireland in search of political freedom, a shocking reversal for a country that has always prided itself on its democratic values and toleration of dissenting political views.
Many Irish Americans seeking political freedom have applied to become Irish citizens. Last year, 31,825 American citizens applied for Irish citizenship, an increase of 63 per cent since 2017, when 20,103 applications were submitted. Some experts claim that many of these applicants seek an Irish passport as a form of “political insurance,” providing a method of escape because they feel threatened by Trump’s MAGA revolution.
Perhaps the most famous Irish American political refugee is comedian, actor and film star Rosie O’Donnell, who has been residing in Ireland since Trump was inaugurated president the second time. Rosie and her youngest child, Clay, made the move to Ireland at the beginning of the year. O’Donnell, 63, was born on Commack, Long Island, one of five children of a Donegal-born father and an Irish American mother. She was the host of the “Rosie O’Donnell Show” between 1996 and 2002 and won several daytimes Emmy Awards. During this period, she developed the nickname "Queen of Nice” for her kindness, as well as a well-deserved reputation for philanthropic generosity.
From 2006 and 2007 she was the moderator of the daytime television program “The View,” which led to conflict between O’Donnell and Trump. The talk show host and real estate mogul publicly traded barbs after O’Donnell criticized Trump on ”The View.” On the show, O'Donnell famously mocked Trump as "the moral authority" during a 2006 episode, although he had multiple children with different women. Trump responded with the first of many attacks on O’Donnell and he has continued to mock and belittle her for almost two decades.
President Trump has recently threatened to revoke O’Donnell’s American Citizenship, calling the comedian and longtime critic a “threat to humanity” in an angry post on Truth Social. He stated, “Because of the fact that Rosie O'Donnell is not in the best interests of our Great Country, I am giving serious consideration to taking away her Citizenship,' Trump, 79, recently wrote on his Truth Social platform.
O’ Donnell has vigorously defended herself in the Irish media, appearing on at least two daytime television programs and “The Late, Late Show,” where she explained her move to Ireland and her views on the danger Trump poses to America and the world. O’Donnell responded to the threat of her losing her citizenship recently on a Tik Tok video, saying she is "safe here in Ireland, I'm out of the reach of the 'tangerine Mussolini'" a reference to Trump and Benito Mussolini, who was killed at the end of World War II by anti-fascist partisans after his more than 20 years of dictatorship in Italy.
Whether the fears of Irish Americans seeking asylum in Ireland are real or overblown is a matter for debate. What is certain is that 10s of thousands of people feel that the United States is so politically unsafe that they want an exit plan. It is highly ironic that a country that for many years served as a beacon of democracy and justice for Irish political exiles, now is so threatening that many Irish Americans see Ireland as the beacon of freedom America was not long ago. It is such a startling juxtaposition that it is hard to fathom, especially for older Irish immigrants who were attracted by the freedom and democratic values the United States once represented. It is hard for me to imagine that the leader of a country with such a long, proud history of toleration could label an outspoken Irish American talk show host “A threat to humanity,” but these are the intolerant times we live in.
