Ordinary people's letters provide the most immediate and intimate window into the lives of past Irish emigrants. In them are preserved their hopes, their fears and their stories. Now a new database brings thousands of these letters, written across four centuries, to our fingertips for the first time. In this episode, Damian chats with Breándán Mac Suibhne and Daniel Carey from the University of Galway's Imirce Project, discussing how it came about, how you can explore it, and what these letters reveal about the epic story of Irish migration.
Kerby A. Miller. Emigrants and Exiles: Ireland and the Irish Exodus to North America
Professor Breandán Mac Suibhne
Professor Daniel Carey