How Erin Got Into This Thing

It's Sunday, February 17th at 4:00 in the afternoon.  I've just gotten back from my Spring Break college-hunting trip in the Northeast.  Exhausted from countless hours of driving and alarms set to 6:30 pretty much every single morning, I collapse onto the couch and nonchalantly check my email for anything I might have missed over the break.  Urban Outfitters: "Last chance to get free shipping on all orders," delete.  Flickr: "New photos from amkayla," delete.  Collegeboard: "The Official SAT Question of the Day," delete.  Mr. Graf: "Irish Network New Orleans' scholarship program," click.

The whole school year I had been searching for some kind of summer program to participate in, and none of them really struck my fancy.  This one, however, stood out to me for some reason.  Well, actually not just for some reason.  My family heritage traces back to Ireland, and I feel like this connection is what made UCD's program appealing to me.  

At first I thought, How am I going to get all this paperwork filled out, bring it to a lawyer to get notarized, figure out what I am going to write about for my essay, write the actual essay, AND ask someone to look over it with me all in the next 24 hours??  There was no way that an essay written in such a short time period would get me anywhere.  However, it sounded like too much of an incredible opportunity to simply pass it up and say that 24 hours was not enough time.  I could do it.  So I ignored all the schoolwork I still had left to finish for the next day and began to fill out the application.  I may have had to pull an almost-all-nighter to finish everything, but I'm pretty sure anyone would say that it was worth it.  

It's the next day.  I'm sitting on a bench outside Newman waiting for my mom to come with the sealed paperwork, 4:08 p.m., about an hour before everything is due.  4:09 p.m.  4:10 p.m.  I'm beginning to get restless.  Suddenly, my mom pulls up.  Scrambling to the car, I yell a quick "Thanks, mom!  Love you!" and then run back inside to the nearest scanner.  My hands are almost shaking.  I have to get this in on time.  I fumble for the flash drive, plug it in to my computer, and open up my email.  4:27 p.m.  Looking over my essay one last time, I place all the scanned documents into one email, and hover my finger over the left clicker.  Let's just check it over one more time, I think, paranoid that I may have overlooked a mistake.  But time is running out.  Forcing myself to just click the button already, I send the email off to the Irish Network, my hopes and prayers not too far behind.

Lesson learned: 24 hours is always enough time.

Erin's Essay

Why is the connection between New Orleans and Ireland important in 2013?

New Orleans has a very strong connection to the Irish people and the culture they bring to the city.  The city is famous for being a melting pot of many different cultures and traditions, the Irish being one of them.  Just as it is important to maintain the connection between New Orleans and France or Spain, it is also important to keep the connection between New Orleans and Ireland just as strong, for many have yet to realize that the Irish actually had a huge impact on the Crescent City.

The port city of New Orleans was a major hub for immigration to the United States, and during the 1840’s in particular due to the Great Famine, masses of Irish immigrants came over to seek shelter in their time of need.  They influenced the city’s economy, social life, cuisine, and architecture.  One of the most famous Irish buildings in New Orleans is St. Patrick’s Church, which was constructed because Irish immigrants wanted to attend church services in English rather than French.  Gallier Hall, which is a huge part of New Orleans history, was designed by James Gallier, Sr., a man of Irish descent.  During Hurricane Katrina, when the city was completely destroyed by the effects of the storm, the Irish government sent over one million dollars to Red Cross to help reestablish the city and bring it back to what it once was.

This obvious act of kindness demonstrates the bond between New Orleanians and the Irish.  This kind of bond is something that is important to uphold today, for without the Irish, where would we be?  Without New Orleans, what would have happened to those who were starving during the Great Famine?  We cannot simply dismiss the fact that Ireland has a place in our history.  It has shaped our culture and helped to define what New Orleans is today.  There is even an entire section between Uptown and the Lower Garden District entitled the Irish Channel, home to many of the original shotgun houses.  This is an area in which many Irish workers lived, an area in which they felt safe and were able to feel a sense of community.  The name remains the same today, for changing it would be like changing history.  Saint Patrick’s Day is another one of the many traditions that New Orleans celebrates annually.  With parades running through Uptown and in Metairie, it’s not just a day in our city; it’s a huge celebration that New Orleanians recognize as an important part of our history.

Given the hints of Irish culture left here and there throughout New Orleans, it is impossible to brush off the fact that Ireland holds a major place in our city.  We cannot simply disregard it as unimportant to the city.  The connection between New Orleans and Ireland is important because we have been there for each other in times of need.  We share a past, and it only makes sense that we should share a future as well.

Erin Reily, 2013