It was 1850 and times were hard. I was only fifteen years old and my Dad had just died of a terrible fever. I was the eldest of my seven brothers and sisters. It was a big worry for my mother because without Dad’s job at the big house we would have no way of buying food. There were no jobs for me anywhere. It was decided that I would sail to America to meet with my Uncle Pat and work there. Uncle Pat had a good job in America and he promised to get me work. I could send money home to help my mother with the other children.

It was a cold, grey, March morning when I got ready to leave. I said goodbye to all my family, with tears in my eyes. I walked the seven miles to Cork, along with many others. We boarded the ship at 14:00 in the afternoon. We were in the third class section which was where the cheapest tickets were for. We were all given a bucket which we could use, if we got sick. There was a narrow bunk to lie on when we got down stairs. Each bunk had a hard pillow and a light quilt to keep us warm.

All around me I could hear people coughing. If I didn’t get a cold or flu on this journey, I would be very lucky. We set sail at 21:00 and the first night was comfortable enough. I met a girl of my own age the second day on board. Her name was Margaret and she was travelling alone, as her family had died in the Great Famine. She moved to the bunk next to mine, so we were able to spend hours at night chatting and playing cards. As the days went on, the sea got rough and the ship was swaying and rocking. Many people got sick but after a few days we got used to it.

When we finally approached New York, I could not believe what I saw. We disembarked at Ellis Island and I was spellbound by the magnificent Statue of Liberty. It was huge and towered over the passengers. I was nervous as I searched the crowd for my Uncle Pat. He brought me back to his home and I started working on a building site the very next day.