The Irish in America: Long Journey Home

4 videotapes, 6 hours total
Source: out of print

This documentary spans a 100-year journey from the Potato Famine to the White House, weaving stories of families, workers, churches, athletes, entertainers, and many more through the use of rare black-and-white photos and film footage, drawings, and interviews with Irish Americans who provide the film's narrative voices.

1. The Great Hunger (85 minutes)

Explores the early Irish roots in the "new world" before and after the Potato Famine, examining the complex causes that set in motion one of the great human migrations in history.

2. All Across America (115 minutes)
Follows the immigrants across the country, tracing the building of lives as the country itself took shape, and the emergence of the first Irish American heroes.

3. Up from City Streets (85 minutes)
Chronicles a "golden age" as the Irish made their indelible mark in theater, sports, music, labor, on Wall Street, and even politics, ending with Al Smith's bid for the presidency.

4. Success (60 minutes)
Traverses history from World War II to the present, recounting two great Irish American clans, the Kennedys and the O'Neills, and examining their unique triumphs and tragedies.

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