PLEASE JOIN US
FOR AN OPENING RECEPTION:

Dr. Maureen Murphy:
The Mission of
Our Lady of the Rosary
Date: Thursday March 28, 2019
Time: 7pm – 8pm
Glucksman Ireland House
1 Washington Mews, New York
as.nyu.edu/irelandhouse/events
DIRECTIONS
Find your relative by exploring
the Mission’s Digital Archives
by name, date,
Irish county or ship…

THE IRISH MISSION

This website is dedicated to remember the efforts of those who created the Irish Mission at Watson House in New York City. The story begins in Ireland with Charlotte Grace O’Brien’s inspiration and courage to actually do something about the appalling emigration conditions she observed first-hand on the docks in Queenstown. It continues with the commitment of the Catholic clergy and countless others who helped over 100,000 immigrant women from 1883-1954. The initial collection of the Mission Record Books were part of Our Lady of the Rosary Parish, home of the Missiondormitory in Lower Manhattan. These records are now part of the collection of the Archdiocese of New York and are available for search on our Digital Archives.

WATSON HOUSE

Facing New York harbor and Staten Island, and across from Battery Park, Watson House  is one of the very few colonial buildings still standing in the City of New York. Support from the Catholic clergy enabled Rev. John J. Riordan to purchase Watson House from Isabella Wallace, on December 4, 1885, and to establish the Home of the Mission of Our Lady of the Rosary for the Protection of Irish Immigrant Girls.
Watson House, 1907
Today, Watson House is a New York city landmark,
and part of the National Register of Historic Places.
Watson House, State Street and the Battery, 1859

DIGITAL ARCHIVES

A collection of fully searchable records of the Irish Mission at Watson House 1883-1954

EVERY NAME IS A STORY

Historian John T. Ridge coincidentally finds records of his mother in the Archives

EXHIBIT

A traveling exhibition based on the historical research and archival collections