News

Thanksgiving

November 8, 2018

Most people don’t realize how important Ireland was to the first Thanksgiving – it might never have happened without a fateful shipment from Dublin!

The early pilgrims struggled to acclimatize to the cold North American winter of 1621. They were so discouraged by the challenges of living in the new frontier that they almost gave up, dreaming of a return to Europe.

But on February 20th 1621, hope and sustenance arrived in a ship called The Lyon, sent by a solicitous Dublin merchant to his daughter, who was married to one of the pilgrims. 

Loaded with food and drink from Dublin, The Lyon revived the spirits of the colony.  Grateful for their salvation, the pilgrims dubbed the following day, February 21st, a Day of Thanksgiving.

It took another 200 years for President Lincoln to make Thanksgiving a national holiday, with the true origin of the first Thanksgiving & it's Irish influence all but forgotten.