Join us for a look at Plentiful Country: The Great Potato Famine and the Making of Irish New York. In 1845, a fungus began to destroy Ireland’s potato crop, triggering a famine that would kill 1 million Irish men, women, and children—and drive more than 1 million more to flee for America. Ten years later, the United States had been transformed by this stupendous migration, and nowhere more so than New York: by 1855, roughly a third of all adults living in Manhattan were immigrants who had escaped the hunger in Ireland. These so-called “Famine Irish” were consigned to the lowest-paying jobs and subjected to discrimination and ridicule by their new countrymen. Even today, the popular perception of these immigrants is one of destitution and despair. But it turns out that the Famine immigrants did far better, far more quickly, than we have previously realized. In this presentation, historian Tyler Anbinder will discuss his new book Plentiful Country: The Great Potato Famine and the Making of Irish New York, and how it upends what we thought we knew about the Famine Irish in New York and beyond. His overview will be followed by a conversation between him and NYG&B President D. Joshua Taylor. This program is part of our Preserving Your New York Story series and is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.