Martin Van Buren and New York’s Irish Community

Martin Van Buren’s relationship with the Irish community in New York was rather incidental, developing in parallel to the rise of his career.

The root of what became a favorable association between the two seems to be an inadvertent outcome grounded in political events that shook Ireland and America beginning in 1798 and continued throughout Van Buren’s career/life.
The Irish American Heritage Museum has announced “Martin Van Buren and New York’s Irish Community,” a presentation by Elizabeth Stack PhD, set for Wednesday, May 19th.

In this presentation, Maryalice Montaya will look at how the 1798 Rising of the Society of United Irishmen, America’s Quasi-War with France, The War of 1812, Ireland’s Great Hunger as well as other significant events that occurred in America and Ireland contributed to the state’s history and helped to solidify mutual respect between Martin Van Buren and New York’s Irish community.

Maryalice Montaya is a National Park Service Ranger who has worked in the Historic Interpretation Division at the Martin Van Buren National Historic Site in Kinderhook for three years.

This program will begin at 7 pm. There is a limited number of spots for the in person event, reservations can be made by calling the museum at (518) 427-1916. The event will also be hosted live on Zoom and Facebook, to attend email the museum at info@irish-us.org, or watch it live on Facebook.

Photo of Martin Van Buren National Historic Site courtesy National Park Service.