New book delves into the history of the Irish in Philadelphia

'I always preferred my Irish roots,' Marita Krivda Poxon told WorldIrish on Saturday.

So much so that the former librarian turned author who also has Hungarian ancestry decided to write a book about the Irish in Philadelphia.  

On Saturday afternoon, a book signing for the latest in the series 'Images of America', a beautifully packaged book called 'Irish Philadelphia', drew large numbers to the Commodore Barry Irish Center in the Philadelphia suburb of Gemantown. 

Author Marita Krivda Poxon and Belfast-born Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Seamus McCaffery sign copies of Irish Philadelphia at the Commodore Barry Irish Center on Saturday. Image: John Riordan.

Krivda Poxon studied Irish literature at Temple University in her home town and then at Trinity College in Dublin.

'I retired a few years ago and started writing regional history books,' she explained. 'I saw that Arcadia published ethnic books. There are hundreds of thousands of descendants from that famine generation so I decided there and then there was research to be done on the Irish in this city.

'I was limited to 200 pictures and I divided into into eight chapters going from the Colonial Irish who predate the famine of course. There were Scots Irish, Quaker Irish - William Penn, the founder of our state was a Quaker from Wexford [edit: see Marita's comment below]. I was finding out some incredible things but then I got stuck for more recent pictures and that's where Tom Keenan stepped into to help me through.' 

Also on hand to chip in was Belfast-born Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Seamus McCaffery who wrote the foreword.

'Marita and I went to the same highschool although she was four years ahead of me,' Justice McCaffrey explained. 

'She asked me if I'd write the preface as an Irish immigrant who rose to prominence in the state. My family left Ireland for Montreal when I was three and we got here to Philadelphia when I was five.

'Denis Clark wrote incredible books about the Irish here but this is a whole new level, exploring the great Irish leaders in the Philadelphia region dating way back to the 18th century.

'As great as the Irish have been for New York and Boston, we had some really important Irish Civil War divisions fighting out of here. It just brings out a lot of incredible history. It's a book that's been needed for a long time.'

Other speakers at the event were Sr Pauline McShain, whose father John spearheaded the renovation work at the White House and the Pentagon in the 1950s, and Peter Ryan, Deputy Consul-General to New York who was there on behalf of the Irish government.

'The community in Philadelphia is vibrant and alive and this wonderful pictorial goes to prove that,' he said. 'The voluntary efforts of the people here to bring together members of their own community from home has been incredible, people here have made extraordinary contributions to society.'