Over 200 people gathered at Evergreen Cemetery in Leadville, Colorado, on September 26th, to dedicate a memorial honoring the lives of more than 1,300 individuals buried in unmarked graves in the historic cemetery over a century ago, many of whom were Irish immigrants. Although the memorial will not be complete until fall 2022, the ceremony served as the culmination of years of research and international bonding, and was part of the 2021 American Conference for Irish Studies. Clinical Associate Professor in Political Science James Walsh opened the ceremony with a poem he wrote: “There comes a time after steel and iron and locomotives; after famine and dispersion and separation, when we must collect our dead...” Two Irish Consular Generals were in attendance, along with Colorado State Historian Nicki Gonzales, Colorado AFL-CIO President Josette Jaramillo, and an elder from the Southern Ute nation, who blessed the ground.
Leadville honors unmarked Irish graves
Herald Democrat, September 29