We were honored to be invited by the Chicago Ireland Consulate for a special opening night of Paradise Square at Nederlander Theater in Chicago. The play is about the Five Points Neighborhood in New York City in the Civil War, a story of interracial solidarity between African-Americans and Irish immigrants, torn about by the draft riots. This musical is headed to Broadway, see it before it leaves Chicago!
Several Mother Jones Heritage Project board members and statue committee members were there, including, David Rathke, Stephanie Seawall Fortado, Deborah Cosey-Lane, Dolores Connolly, Emily LaBarbera Twarog. Afterwards some of us met at Emerald Loop as special invitees of Chicago consulate for after-play party! Great to talk up the exciting developments about our statue, new markers, new exhibits coming in the future with the creator and co-playwright, Larry Kirwin, who immigrated to the US in the 1970s and founder of the Gaelic-American rock band, Black 47. Larry has agreed to help us develop a short skit of Mother Jones meeting with Irish labor legend James Larkin (with the hope we can persuade Ireland’s ambassador Daniel Mulhall to play Larkin! Photos below by David Rathke and Deborah Cosey-Lane