The bonds between the Irish and Americans are well-known to be strong, but did you know that those bonds include an amazing act of generosity from a people who had already endured so much and had little to spare, and that their act of human kindness continues to resonate even today?

In 1847, only a few years after the Choctaw Indian Nation was forcibly relocated along the infamous “Trail of Tears” from Mississippi to Oklahoma, the tribe learned of the suffering of the Irish due to the scourge of famine. Somehow, these people who had so little raised a donation of $170 (equivalent to about $5,000 in today’s dollars) to send to people across an ocean who they would never see or know personally.

Their donation eventually made its way to Midleton, in County Cork. Decades later, the local populace learned of the gift and from where it had come, and the bonds began to strengthen.

Photo courtesy of weloveireland.ie

In 1990 members of the Choctaw Nation visited Ireland to participate in the “Famine Walk” in County Mayo, to reenact the 1848 walk of starving Irish to their landlord.

In 1992 a delegation from Ireland walked the “Trail of Tears” with Native Americans to raise funds for aid to Somalians. Also that year, a plaque commemorating the Choctaw gift was installed at Mansion House, official residence of the Lord Mayor of Dublin.

In 1995 Irish President Mary Robinson visited the Choctaw Nation.

In 2017, the sculpture “Kindred Spirits” was dedicated in Midleton.

In 2018, former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar visited the Choctaws and initiated a series of yearly scholarships for Choctaw students to study in Ireland.

In 2020 - the gift was beautifully returned, when Ireland took up a considerable donation for the Hopi and Navajo tribes who suffered acutely during the Covid-19 pandemic.

2024 - Two students have just begun their year-long studies at the University of Cork, recipients of the scholarship for Choctaw native students.

Today, it’s just a lesson, how you don’t have to have that much, just a big heart, to build bonds and friendships through helping those around us in need.

Learn more: https://www.choctawnation.com/about/history/irish-connection/