Since the inception of Swampscott Unites, Respects and Embraces (S.U.R.E.) Diversity, its members have often been asked about the limited notion of what diversity means, with the conversation frequently focusing only on racial identity. In response, founding member Martha Curry created a world map for a S.U.R.E. Diversity event, inviting attendees to place a pin marking where their ancestors came from. Within a short time, more than 60 countries were represented.
Swampscott is a multicultural community with a rich tapestry of backgrounds and experiences. To highlight some of those stories, the Swampscott Tides has partnered with S.U.R.E. Diversity on its “Tell Us Your Story” project, inviting individuals to share where their ancestors came from, why they came, and what their heritage means to them.
These vignettes will be featured in the Swampscott Tides every other week and are also archived at the Swampscott Public Library.
If you would like to be included in the series, please send your 200-word story and photos to info@surediversity.org.
This week’s Tell Us Your Story is by Alyce Deveau.
I am a child of immigrants.
Tell Us Your Story
On my mother’s side, both of my grandparents came from County Galway in Ireland through Nova Scotia, which was a common route at the time. They didn’t know each other in Ireland; but met here and married.
My father, Joseph Connolly, came from a small town in Connemara, also in Galway. He came through Ellis Island at the age of 23. The area that they all came from was very depressed at the time. They saw America as a way to begin a new and better life. He lived in Dorchester where most of his family had settled. There, he met my mother who, strange as it may seem, was Mary Connolly. They fell in love, married and settled in Lynn.
Their Irish heritage and culture remained very strong. My father brought my mother and sister to Ireland in 1947 to meet his parents and see where he had grown up. My father was a proud Irishman but nothing made him more proud than to say he was an American. The day he became a citizen was one of the happiest in his life.
He died when I was only seven so I never experienced seeing his homeland with him; but I have visited many times. When I am there, I feel a certain closeness to him and my heritage.
