Sunday, March 7 - 2:30PM
Registration for this event has now ended.
This year marks the 9th anniversary of the Duffy’s Cut Memorial Service - but this year will be VIRTUAL.
The virtual event will be led by William Watson, Ph.D., chair of the History Department at Immaculata University, along with his brother Rev. Dr. Frank Watson, who were instrumental in excavating the Duffy’s Cut site in Malvern, PA.
Program:
- Opening bagpipe tune by Duffy’s Cut Pipers
- Introduction
- Opening prayer
- Remarks by Duffy’s Cut Project team
- Amazing Grace by Duffy’s Cut Pipers
This virtual event is free and will take place on Sunday, March 7, 2021 at 2:30PM, through a Zoom meeting. RSVP’s are required to receive the Zoom link. (Please note, RSVPs will close for the program at 11AM on March 7.
About Duffy’s Cut
In the summer of 1832, 57 Irish laborers died suddenly while building the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad between Malvern and Frazer in Pennsylvania at a site that became known as Duffy’s Cut. They arrived in Philadelphia from Derry on the ship, John Stamp, on June 23, 1832. Within five weeks of their arrival in what is now Chester County, PA, all 57 Irishmen perished, reportedly from cholera.
The Duffy’s Cut team excavated a wooded area in Chester County near the campus of Immaculata University for more than eight years looking for the remains of all 57 Irish immigrants who came to America to work. After extensive forensic examination, it was determined that a few of the remains showed the workers were victims of violence and that only a handful likely died from cholera.
Since the first set of remains were found in March 2009, the remains of six bodies have been found.Sadly, the remaining individuals are buried in a mass grave directly under the Amtrak train tracks and cannot be exhumed.
Five men and one woman who were exhumed from the mass burial site were buried at West Laurel Hill Cemetery in March of 2012. Today, we remember not only those who were buried here, but all those who lost their lives at the Duffy’s Cut site.
For more information, visit the Duffy’s Cut Project website at http://duffyscut.immaculata.edu.
