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The history and legacy of Leadville’s Irish miners and how their immigrant story resonates today

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19min 13sec
Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
A new memorial to Leadville’s Irish mining community, many of whom are buried in unmarked graves in the mountain town. Sept. 16, 2023.

St. Patrick's Day is Sunday, and while it's an opportunity to celebrate, it's also a time to reflect and pay homage to Irish culture and lives lost. One way that's being done in Colorado is through the Leadville Irish Memorial. Jim Walsh is a political science professor at CU Denver who's done more than two decades of research on Irish history and culture. He says what the miners went through still resonates today.