Hospitality's Soapbox & Megaphone
Aug. 25, 2026

The Irish Ghosts of Delco: A History Behind Bars

In this episode, we sit down with Professor William E. Watson, Ph.D. (Immaculata University, Director of the Duffy's Cut Project) to trace that history from the Revolutionary War to the present day.

There's a mass grave under the Main Line. A quarantine station on the Delaware River. A riot that burned two Philadelphia churches to the ground. And it's all part of the story behind Delaware County, PA — one of the most Irish counties in the United States, per Professor William Watson's own account.

In this episode:

  • The Revolutionary War artifact found on Immaculata's campus
  • How Irish immigrants built Delco's mill towns
  • The Lazaretto: the quarantine station every immigrant ship had to clear
  • Duffy's Cut: the 1832 mass grave the railroad tried to bury twice
  • The forgotten Hungarian workers' grave in Radnor
  • Delco's Irish American population today, per Professor Watson
  • The 1844 Nativist Riots and the churches that burned
  • The Commodore Barry Club and the Ancient Order of Hibernians
  • Bringing a worker's remains home to Ireland, nearly 200 years later
  • Why this history still matters in Delco today

Featuring:
Professor William E. Watson, Ph.D. — Immaculata University, The Duffy's Cut Project

Read the full companion article on the Behind Bars Network LinkedIn page: Behind Bars Network on LinkedIn

Want to get involved in this or a future project? Join the conversation here

#Delco #DelawareCounty #IrishHistory #DuffysCut #Philadelphia #IrishAmerican #LocalHistory #BehindBars #ImmaculataUniversity

Professor of History, Immaculata University

Professor of History, Immaculata University (1998 to present).
https://www.immaculata.edu/about/faculty-staff-directory/william-e-watson-ph-d/4
PhD in History, University of Pennsylvania (1990), studied under Alexander V. Riasanovsky and Edward M. Peters.
Director of the Duffy's Cut Project (2003-present):
https://duffyscutproject.com/
Delaware Valley Irish-American Hall of Fame (2014)
Philadelphia St. Patrick's Day Parade Ring of Honor (2012)
Bagpiper: https://www.thebash.com/bagpipes/bagpiperwilliamwatson

Research link:
https://orcid.org/0009-0005-4587-3432

2 MINUTE STORY