8America is a country shaped by immigration. It is estimated that as many as 4.5 million Irish arrived in America during the 1800s and early 1900s. Between 1820 and 1860, the Irish constituted over one third of all immigrants to the United States. Rather than an unimpassioned history lesson, Roberta shares the immigrant story through the eyes of of her own Irish ancestors. To really understand the Irish experience you have to live it. Barring the invention of time travel, this is as close as you can get.