Margaret of New Orleans

Today, near a broad bend in the Mississippi River, you will find a statue of Margaret of New Orleans. Born in Carrigallen, Co. Leitrim, Ireland, in 1813, she left for America, aged just five years old, with her parents, who wanted a better life for their family. Through the illness and death of her family, Margaret soon found herself all alone in the New World. But she survived and did everything in her power to improve the lot of those less well-off than herself. Her story still lives on today on both sides of the Atlantic. It's the story of a brave soul and a big heart, of a girl who spent her life turning hardship and sorrow into happiness and light for thousands of people, until at last an entire city came to a standstill to wish her farewell.