Duffy's Cut: A Novel

Based on a true story

In the spring of 1832, thousands of Irish sailed from the port of Londonderry on the vessel, The John Stamp.  Fleeing starvation, political and religious bias, these men and women sought refuge in the new world of America.

 

Duffy’s Cut tells the story of Rooney McCabe and his struggle to survive poverty ridden Ireland.  While yearning  for a better life, his childhood friend lures him into the rebellious world of Ireland’s Ribbonmen.  Faced with exile or possible hanging, Rooney flees Ireland for America to work on the P&C Railway’s most dangerous line, Mile 59.  Will he finally build his dream for Kit and his family or will he face a life of servitude among America’s labor classes?

 

Moving between Ireland’s 19th Century countryside, a perilous voyage on a coffin ship and landing in railroad work camp, Duffy’s Cut is a story based on the real-life events of fifty-seven men and one woman whose lives were marked by one of America’s most haunting legacies of bias, bigotry and ultimate persecution. 

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