The honour was bestowed by Boston mayor Marty Walsh through a special proclamation he issued in recognition of the ship’s rescue mission in the Mediterranean Sea during which it saved 4,200 migrants from drowning. He likened the modern-day migrant plight to that of those who fled the Famine and whose US descendants number many millions. The ship’s time in Boston attracted significant attention from US media, including the Boston Globe. The ship’s visit to the city was part of an Irish diplomatic and trade mission which also covered a stop-over in New York. The ship also stopped for a minute’s silence off the city’s Irish Hunger Memorial in Manhattan.

Source: Irish Examiner October 14, 2019 04:41 UTC