What to expect at tonight’s "You Have Lost America by the Irish" A Musical History Lesson at the Beacon Sloop Club":

Where: Beacon Sloop Club Clubhouse, Red Flynn Drive, Beacon, NY
When: Thursday, May 2
Time: 7pm
Price: Free

There is a moment in history that most Americans have never heard — and it changes everything you thought you knew about the Revolution.

In 1784, Lord Mountjoy stunned the British Parliament with a blunt assessment: "America was lost by Irish emigrants… the major part of the American Army was composed of Irish, and it was their valor that determined the contest." More than 175 years later, President Kennedy stood before the Irish Parliament and said the same thing.

It's a chapter of history most Americans never learned — yet nearly 250,000 Irish immigrants had settled in America by the time of the Revolution, and almost one-third of the Revolutionary forces, including 1,500 officers, 22 generals, and more than a dozen sea captains, claimed Irish ancestry. More signers of the Declaration of Independence came from Ireland than any other foreign country, and the first naval engagement of the war was commanded by an Irishman.

So could the Revolution have been won without them? Come to the Beacon Sloop Club on Thursday, May 21 at 7 PM and find out.

Presenter Bill Devlin will bring this forgotten chapter to life through an illustrated PowerPoint presentation, tracing the soldiers, commanders, and everyday heroes whose sacrifice made American independence possible.

The evening's history will be accompanied by live traditional Irish music performed by the musicians of the Andy McGann Branch of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann — the world's largest organization dedicated to preserving Irish music, dance, and culture. On May 21, they bring the songs and ballads of the Revolutionary era to the banks of the Hudson.

Free and open to the public. All are welcome.