In 1832, a group of 57 poor Catholic migrants boarded a ship in Derry, Ireland, for a better life in the United States. After landing in Philadelphia, they traveled to southeastern Pennsylvania, where they took back-breaking jobs on a construction dig for the new Philadelphia/Concord railroad at Mile 59.
Digging into the earth for the railway was so dangerous that even enslaved people weren’t allowed to undertake it. Viewed with disdain in the States, the Irish were considered little more than cheap labor. About six weeks after their arrival, the American dream vanished for the 57 Irish immigrants, which included two women. They died reportedly of cholera.
Or did they all die that way?
“Mile 59,” an original play by Allison Ognibene, follows evidence that some of those workers were probably murdered. This conclusion is based on historical, scientific, and archaeological research collected by the Duffy’s Cut Project, named after the area where the group of 57 worked in what is now Malvern, Penn. The play also explores the prejudice and religious persecution the 400,000 Irish immigrants faced at that time.
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In “Mile 59,” Ognibene, the lead faculty member of Theater at Sussex County Community College (SCCC) in Newton, also attempts to give backstories and faces to the group of Irish migrants, whose lives are mainly unknown, through her imagination. The play will make its New Jersey premiere at SCCC’s Performing Arts Center, set for Friday, July 18, and Saturday, July 19, both at 7 p.m.
Ognibene, youth minister of Our Lady of the Lake Parish in Sparta from 2017 to 2023, developed a more compassionate view of immigrants today while researching and writing “Mile 59.” The process also deepened her already strong Catholic faith. “This is a story of downtrodden people who wanted a better life but were rejected by society in the United States, a land of immigrants. Yet Jesus taught us, ‘Blessed are the poor and meek.’ He reached out to the poor and the stranger,” said Ognibene, who emphasized that “Mile 59” is a secular play. “Today, America has a border crisis. I wanted to utilize the Holy Spirit’s gifts in telling this story, which speaks to the humanity of the immigrants. We are all God’s children.”
“Mile 59” also highlights the 7th Corporal Work of Mercy: to bury the dead. Years ago, seven of the Irish migrants’ coffins were found not far from a larger mass grave that now sits under part of the current railroad. Only two people have been identified. One of them, Catherine Burns, was returned to her homeland to be buried in a Catholic funeral. In 2014, Ognibene was inspired to write the play after seeing the PBS documentary, “Death on the Railroad.”
She met with Dr. William Watson of Immaculata University in gathering information about the tragedy. The play was recently featured at the renowned New York Theater Festival, “NY Summerfest,” in June 2025 at the Hudson Guild Theater. The “Mile 59” actors are SCCC students, alumni, and community members. One of the performers, Michael Foster, plays John Burns.
“This story of these 57 Irish migrants needs to be told. Their plight is as familiar as the plight of all migrants yearning for freedom from oppression. Allison has captured the essence of their struggle in this play,” Foster said.
Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at the door or online.
