The following quote is from Malachy McCourt, best-selling author, radio host, and brother of Frank McCourt, author of Angela's Ashes: "The Crossing, written in vivid detail with the grit and passion that the Irish brought to America, is a heart-rending love story that pits undying love against the unyielding obstacles to forgiveness, while manifesting itself with authority, narrative power and convincing persuasiveness." In doing so, it simultaneously reflects the history of Irish immigration to America, the influx of Irish families and individuals which has been substantial over the years, surging in the 1800s due to the Great Famine and then swelling as the century passed, only to surge again after the ravages of The Easter Rising and World War One. 

The Irish, along with immigrants from many countries, came to America to overcome their misfortunes — as did Johnny Flynn, the main character in The Crossing. Johnny, an Irish-born, conscripted British soldier became a rebel and fought to help save Ireland from British rule. Banned from Ireland by the Kinsale Court when it was discovered that Johnny served on the firing squad that executed James Connolly, father of Nora Connolly, the love of Johnny's life and one of the beloved Irish Signatories of the Proclamation of Independence. On an ancient famine ship, Johnny survives a trip designed to end his life and fights his ill-fated way to Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen where poor and impoverished Irish immigrants had come in torrents for years to seek a life much different than the one they'd struggled to survive in Ireland, a new life imbued with hope, freedom, individuality, livelihood, religious choice, and the chance to unlock the strangling grip of revenge and replace it with love. As stated in President Biden's speech to celebrate the 2021 Irish-American Heritage Month — whose St. Paddy's Day was dedicated to the above referenced Malachy McCourt: "So many Irish crossed the Atlantic with nothing but the hope in their hearts and their faith in the possibility of a better life."

So, knock back your pint of Guinness during the time of Prohibition and ask yourself if redemption is possible in a life as difficult as Johnny Flynn's, a life in which he commits a seemingly unforgivable sin by serving on the firing squad that executed James Connolly. Is redemption possible? Can love overcome the inability to forgive or is it that some sins cannot, nor should not, be forgiven, for to do so would be to commit a far greater sin. To the star-crossed party who has been betrayed, could the decision not to forgive be their redemption, freeing them from fate's captivity? To find an answer, do as Malachy says, "Read on for the love, the living, the death and the laughter found in the inevitable Irish wit, as brought forth in our beloved character Johnny Flynn, the spokesperson here."