THE DAYS THAT WENT BEFORE US recounts the lives of the early Irish who settled in Lowell, Massachusetts in the first part of the nineteenth century. It's the story of how a community of immigrants overcame adversity and by the turn of the twentieth century evolved into the city's leading political, religious, and social force. They did all this while attempting to maintain their cultural identity. From the arrival of Lowell's first Irish immigrant, Hugh Cummiskey, in 1822 to today's celebrations of St. Patrick's Day, the Irish have maintained a cultural presence for almost two hundred years. Using the most current research and primary source documents, their story is carried on for others to share.