Irish writer Emer McLysaght has shared her vivid reflections on spending the summer of 2001 in New York City, a trip that culminated in the tragic events of September 11. According to accounts published in The Irish Times, McLysaght and four school friends had arrived in the United States on J1 visas, securing waitressing jobs at a country club on the North Shore of Long Island in Huntington.
A 2001 New York Summer Before the Tragedy
During the summer months leading up to September 11, the group worked split shifts at the country club, serving meals and spending their Mondays off traveling by the Long Island Railroad into Manhattan. McLysaght recounted visiting Lower Manhattan in late August or early September 2001, shopping at Century 21, and taking photographs with the World Trade Center towers looming in the background.
According to her recollections, the group lived in employer-provided housing alongside girls from Longford and Moscow, while also befriending local teenagers and Mexican seasonal workers. On September 9, 2001, the friends completed their final shift at the club, planning to spend a week at the beach in Maryland or North Carolina before returning to Ireland.
The Morning of September 11
Lacking mobile phones or internet access, the group planned to travel into Manhattan on the morning of September 11 to catch a 9:00 AM train south from Penn Station. However, after staying out late with friends the night before, they overslept and missed their intended train.
Waking up at approximately 8:30 AM, they were interrupted when a friend turned on the radio to find news coverage of an explosion and plane crash. According to McLysaght’s account in The Irish Times, they watched CNN in horror as the second plane struck the South Tower.
The immediate aftermath brought a dystopian atmosphere to the region. With all flights grounded, US Air Force fighter jets flew overhead, while public transport halted and bridges and tunnels closed. Local residents invited the students to stay with them, as phone lines failed and communication with families proved difficult. McLysaght noted that when she finally reached her mother in Ireland, her mother was confident, remarking that she knew her daughter would be grand.
Aftermath and Return to Ireland
Days later, the country club proceeded with a scheduled weekend wedding despite uncertainty over guests who remained missing. The students returned to work the event, later flying home to Ireland shortly afterward. According to The Irish Times, their journey through Penn Station revealed a landscape marked by missing-person flyers and filthy firemen, alongside intensified airport security.
Worth a look