The U2 frontman ‘claims’ the Beatles as Irish at an Amnesty International ceremony celebrating immigration on New York’s Ellis Island

As far as Bono is concerned, the Beatles are his countrymen. The U2 frontman claimed John Lennon and his bandmates as not only immigrants but also Irish, during a tapestry-unveiling ceremony on New York’s Ellis island on Wednesday.

The Amnesty International event marked the 40th anniversary of Lennon receiving his green card, and was held on an island well-known as an immigration station for those seeking entry into the US. Speaking alongside Yoko Ono, Bono explained the location’s significance.

“It is fitting to do this here, because John Lennon was an immigrant,” Bono said. “He didn’t sail across the Atlantic in an ocean liner or a yellow submarine. He didn’t come in on a third-class ticket looking for a job in Hell’s Kitchen. He didn’t climb up out of steerage with all his potatoes in a single suitcase. But John Lennon was an immigrant all the same.”

The tapestry, commissioned by organisation Art for Amnesty, depicts Manhattan as a yellow submarine shining a beacon of light onto the Statue of Liberty. Lennon stands at the submarine’s helm, giving a peace sign.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Edge, Yoko Ono and Bono in front of the tapestry honouring John Lennon on Ellis Island. Photograph: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

In his speech, Bono pointed out each Beatle’s Irish heritage, calling Lennon: “One more Irish immigrant on an island full of Irish immigrants.

“Let’s claim him, in fact, let’s claim all the Beatles not as immigrants but as Irish,” he continued. Lennon was largely estranged from his father, seaman Alfred Lennon, who was believed to have had Irish parents.

Elsewhere during the ceremony, Ono spoke about Lennon’s passion for finding peace. “John said: ‘Imagine all the people, living life in peace.’ John knew how urgent it was,” She said. “But also he knew that what we believe in becomes reality. So let’s think peace, act peace, spread peace, imagine peace and together, we will make it.”

Born in Liverpool, Lennon moved to the United States in the early 1970s. The singer and peace activist, vocal in his criticism of the Vietnam war, faced deportation proceedings, before eventually getting US residency in July 1976.

Just over four years later, he was shot by an obsessed fan, Mark Chapman, at the entrance to his New York apartment block, dying of his injuries within minutes.