St Patrick’s Day has come and gone. The parades are over. But behind the festivities is the proud history of the Irish Americans who arrived in America escaping famine and political victimization. Saint Patrick is known for bringing Christianity to Ireland. He used Christianity to help him through his time as a slave and escaped back to Ireland. The most famous myth about St Patrick is that he drove out all the snakes in Ireland. Although the reason for his death is still a mystery, the Irish have honored his death with a feast since the beginning of the 17th century. Originally it was a holiday based solely in Ireland but because of the massive migration of the Irish to different shores, this event is in many US cities and towns like Boston.
To understand why droves of Irish immigrants came to America, we must understand from whence they came. The first big migration occurred as an outcome of the Nine-Year War between Ireland and England. The British government gained control of Ireland. Until the Irish gained independence in 1921, they were under British rule forcing many of the Irish to seek a new society ….. to leave their homeland. Additionally, according to the National Geographic Society, the Industrial Revolution reduced the need for workers. The Industrial Revolution occurred in Great Britain in the 18th Century, when new machines led Europe into a major industrialization frenzy. While there was a big increase in production due to the introduction of machines, there became less need for workers. Many Irish farmers lost their jobs, causing a huge surge of immigrants who emigrated out of Ireland to the United States.
Another influx of migrants into the United States was due to the Potato Famine. In 1845, a mold known as Phytophthora infected and destroyed many plants that Irish people depended on. During the famine called the Irish Potato Famine or the Great Hunger, many crops, particularly potatoes, which were a huge part of the Irish diet, had to be destroyed. The Corn Laws, imposed by the British government, where things like corn and bread became very expensive, and the increased demand for the export of products to Britain. left thousands of Irish families dying of starvation, and hundreds of thousands dying from diseases related to malnutrition. This confluence of factors forced many Irish men, women and families to leave Ireland to escape poverty and starvation, immigrating to places like the United States.
Annie Moore, a 17-year-old girl of Irish descent set forth from County Cork with her two brothers, Anthony and Phillip, for a 17 day journey to America to meet their parents who has arrived two years prior. She was the first ever immigrant who set foot on the Ellis Island facility. Ellis Island is a very famous New York landmark where more than 3.5 million Irish immigrants were processed during its 62 years in operation. Moore lived a happy life, starting a family of at least ten children and dying at the tender age of fifty. Her statue is on both Country Cork and Ellis, with the inscription, “…will forever represent the millions who passed through Ellis Island in pursuit of the American dream.”
Boston was a popular place for people of Irish descent due to the growth of modern industrialization and its robust labor demands. Boston’s expanding economy created many jobs for laborers in the manufacturing, construction, and transportation fields. In addition, Boston was a major port city on the East Coast and that attracted many immigrants. Upon settling down in Boston, many Irish established core communities of people who shared similar cultures, history, and religious backgrounds. They created businesses, restaurants, and social organizations which catered specifically to the Catholic population.
However, like other immigrant groups at that time and even today, many Irish immigrants faced discrimination and hate. As a mainly Protestant country, the people of Boston did not welcome the Catholicism that the Irish brought with them when they immigrated to America. According to History.com, many people in Boston viewed the Irish as dangerous alcoholics. They created phrases such as “Don’t get your Irish up”, and labeled them with slurs like “mick.” There were many violent anti-Irish protests, where initially Irish people were categorized like the segregated blacks and Chinese. There were settings where Irish people were not allowed to share public spaces with non-segregated white people.
With the huge flux of Irish immigrants desperately seeking work, they were willing to work very strenuous labor tasks for very little pay. Many Americans thought that they were stealing their jobs from them. They started putting up signs such as “No Irish Need Apply” and also formed political groups such as “Know Nothing” who refused to elect people who were not “native-born” and had campaigned anti-Catholic and anti-Irish positions. In August 1855 Know-Nothing members, guarding polling stations on an election day, launched street fights against German and Irish Catholics. They ransacked and torched Immigrant homes. On another day, over 100 immigrants were killed in Louisville, Kentucky in a terrible massacre infamously known as “Bloody Monday.” To combat this abuse, the Irish started to fight power with power and rose in numbers at the ballot box. They voted, not as a religious group, but as a political group. Through unprecedented broad organization, they were able to help Hugh O’Brien become the first Irish and Catholic mayor of Boston in 1884. In Boston today, the Irish politicians continue to enjoy their reputation as “politicians”, and the rest of the politicians from all ethnic backgrounds join together, at the most popular annual event of St Patrick’s Day, the St Patrick’s Day Breakfast.
New immigrant groups replace old immigrant groups. New immigrant groups deal with the discrimination, the isolation, the anger, the hate and the fear from the populace. The irony is that the last immigrant group has often joined the populace. Social Psychology theory reminds us that race will slow down the assimilation of an immigrant group into the populace
Although there were many challenges that the Irish faced as immigrants in America, through celebrations such as Saint Patrick’s Day, we, as Americans, are able to appreciate their culture during Irish Heritage Month. Like Columbus Day and Lunar Nee Year, Black History Month, Indigenous Peoples Month and other special holidays, this country sets aside special days to celebrate our differences. This practice maintains mutual respect for all our immigrants. Sampan interviewed Tim Kelly, about what he thought about Saint Patrick’s Day. He said, “ I think it is a great way to showcase my Irish Heritage. Traditions like the ginger run, where all the students of Irish descent showcase our beautiful ginger hair makes me feel an immense sense of pride in my culture. It’s important to understand that St. Patrick’s Day is not just a holiday to dress in green and throw chocolate gold coins, but rather a day to celebrate the culture and history of the people of Ireland.”
