Irish Americans in New York City
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The Irish community is one of New York City's major and important ethnic groups, and has been a significant proportion of the city's population since the waves of immigration in the late 19th century.
As a result of the Great Famine in Ireland, many Irish families were forced to emigrate from the country. By 1854, between 1.5 and 2 million Irish had left their country. In the United States, most Irish became city-dwellers. With little money, many had to settle in the cities that the ships landed in. By 1850, the Irish made up a quarter of the population in Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Buffalo, and Baltimore.
Today, Boston has the largest percentage of Irish-Americans of any city in the United States, while New York City has the most Irish Americans in raw numbers.[1] During the Celtic Tiger years, when the Irish economy was booming, the city saw a buying spree of residences by native Irish as second homes[2] or as investment property.[3]
History
[edit]Irish Americans (most of whom are Irish Catholic) make up approximately 5.3% of New York City's population, composing the second largest non-Hispanic white ethnic group.[4] Irish American Protestants Scotch-Irish Americans first came to America in colonial years (pre-1776).The largest wave of Catholic Irish immigration came after the Great Famine in 1845 although many Catholics immigrated during the colonial period.[5] Most came from some of Ireland's most populous counties, such as Cork, Galway, and Tipperary. Large numbers also originated in counties Cavan, Meath, Dublin, and Laois.[6]
In the Civil War, the massive anti-draft riots of 1863 represented a "civil war" inside the Irish Catholic community, according to Toby Joyce. The mostly Irish Catholic rioters confronted police, soldiers, and pro-war politicians who were often leaders of the Irish community.[7] In the "early days", the 19th century, the Irish formed a predominant part of the European immigrant population of New York City, a "city of immigrants", which added to the city's diversity to this day.[8] After they came, Irish immigrants often crowded into subdivided homes, only meant for one family, and cellars, attics, and alleys all became home for the poorest immigrants. As they accumulated wealth they moved into better housing.[9] Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, was originally developed as a resort for wealthy Manhattanites in 1879, but instead became an upscale family-oriented Italian- and Irish-American community.[10] Another large Irish-American community is located in Woodlawn Heights, Bronx,[11] but Woodlawn Heights also has a mix of different ethnic groups.[12] Conditions were slow to improve in Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen.[13]
Other sizable Irish-American communities include Belle Harbor and Breezy Point, both in Queens.[14][15] Two big Irish communities are Marine Park and neighboring Gerritsen Beach. The Irish have also settled "to a far lesser extent [in] Maspeth, Woodside, and Sunnyside, Queens."[11]
The Irish Catholic men were successful in joining the New York City Police Department as well as the New York Fire Department. Religious women became nuns teaching in parochial schools; others became public school teachers. In the neighborhoods, the Irish organized to again control over territory, jobs, and political organizations. As the "new immigrants" from Southern and Eastern Europe arrived 1880s-1914, the Irish incorporating them into their established system. It was a process of "Americanization." The Irish dominated the Catholic Church as bishops, priests, pastors and nuns.[16] The Church worked hard to keep Catholicism strong among the new arrivals, opening parish schools and high schools.[17] After 1945, a large-scale movement to the suburbs was made possible by the steady upward social mobility of the Irish.[18]
Irish colleges and universities
[edit]- Fordham University Founded by Archbishop John Hughes an Irish immigrant, and built by Irish labor. Most of the Jesuits are Irish-Americans and Irish Americans make up a sizeable amount of the student body. The University president Rev. Joseph McShane, SJ is an Irish American.
- St. John's University Founded by Bishop John Laughlin an Irish immigrant aiming to educate Irish and other immigrants in a strong Catholic atmosphere. Almost every president of the University has been an Irish American, and many of the Vincentian priests that run the University are Irish as well as lay staff and professors. The University president Rev. Brian Shanley, OP is an Irish American.
- Manhattan College Many of the students, staff and professors are Irish American. Its athletic teams are named the Jaspers, in honor of Brother Jasper of Mary, an Irish immigrant, administrator at the school and inventor of the seventh inning stretch. The College president Brennan O'Donnell, is an Irish American.
Irish neighborhoods
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/38/Rory_Dolan%27s_Irish_Pub_McLean_Av_jeh.jpg/220px-Rory_Dolan%27s_Irish_Pub_McLean_Av_jeh.jpg)
Current
[edit]- Woodlawn, Bronx[19][20][21]
- North Riverdale, Bronx[22][23]
- City Island, Bronx
- Pelham Bay, Bronx
- Throggs Neck, Bronx
- Bay Ridge, Brooklyn[24][25][26]
- Gerritsen Beach, Brooklyn[27][28][29]
- Marine Park, Brooklyn[30][31]
- Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn
- Vinegar Hill, Brooklyn[32][33][34]
- Broad Channel, Queens
- Belle Harbor, Queens
- Breezy Point, Queens
- Rockaway Park, Queens
- Rockaway Beach, Queens
- Sunnyside, Queens[35]
- Maspeth, Queens
- Woodside, Queens[35][36]
- St. George, Staten Island[37][38]
- West Brighton, Staten Island
- Randall Manor, Staten Island
Historic
[edit]- Vinegar Hill, Brooklyn
- Five Points/Lower East Side, Manhattan
- Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan
- East Harlem, Manhattan
- Mott Haven, Bronx
- Inwood, Manhattan
- University Heights, Bronx
- Kingsbridge, Bronx
- Bainbridge, Bronx[39][40]
- Bedford Park, Bronx
- Fordham, Bronx
- Astoria, Queens
- Woodhaven, Queens[41]
- Parkchester, Bronx
- Westchester Square, Bronx
Notable Irish New Yorkers
[edit]Irish mayors
[edit]- David Mathews
- James Duane
- William Jay Gaynor
- Thomas F. Gilroy, Irish-born
- William R. Grace, Irish-born
- Hugh J. Grant
- John F. Hylan
- John Purroy Mitchel
- John P. O'Brien
- William O'Dwyer, Irish-born
- Jimmy Walker
- Robert F. Wagner Jr. – his mother was from Cork
Irish Bishops of the Archdiocese of New York
[edit]- R. Luke Concanen, Irish-born
- John Connolly, Irish-born
- Terence Cooke
- Michael Corrigan
- Timothy Dolan
- Edward Egan
- John Farley, Irish-born
- Patrick Hayes
- John Joseph Hughes, Irish-born
- John McCloskey
- John Joseph O'Connor
- Francis Spellman
Irish Bishops of the Diocese of Brooklyn
[edit]- John Loughlin, Irish-born
- Charles Edward McDonnell
- Thomas Edmund Molloy
- Bryan Joseph McEntegart
- Robert J. Brennan
Notable Irish New Yorkers
[edit]- James L. Buckley, U.S. senator, federal judge
- William F. Buckley Jr., writer, editor of National Review
- William F. Buckley, Sr., oil baron
- Edward Burns, actor, writer, director
- Joseph Brennan, basketball player
- Jimmy Breslin, former New York Daily News and Newsday writer
- Robert De Niro, actor
- Matthew Broderick, actor
- Jimmy Burke, gangster
- James Cagney, actor
- Hugh Carey, Governor of New York
- George Carlin, comedian
- William Bourke Cockran, congressman and noted Tammany Hall orator
- George M Cohan, entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer, and producer
- Mad Dog Coll, gangster
- Margaret Colin. actress
- James B. Comey, Former Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
- Jennifer Connelly, actress, model, Academy Award winner
- Kevin Connors, ESPN sportscaster
- James Coonan, gangster
- Gerry Cooney, boxer
- Bob Costas, sports broadcaster, television personality
- Kevin Corrigan, actor
- Charles Dolan, billionaire, owner of Cablevision, Madison Square Garden & Knicks
- James Dolan, billionaire, owner of New York Rangers & Radio City Music Hall
- William A. Donohue, president of the Catholic League
- Art Donovan, football player
- Charles J. Dougherty, president of Duquesne University
- Francis Patrick Duffy, priest, Lieutenant Colonel and chaplain of 69th Infantry Regiment (New York)
- Mike Dunleavy, Sr., basketball player, National Basketball Association head coach
- Bill Dwyer, gangster
- Mickey Featherstone, gangster
- Patrick Fitzgerald, United States Attorney
- Bobby Flay, chef, television host, restaurateur
- Mel Gibson, Actor, and Film director
- Charles V. Glasco, New York City Police Sergeant, most well known for his efforts to rescue John William Warde
- Jackie Gleason, comedian
- Pete Hamill, writer, editor in chief of New York Daily News & New York Post
- Henry Hill, gangster
- Charles J. Hynes District Attorney for Kings County
- Mychal F. Judge, OFM, priest and Chaplain of the Fire Department of New York
- George W. Keller, architect
- Raymond W. Kelly, New York Police Department Commissioner
- Caroline Kennedy, author, attorney, daughter of President John F. Kennedy
- John F. Kennedy, Jr., son of John F. Kennedy, magazine editor
- George Kennedy, actor
- Owney Madden, gangster
- Michael Malloy, also known as Mike the Durable and Iron Mike, known for being "unkilliable"
- Dennis Hart Mahan, professor of military theory and engineering at West Point
- Alfred Thayer Mahan, influential naval historian
- Wellington Mara, owner of New York Giants, member of Pro Football Hall of Fame
- Jack McCarthy, WPIX broadcaster and kids show host.
- Frank McCourt, author, winner of Pulitzer Prize for literature
- Steven McDonald, NYPD Detective, public speaker, peace maker
- Brian McDonough Radio and Television personality, physician, author
- John McEnroe, tennis player, winner of seven Grand Slam tournaments
- Patrick McEnroe, tennis player
- Roderick McMahon, boxing and sports promoter
- Vincent J. McMahon owner of World Wrestling Entertainment, sports promoter
- Mary Tyler Moore, actress
- Daniel Patrick Moynihan, U.S. Senator
- Joe Mullen, hockey player
- Richard Mulligan, actor
- Chris Mullin, basketball player, member of 1992 Dream Team
- Conan O'Brien, late night talk show host
- John P. O'Brien, mayor of New York City
- Jerry O'Connell, actor
- Carroll O'Connor, actor
- Charles O'Conor, United States Attorney, former presidential candidate
- Rosie O'Donnell, actress, comedian
- Ryan O'Neal, actor
- Tatum O'Neal, actress
- James Aloysius O'Gorman one-term United States Senator from New York, Justice of the New York District Court, Justice of the New York Supreme Court
- Walter O'Malley, owner of Brooklyn Dodgers, infamous for moving them to Los Angeles
- Bill O'Reilly, news commentator
- Regis Philbin, television personality
- Colin Quinn, comedian
- Richard Riordan, former mayor of Los Angeles
- Al Smith, governor of New York, 1928 Democratic Party presidential candidate
- John Sweeney, president of the AFL–CIO
- Gene Tunney, boxer
- Jimmy Walker, mayor of New York City
- Thomas J. Manton, U.S. Congress
Irish gangs
[edit]- 19th Street Gang
- 40 Thieves
- Dead Rabbits
- Gopher Gang
- Grady Gang
- Kerryonians
- Slobbery Jim
- The Westies
- Whyos
Entertainment about Irish in New York City
[edit]Music
[edit]Fairytale of New York by Irish band The Pogues refers to the NYPD choir singing Galway Bay. This is traditional because the force traditionally was largely made up of Irish Americans.
Notable films
[edit]- The Last Dance, 1930
- Me and My Gal, 1932
- Mannequin, 1937
- Angels with Dirty Faces, 1938
- The Flying Irishman, 1939
- Waterfront, 1939
- Little Nellie Kelly, 1940
- East Side Kids, 1940
- The Fighting 69th, 1940
- Going My Way, 1944
- The Kid from Brooklyn, 1946
- My Wild Irish Rose, 1947
- The Lady from Shanghai, 1947
- The Luck of the Irish, 1948
- On the Waterfront, 1954
- Beau James, 1957
- Mad Dog Coll, 1961
- Madigan, 1968
- Quackser Fortune Has a Cousin in the Bronx, 1970
- State of Grace, 1990
- Q & A, 1990
- Goodfellas, 1990
- Mad Dog Coll, 1992
- The Brothers McMullen, 1995
- The Devil's Own, 1997
- Angela's Ashes, 1999
- Gangs of New York, 2002
- In America, 2002
- 25th Hour, 2003
- Daredevil, 2003
- Emerald City, 2006
- Michael Clayton, 2007
- Brooklyn, 2015
- Run All Night, 2015
Television
[edit]- Blue Bloods, 2010
- The Black Donnellys, 2007
- CSI: NY, 2004
- Daredevil, 2015
- Rescue Me, 2004
- Grounded for Life, 2001
- The Job, 2001
- The Beat, 2000
- The King of Queens, 1999
- Trinity, 1998
- Brooklyn South, 1997
- Ryan's Hope, 1975
- Going My Way, 1962
- All in the Family, 1971
- Archie Bunker's Place, 1979
- Late Night with Conan O'Brien, 1993
See also
[edit]- Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn
- History of education in New York City
- History of the Catholic Church in the United States
- Charles Francis Murphy, Tammany boss
References
[edit]- ^ Irish American Fun Facts & Trivia
- ^ The Real Estate Bloggers
- ^ An Irish Taste for Real Estate in Manhattan, by Patrick McHeehan, N.Y. Times, May 8, 2007 (The page number is not available; it is available on-line with registration).
- ^ "New York city, New York – QT-P13. Ancestry: 2000". census.gov American Fact Finder. United States Census Bureau. 2000. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved April 23, 2009.
- ^ Ronald H. Bayor and Timothy J. Meagher, eds. The New York Irish (1996) pp 12-18.
- ^ Anbinder, Tyler (2015). "Which Irish men and women immigrated to the United States during the Great Famine migration of 1846-54?". Irish Historical Studies. 39 (156): 620–642. doi:10.1017/ihs.2015.22. S2CID 163537029.
- ^ Toby Joyce, "The New York Draft Riots of 1863: An Irish Civil War?" History Ireland (March 2003) 11#2, pp 22-27.
- ^ Helmreich 2013, p. 25.
- ^ Bayor and Meagher, eds. The New York Irish (1996) pp. 88, 400-401.
- ^ Goode, Kristen. "Bay Ridge, Brooklyn". about.com. The New York Times Company. Archived from the original on June 23, 2009. Retrieved May 4, 2009.
- ^ a b Helmreich 2013, p. 27.
- ^ Wilson, Claire (February 16, 2003). "If You're Thinking of Living In/Woodlawn; A Bronx Enclave With a Suburban Feel". The New York Times. p. 1. Retrieved May 4, 2009.
- ^ Manhattan|work=primemanhattan.com|publisher=Prime Manhattan Realty|accessdate=May 4, 2009
- ^ "Walking Around – Belle Harbor – Irish New York City's Ethnic neighborhoods". walkingaround.com. 2004. Archived from the original on 2009-03-02. Retrieved May 4, 2009.
- ^ "Walking Around – Breezy Point – Irish New York City's Ethnic neighborhoods". walkingaround.com. 2004. Archived from the original on 2009-03-02. Retrieved May 4, 2009.
- ^ Thomas Shelley, " 'Only One Class of People to Draw Upon for Support': Irish-Americans and the Archdiocese of New York." American Catholic Studies (2001): 1-21.
- ^ James R. Barrett, and David R. Roediger, "The Irish and the 'Americanization' of the 'New Immigrants' in the Streets and in the Churches of the Urban United States, 1900-1930." Journal of American Ethnic History 24.4 (2005): 3-33, focus on New YHork and Chicago.
- ^ Morton D. Winsberg, "The Suburbanization of the Irish in Boston, Chicago and New-York." Eire-Ireland 21.3 (1986): 90-104.
- ^ A bit o' the Irish brogue: Woodlawn: An Irish enclave in the far reaches of the Bronx, by Patrick Ward, amNY, February 8, 2007, at pp. 34, 36, 38; see also at [1].
- ^ Answer.com page on Woodlawn
- ^ Irish restaurants in N. Riverdale
- ^ NY Times article, requires registration
- ^ "Irish fire-fighter obit". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2020-01-26.
- ^ "Top 7 Brooklyn Irish Pubs and Bars", by Wendy Zarganis, About:New York:Brooklyn web site Archived 2007-07-07 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Blog: "A Shamrock Grows in Brooklyn"
- ^ Henry Grattan's Pub web site Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Congressman' s site Archived 2007-04-30 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Answers.com
- ^ "Neighborhood web site". Archived from the original on 2013-06-17. Retrieved 2007-05-08.
- ^ "Civic group". Archived from the original on 2013-11-16. Retrieved 2007-05-22.
- ^ Irish dance group
- ^ Forgotten NY web site
- ^ ""Close up on Vinegar Hill", by Danial Adkinson, Village Voice web site". Archived from the original on 2008-06-09. Retrieved 2007-05-18.
- ^ "If You're Thinking of Living in Vinegar Hill...", by Dulcie Leimbach, N.Y. Times, August 31, 2003 on line.
- ^ a b Ellen Freudenheim, Queens: What to do, where to go (and how not to get lost) in New York's Undiscovered Borough, pp. 15-16 (Woodside), 262-265 (Rockaways), 267-275 (Sunnyside), 277-287 (Woodside). (St. Martin's NY 2006) ISBN 0-312-35818-0.
- ^ Bayor and Meaghar (1996). The New York Irish. Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-5199-5. (p. 414)
- ^ Staten Is. Cultural web site Archived 2007-05-06 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Staten Island Irish Fair web site[permanent dead link]
- ^ Information on Norwood, a.k.a. Bainbridge:Answers.com page on Norwood
- ^ St. Barnabas' Parish web site
- ^ Diana Shaman, If You're Thinking of Living In /Woodhaven, Queens; Diversity in a Cohesive Community, New York Times September 20, 1998, found at NY Times article on the diversity of Rego Park including Irish-Americans. Accessed November 8, 2007.
Further reading
[edit]- Almeida, Linda Dowling. Irish Immigrants in New York City, 1945-1995 (Indiana University Press, 2001).
- Anbinder, Tyler. Five Points: The 19th-century New York City neighborhood that invented tap dance, stole elections, and became the world's most notorious slum (Simon and Schuster, 2001). online
- Anbinder, Tyler. "We will dirk every mother’s son of you- Five Points and the Irish conquest of New York Politics" Eire-Ireland (2001) 36(1): 29–46. excerpt
- Barrett, James R., and David R. Roediger. "The Irish and the 'Americanization' of the 'New Immigrants' in the Streets and in the Churches of the Urban United States, 1900-1930." Journal of American Ethnic History 24.4 (2005): 3-33. How the Irish helped the "new immigration" in New York City and Chicago. online
- Bayor, Ronald H., and Timothy Meagher, eds. The New York Irish (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997) online; 22 topical essays by experts.
- Bayor, Ronald H. Neighbors in Conflict: The Irish, Germans, Jews, and Italians of New York City, 1929-1941 (U of Illinois Press, 1988). online
- Bernstein, Iver. The New York City Draft Riots: Their Significance for American Society and Politics in the Age of the Civil War (1990).
- Burrows, Edwin G., and Mike Wallace. Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898 (Oxford University Press, 1999) 1383pp; a standard scholarly history.
- Carregal-Romero, José. "The Irish Female Migrant, Silence and Family Duty in Colm Tóibín’s Brooklyn." Études irlandaises 43-2 (2018): 129-141. online
- Cook, Adrian. The Armies of the Streets: The New York City Draft Riots of 1863 (University Press of Kentucky, 1974).
- Darby, Paul. "Gaelic games, ethnic identity and Irish nationalism in New York City c. 1880–1917." Sport in Society 10.3 (2007): 347-367.
- Dolan, Jay P. The Immigrant Church: New York's Irish and German Catholics, 1815-1865 (1975) online
- Glazer, Nathan, and Daniel Patrick Moynihan. Beyond the Melting Pot: The Negroes, Puerto Ricans, Jews, Italians, and Irish of New York City (MIT Press, 1970). online
- Gordon, Michael Allen. The Orange Riots: Irish Political Violence in New York City, 1870 and 1871 (Cornell University Press, 1993). online
- Gurock, Jeffrey S. "'Getting Along' in Parkchester: A New Era in Jewish–Irish Relations in New York City 1940–1970." Religions 9.6 (2018): 181+ [2].
- Helmreich, William B. (2013). The New York Nobody Knows: Walking 6000 Miles in the City. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton U. Press. ISBN 978-0-691-14405-4.
- Jackson, Kenneth T., ed. The encyclopedia of New York city (Yale University Press, 2010). online
- Joyce, Toby. "The New York Draft Riots of 1863: An Irish Civil War?" History Ireland (March 2003) 11#2, pp 22-27. online
- Kelly, Mary C. The shamrock and the lily: the New York Irish and the creation of a transatlantic identity, 1845-1921 (Peter Lang, 2005). online review
- McGlmpsey, Christopher D. "Internal ethnic friction: Orange and green in nineteenth‐century New York, 1868–1872." Immigrants & Minorities 1.1 (1982): 39-59.
- McGrath, Patrick. "Secular Power, Sectarian Politics: The American-Born Irish Elite and Catholic Political Culture in Nineteenth-Century New York." Journal of American Ethnic History 38.3 (2019): 36-75. online
- Marston, Sallie A. "Making difference: conflict over Irish identity in the New York City St. Patrick’s Day parade." Political Geography 21.3 (2002): 373-392. online[dead link]
- Maye-Banbury, Angela. "Emerald City? The case for situational capital in advancing our understanding of Irish immigrants’ attachment to New York City as place." Irish Journal of Sociology (2022): 07916035221082548. online
- Moses, Paul. An unlikely union: The love-hate story of New York's Irish and Italians (NYU Press, 2017). online
- Nilsen, Kenneth E. "Irish in nineteenth century New York." in The Multilingual Apple: Languages in New York City (2002) pp: 53-69.
- O'Donnell, Edward T. "Hibernians Versus Hebrews? A New Look at the 1902 Jacob Joseph Funeral Riot" Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era 6.2 (2007): 209-225.
- Rohs, Stephen Albert, and Stephen Rohs. Eccentric Nation: Irish Performance in Nineteenth-Century New York City (Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press, 2009), regarding theatres
- Shelley, Thomas. " 'Only One Class of People to Draw Upon for Support': Irish-Americans and the Archdiocese of New York." American Catholic Studies (2001): 1-21.
- Winsberg, Morton D. "The Suburbanization of the Irish in Boston, Chicago and New-York." Eire-Ireland 21.3 (1986): 90-104.
External links
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- FDNY Emerald Society
- FDNY Emerald Society Pipes and Drums
- Fordham University
- St. John's University
- New York Irish Bars
- NYCD Emerald Society
- New York Irish History Roundtable
- NYPD Emerald Society
- St. Patrick's Old Cathedral
- New York Irish Center
- Woodhaven House web site, with discussion of history of Irish pubs in Queens
- Winged Fist Organization