No Irish Need Apply
Up until the mid-nineteenth century, most Irish immigrants in America
were members of the Protestant middle class. When the Great Potato
Famine hit Ireland in 1845, close to a million poor, uneducated, Catholic
Irish began to pour into America to escape starvation. Despised for their
religious beliefs and funny accents by the American Protestant majority,
the immigrants had trouble finding even menial jobs. When Irish Americans
in the country's cities took to the streets on St. Patrick's Day to celebrate
their heritage, newspapers portrayed them in cartoons as drunk, violent
monkeys.
However, the Irish soon began to realize that their great numbers endowed
them with a political power that had yet to be exploited. They started to
organize, and their voting block, known as the "green machine," became
an important swing vote for political hopefuls. Suddenly, annual St.
Patrick's Day parades became a show of strength for Irish Americans, as
well as a must-attend event for a slew of political candidates. In 1948,
President Truman attended New York City 's St. Patrick's Day parade, a
proud moment for the many Irish whose ancestors had to fight stereotypes
and racial prejudice to find acceptance in America.
 Click to view THE WOLFE TONES
They've been singin' the great ol' rebel songs for 35 years!
 Click thumbnail to view CD cover
The Rifles of the I.R.A
In nineteen hundred and sixteen,
The Forces of the Crown,
For to Capture Orange, White and Green,
Bombarded Dublin Town,
But in twenty one, Britannia's huns,
Began to earn their pay,
When the Black and Tans, Like lightning ran
From the rifles of the IRA
They burned their way through Munster
Laid Leinster on the rack,
Through Connaught and through Ulster,
Marched the men in brown and black,
Well, they cut down wives and children,
In their own horrific way,
The black and tans, like lightning ran
From the rifles of the IRA
This material might be copyrighted. 
Dover
Did You Know?
There are 34 million U.S. residents who claim Irish ancestry. This number is
almost nine times the population of Ireland itself (3.9 million). Irish is the nation’s
second most frequently reported ancestry, trailing only German.
- There are three states in which Irish is the leading ancestry group: Delaware,
Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Irish is among the top five ancestries in every
state but two (Hawaii and New Mexico).
- There are 54 counties where Irish is the largest observed ancestry group.
Forty-four of these counties are in the Northeast, with 14 in New York, 11 in
Massachusetts and five in New Jersey.
- In Middlesex County, Mass., 348,978 residents are of Irish ancestry. Among the
54 counties where Irish is the largest observed ancestry group, Middlesex had the
highest population of Irish-Americans, with Norfolk County, Mass., second, with
203,285.
- A total of 4.8 million immigrants from Ireland have been admitted to the U.S.
for lawful permanent residence since fiscal year 1820, the earliest year for which
official immigration records exist. By fiscal year 1870, about half of these
immigrants were admitted for lawful permanent residence. Only Germany, Italy,
the United Kingdom and Mexico have had more immigrants admitted for
permanent residence to the United States than Ireland.
- The value of U.S. imports from the Republic of Ireland during a recent 10-month
period (January-October 2004) was $23 billion. Meanwhile, the United States
exported $6.6 billion worth of goods to Ireland.
- There are nine places in the United States that share the name of Ireland’s
capital, Dublin. Since Census 2000, Dublin, Calif., has surpassed Dublin, Ohio,
as the most populous of these places (35,581 compared with 33,606 as of
July 1, 2003).
Data courtesy of the U.S. Census Bureau
 Click to view
Dover
Take a fun Irish Quiz (Here's a freebie . . .)
This Nobel Prize-winning Irish poet and playwright was also a senator of the
Irish Free State from 1922 to 1928:
|
1. George Bernard Shaw
2. James Joyce
3. Jonathan Swift
4. William Butler Yeats
 Click
Irish Famine?
When was THAT?!?
Irish History Quiz This is a tough one! |
(Your freebie . . .)
During the 10th century, Ireland was invaded by Vikings. The raiders pillaged
monasteries, but also founded settlements that eventually grew into some of
Ireland's biggest cities, including Dublin. In 1014, this man was able to unite
Ireland's warring tribes long enough to defeat the Vikings at Clontarf, near
Dublin, and free Ireland from Viking rule:
|
1. Hugh, Earl of Tyrone
2. Saint Patrick
3. Brian Boru
4. Tiernan O'Rourke
Failte!
Arth, A Celt
|
| 
Click thumbnails to view
Happy St Patrick's Day! 
