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Real Irish New York: A Rogue's Gallery of Fenians, Tough Women, Holy Men, Blasphemers, Jesters, and a Gang of Other Colorful Characters
As they entered their 600th year of British occupation, the Irish looked to America.
By the 1840s, America was the oasis that the Irish sought during a decade of both famine and revolution, and New York City was the main destination. The city would never be the same.
Refugees of the famine found leadership in Archbishop “Dagger” John Hughes, who built an Irish-Catholic infrastructure of churches, schools, hospitals, and orphanages that challenged the Protestant power structure of the city. Revolutionaries found a home in NYC, Thomas Francis Meagher would later become Lincoln’s favorite Irish war general; John Devoy and Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa continued their fight from the city after the failed Rising of 1867; two men killed in the Easter Rising, Tom Clarke and James Connolly, spent substantial time in New York.
From there, the Irish rose and helped shape New York politics, labor, social activism, entertainment, and art. W. R. Grace was New York’s first Irish-Catholic mayor, followed by Tammany rogue James J. Walker, and then William O’Dwyer of County Mayo. On the labor side, Michael J. Quill, ex-IRA, of the Transport Workers of America, found his perfect foil in WASP mayor John V. Lindsay. Dorothy Day and Margaret Sanger became famed social activists.
While the Irish made up much of the NYPD and FDNY, there was also the criminal element of the 1860s. The toughness of the New York underworld caught the eye of Hollywood, and James Cagney would become one of America’s favorite tough-guy movie characters. Irish gangs would be made famous in Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York . Today, Eugene O’Neill, Jimmy Breslin, Pete Hamill and Frank McCourt populate our literary canon.
These Irish influenced every phase of American society, and their colorful stories make up Real Irish New York .
By the 1840s, America was the oasis that the Irish sought during a decade of both famine and revolution, and New York City was the main destination. The city would never be the same.
Refugees of the famine found leadership in Archbishop “Dagger” John Hughes, who built an Irish-Catholic infrastructure of churches, schools, hospitals, and orphanages that challenged the Protestant power structure of the city. Revolutionaries found a home in NYC, Thomas Francis Meagher would later become Lincoln’s favorite Irish war general; John Devoy and Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa continued their fight from the city after the failed Rising of 1867; two men killed in the Easter Rising, Tom Clarke and James Connolly, spent substantial time in New York.
From there, the Irish rose and helped shape New York politics, labor, social activism, entertainment, and art. W. R. Grace was New York’s first Irish-Catholic mayor, followed by Tammany rogue James J. Walker, and then William O’Dwyer of County Mayo. On the labor side, Michael J. Quill, ex-IRA, of the Transport Workers of America, found his perfect foil in WASP mayor John V. Lindsay. Dorothy Day and Margaret Sanger became famed social activists.
While the Irish made up much of the NYPD and FDNY, there was also the criminal element of the 1860s. The toughness of the New York underworld caught the eye of Hollywood, and James Cagney would become one of America’s favorite tough-guy movie characters. Irish gangs would be made famous in Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York . Today, Eugene O’Neill, Jimmy Breslin, Pete Hamill and Frank McCourt populate our literary canon.
These Irish influenced every phase of American society, and their colorful stories make up Real Irish New York .
336 pages, Hardcover
Published March 17, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 22, 2020
A Romping Good Time
I have been discovering my Irish roots over the past decade, so this book was perfect for me—a Cliff Notes type overview of New York Irish history.
From politics to music with plays and literature mixed—I loved this book
I have been discovering my Irish roots over the past decade, so this book was perfect for me—a Cliff Notes type overview of New York Irish history.
From politics to music with plays and literature mixed—I loved this book
May 15, 2020
*McEvoy Hits Another One Out of the Park!* ..... It's almost embarrassing to follow McEvoy in print, even just to write a review. I don't feel as if I could begin to do his books justice. But that said, when I get my hands on one, I invariably read it straight through. This volume's no different. You'll learn the most fascinating details about the Irish of New York and even New Yorkers you might not realize are or were Irish to begin with. Dorothy Day's story captivates me most since I'm rather partial to her. If you're looking for a book of impeccable historical accuracy that still grips the reader like a fast-paced novel, look no farther. ............... Although in closing I would also like to recommend McEvoy's historical novel as well, 'The Thirteenth Apostle'. If you weren't a Michael Collins fan before, you will be in short order. McEvoy sees to that!
October 21, 2021
Entertaining and light.
December 27, 2021
Read the hardcover copy of this, but it wouldn't let me add that addition.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews