Why do we celebrate St.
Patrick’s Day in the USA?
The history of the Irish part
of being Irish American
By Lynnette Fitch Brash, MA
Anglo-Irish Literature & Drama
University College Dublin, Ireland
Sr. Vice President of the
Tidewater Irish American Society
Irish Immigration to America…
1. The Ulster Scots (a.k.a. the Scots Irish)
 From northern province of Ireland (Ulster) – Scots who
had been “planted” there in earlier centuries
 Came earliest – starting in the Colonial period
 Settled the frontiers of colonies like NY – risked death at
hands of Indian raids & harsh conditions
 Many served & fought on the side of the Colonies in the
American War of Independence – risked everything to do
so
 Some were loyalists and fled to Canada after Brits lost the
War
 Middle class Protestants
Irish Immigration to America…
2. Irish Slave Trade
 Irish Catholic political prisoners were transported
by the English as indentured servants AND
outright slaves to be sold in the British colonies in
America as well as those British colonies in the
West Indies
 The American colonies were used as a penal
colony by the English for Irish Catholic
“undesirables”
Irish Immigration to America…
3. Irish Catholic settlers in Catholic-friendly
colonies (Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania)



These 3 colonies were each – briefly – friendly toward
Catholic immigrants, so Irish Catholics who could
afford to come did
They were trying to escape anti-Irish Catholic statutes
enacted by the English Parliament back home in Ireland
Unfortunately, virulently anti-Catholic English Puritans
and other WASP’s in the American colonies soon
enacted similar Penal Codes against Catholics in ALL
of the American colonies ruled by the Brits
Irish Immigration to America…
4. An Gorta Mor (The Great Hunger)








Ireland was occupied by the English for 8 centuries – the English took their
ancestral lands by force, gave them to English landlords, and forced the Irish
to pay rent to continue to live on them
Potatoes were grown for subsistence by the Irish; all other crops they grew
were turned over to their landlords for rent
In the late 1840’s, the potato crops were afflicted by blight, an airborne fungus
carried over the Atlantic, and rotted in the fields – the Irish were left with NO
food – the potato crops failed in this way for a 5 year period (1845-1850)
Anyone caught hunting or fishing on the landlords’ lands was transported,
usually around the world to Australia, never to return
All the grain in the warehouses of Ireland was exported – none was given to
the Irish for famine relief, although there was more than enough to feed them
The Irish thus consider the famine genocide - and we have a LONG memory
Bodies littered the roadsides, often too many for the weak survivors to bury –
starving children died with green lips and tongues from trying to eat grass
The Irish population was devastated and never fully recovered – 2 million
died; 1 million emigrated on the “coffin ships”, starting a chain migration
flood of Irish Catholics to America
“NO IRISH NEED APPLY” part 1
 Irish famine & post-famine immigrants faced
enormous prejudice here in America
 People mocked their accents, dress, names, poverty,
ignorance, etc. In particular, they were castigated for
their religion – they were referred to as papists and
their religious beliefs derided as popery – so much
for religious freedom!
 The Know Nothing party of anti-Catholic, anti-Irish,
anti-immigrant WASP nativist racists attacked
Catholic communities and churches in the north, as
the KKK did in the south - The Know Nothings are
depicted in the film Gangs of New York
“NO IRISH NEED APPLY” part 2
 The stereotype of a stupid, dirty, drunken, lazy, belligerent,
simian Irish race was spread – many people would refuse to hire
or rent to the Irish as a result – N.I.N.A. was often posted
 The Irish were frequently exploited by employers who would
literally work them to death, treating them worse than slaves,
who at least were protected somewhat as expensive property
 Only the worst, hardest, dirtiest, most dangerous jobs were open
to Irish men and boys – thus they went straight from arrival here
to fighting in the US Civil War, working the docks, building the
railroads, digging the canals, serving as hired muscle, mining
underground, policing the streets, and fighting fires
 Irish women and girls frequently worked as house maids, took in
laundry, labored in factories, or provided childcare – they were at
risk of rape and seduction by the privileged class with little legal
recourse – they also had no job security and were often little
better than slaves
“NO IRISH NEED APPLY” part 3
 The Irish loved America and made their mark on it, all the while never
forgetting Ireland and their history there.
 To show their pride in that Irish heritage, they began holding
celebrations and parades on St. Patrick’s Day (March 17 - the feast day
of the Catholic patron saint of Ireland) in the COLONIAL period
when Irish soldiers in the British army paraded!
 That Irish AMERICAN tradition continued throughout the 19th and
20th century, and is alive and well in the 21st to boot!
 St. Patrick’s Day was nowhere near as big of a deal back in Ireland –
only recently have they begun parading and having festivities to mark
March 17th as a way to promote tourism
 The oldest and biggest St. Patrick’s Day parade is in NYC, but other
American cities with HUGE celebrations on March 17th include
Boston, Philadelphia, Savannah, and Chicago.
 Locally, we have a big parade in Ocean View, Norfolk, every year!
Wearing green and shamrocks to honor Ireland are the norm – and the
Irish consider EVERYONE Irish on St. Patrick’s Day, so feel free to
join in!