Calling all Irish Americans! Are you a descendant of the potato famine? What’s your story?

Did your Irish relatives ride the massive wave of emigration to America between 1845-1852? Did they come from places like Country Cork, County Offaly, County Limerick or even County Kerry? If so, you’re considered a part of the “family.” And you’re not alone.

 Although the history of Irish immigration goes back well before the nineteenth century, the Great Potato Famine was the cause for the largest number of immigrants to sail across the Atlantic and leave their beloved isle.

Today Irish Americans are scattered across the country and they make up nearly 12% of the population. That means there are over 40 million Irish descendants here in the good old USA!

Looking back, it wasn’t easy for the first generation Irish immigrants. America did not welcome them with open arms. The Irish immigrants had little money and no assistance. They were farmers and they were dressed in clothes that were “decades” behind Americans living in the big cities. Not to mention that many had bright red hair. They certainly stood out– and not in a good way. The Irish immigrants were seen as poor, uneducated and very fertile.

To make their arrival worse, some Americans took advantage of the Irish the moment they stepped on shore. The crooked “greeters” promised to help the immigrants settle in by finding decent housing for their families. However, the accommodations turned out to be slums and filthy tenements in over crowded parts of cities.

Later in the 1800’s, as new immigrants poured into the cities, it became even more difficult for the Irish to find work. They had little skills and there was tough competition for employment. Many were out of luck and out of patience and turned to crime to bring in some cash. Others became bored and frustrated and turned to drinking and brawling. This didn’t help their reputations or their ability to find work. It was this behavior and the American’s stereotype of the Irish being simple-minded that led to the infamous signs of “No Irish Need Apply.”

The immigrants quickly learned that earning citizenship and the right to vote would be the best way to gain respect in America. In big cities such as New York and Boston, small, local political groups began organizing and rallying and soon these groups became larger and more powerful. Eventually they dominated influential political parties—just look at Boston’s Democratic party!

Through many trials and sacrifices, the Irish have risen in social class in America and now add color and spirit to our giant melting pot.

My book, Yours Faithfully, Florence Burke, is a story of an Irish family fleeing Ireland at the height of the famine and struggling to make it in America. It also portrays the sacrifices a father is willing to make to benefit his family—at any personal cost. The Burke family experienced the harsh city life, the animosity of townspeople and the indifference by the Union Army. This is the story of my Irish great, great grandfather and his family. What’s yours?

Souces: Great Irish Famine by David W. Madden
www.immigrationtotheunitesstates.org
Image credit www.vox.com , www.yale.edu