Irish Immigrants in New York City, 1945-1995

Linda Dowling Almeida

Description

The story of one of the most visible groups of immigrants in the major city of immigrants in the last half of the twentieth century.

Irish Immigrants in New York City,
1945-1995

Linda Dowling Almeida

The story of one of the most visible groups of immigrants in the major city of immigrants in the last half of the 20th century.

"Almeida offers a dynamic portrait of Irish New York, one that keeps reinventing itself under new circumstances."
—Hasia Diner, New York University

"[Almeida's] close attention to changes in economics, culture, and politics on both sides of the Atlantic makes [this book] one of the more accomplished applications of the 'new social history' to a contemporary American ethnic group." —Roger Daniels, University of Cincinnati

It is estimated that one in three New York City residents is an immigrant. No other American city has a population composed of so many different nationalities. Of these "foreign born," a relatively small percentage come directly from Ireland, but the Irish presence in the city—and America—is ubiquitous. In the 1990 census, Irish ancestry was claimed by over half a million New Yorkers and by 44 million nationwide. The Irish presence in popular American culture has also been highly visible.

Yet for all the attention given to Irish Americans, surprisingly little has been said about post–World War II immigrants. Almeida's research takes important steps toward understanding modern Irish immigration. Comparing 1950s Irish immigrants with the "New Irish" of the 1980s, Almeida provides insights into the evolution of the Irish American identity and addresses the role of the United States and Ireland in shaping it.

She finds, among other things, that social and economic progress in Ireland has heightened expectations for Irish immigrants. But at the same time they face greater challenges in gaining legal residence, a situation that has led the New Irish to reject many organizations that long supported previous generations of Irish immigrants in favor of new ones better-suited to their needs.

Linda Dowling Almeida, Adjunct Professor of History at New York University, has published articles on the "New Irish" in America and is a longtime member of the New York Irish History Roundtable. She also edited Volume 8 of the journal New York Irish History.

March 2001
232 pages, 6 1/8 x 9 1/4, index, append.
cloth 0-253-33843-3 $35.00 s / £26.5

Preliminary Table of Contents:
 
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1: The Background: When the Irish Ran New York
Chapter 2: The 1950s: "It Was a Great Time in America
Chapter 3: The 1970s: The Interim
Chapter 4: The 1980s: The New Irish
Chapter 5: The Catholic Church: What Parish Are You From?
Chapter 6: Who Are the Irish?
Conclusion
Epilogue
Bibliography

Sujets

• 20th Century
• Ethnic
• HISTORY
• Histoire
• Ethnic group
• History of the Americas
• United States
• Migration

Informations

• Publié par: Indiana University Press
• Date de parution: 22 mars 2001
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780253108531
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Irish Immigrants IN New York City , 1945-1995
Irish Immigrants IN New York City , 1945-1995
L INDA D OWLING A LMEIDA
Indiana University Press
BLOOMINGTON AND INDIANAPOLIS
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2001 by Linda Dowling Almeida
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition .
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MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Almeida, Linda Dowling.
Irish immigrants in New York City, 1945-1995 / by Linda Dowling Almeida.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN 0-253-33843-3 (alk. paper)
1. Irish Americans-New York (State)-New York-History-20th century. 2. Immigrants-New York (State)-New York-History-20th century. 3. New York (N.Y.)-Emigration and immigration-History-20th century. 4. Ireland-Emigration and immigration-History-20th century. I. Title.
F128.9.I6 A46 2001
974.7 10049162-dc21
00-044974
1 2 3 4 5 06 05 04 03 02 01
In memory of Nana, whose stories sparked my interest in the immigrant experience

To Ed, Cionna, Devin, and Eamon, whose love and support kept me going
Contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Introduction
1 The Background: When the Irish Ran New York
2 The 1950s: It Was a Great Time in America
3 The 1970s: The Interim
4 The 1980s: The New Irish
5 The Catholic Church: What Parish Are You From?
6 Who Are the Irish?
Conclusion
Epilogue
NOTES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX
Acknowledgments
The foundations for this book were laid more than ten years ago when I published my first article about the New Irish. Along the way I have been encouraged, prodded, and inspired by dozens of people and stories. I d like to acknowledge every one but I m afraid of omitting as many as I include. So I d just like to thank anyone who has ever listened to, contributed toward, or commented on any aspect of this work. I could not have finished it alone and am constantly overwhelmed and humbled by the generosity of those I ve encountered in the course of this endeavor.
Having said that, I do want to single out certain individuals for special praise. My family deserves the biggest thanks. My husband and children suffered through my distraction, late hours, and Irish anecdotes with good humor and kind words (most of the time). But I think they were relieved when it was finally finished. I love them all.
As for scholarly assistance I must recognize all my colleagues at New York University. Dave Reimers worked with me for years, making suggestions and reading drafts. Marion Casey was always ready with a reference, a contact, and, most importantly, her friendship. Hasia Diner read the draft and encouraged me to go forward. Thanks to everyone at Ireland House, in particular Bob Scally and Joe Lee, who read drafts, offered suggestions, and lent moral support. My association with Ireland House also introduced me to my editor, Ralph Carlson, whom I can thank for placing my manuscript with Indiana University Press and for his solid advice and patience.
My appreciation extends as well to all the Irish advocacy agencies, church groups, and government programs for their goodwill and graciousness in the face of my endless questions and requests for information. This includes everyone at Project Irish Outreach, the Irish Immigration Reform Movement, the Emerald Isle Immigration Center, the Irish Consulate, and the Aisling Center, among many others. Special thanks as well to Kevin Morrissey and the Irish Institute.
To all those who participated in my surveys, sat for interviews, or sent me clippings, memoirs, and anecdotes, thank you. Your contributions made it possible to go forward and enriched a history that needed to be recorded.
To my parents, sisters and brother, and my in-laws, thank you for your interest and cheerleading over the years.
Finally I d like to recognize two women who inspired me and nudged me toward the study of Irish American history. My immigrant grandmother piqued my interest in our family s past and the study of the Irish in America with her stories about leaving the old country and making a life in America. She never thought that what she did was historical or special and never quite got why I was so eager to hear about her past. I cherish the time we spent sharing that past together. This book is for her.
I was lucky to know another woman whose work and family life I ve admired since my years as an undergraduate. Adele Dalsimer was an inspiration and role model for me and hundreds of other students she reached as teacher and director of the Irish studies program at Boston College. She died in 2000 and will be missed by many.
So thank you all. The work has been rewarding and the process an education all its own. While the following has been touched by many hands, in the end I take final responsibility for its content and tone.
Irish Immigrants IN New York City , 1945-1995
Introduction
At the beginning of the twenty-first century it is estimated that one in three New York City residents is an immigrant. No other American city has a population composed of so many different nationalities-more than a hundred at last count. 1
Of these foreign-born a relatively small percentage come from Ireland, but the Irish presence in the city (and in the country) in the last half of the twentieth century was ubiquitous. In the 1990 census forty-four million Americans identified themselves as having Irish or Scotch-Irish ancestry. Of these over half a million lived in New York City. From a president who has taken a personal role in the Northern Ireland peace process (and who claims Irish ancestry himself); to Frank McCourt and Alice McDermott, whose books have topped the best-seller lists and captured the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award; to films such as My Left Foot, The Crying Game and The Brothers McMullen; to musicians such as Sinead O Connor and the bands U2 and Black 47; to the phenomenally successful Riverdance , the Irish presence is everywhere.
Ironically, while thousands of books and articles have been written about the Irish in America, relatively little information is available on post-World War II immigrants. Hence this book. I identify two distinct waves of Catholic Irish immigrants: one in the 1950s and one in the 1980s. These were the largest postwar groups to come out of Ireland, and they were the first to leave an independent Ireland.
This book grew out of surveys conducted among the 1980s group-the self-proclaimed New Irish. These surveys revealed a tense distance between the eighties migrants and the established Irish American and immigrant community, and with a little probing it became obvious that the breach was deeper than mere generational conflict. The gap had as much to do with the culture and society from which the New Irish came as with the economic and social circumstances they found in New York. Even though both migrant communities originated in Ireland, their cultures, politics, and overall world perspectives were quite different.
I describe and explain the differences between the groups in terms of their lives in Ireland, their reasons for emigrating, and their experiences in New York. The discussion considers the evolution of ethnic identity, as well as the state of modern Irish immigration and the relationship between Ireland and the United States, within the context of the long history of migration between the two countries and the changing dynamic of worldwide immigration to the United States.
For more than three centuries Irish men and women have crossed the Atlantic to make a new home in North America. The five years from 1845 to 1850 are the most important period in Irish American history. In that half decade almost one million Irish entered the United States in the wake of a potato famine that devastated Ireland and eliminated almost two million people from its population. Most of the famine immigrants came through, if they did not settle in, New York City. New York City is a metropolis built by and inhabited by immigrants. In 1850, 46 percent of the population was born abroad; in 1990 28.4 percent of the population was born abroad. 2 The primary difference between the two periods is the origin of the foreign population. European immigrants dominated nineteenth-century movement, while natives of Hispanic and Asian countries outnumbered Europeans at the end of the twentieth century. However, the outmigration of Irish to the United States and to New York City in particular has progressed with few interruptions since before the American Revolution.
The story of nineteenth-century Irish migration to New York covers more than the mass movement of over three million Irish across the Atlantic to a new life, new land, and new culture; it also traces the development of the modern urban community. The story of the Irish is the story of the nineteenth-century American industrial city. The Irish needed New York as a refuge at mid-cent