Long before the Irish were welcomed or celebrated in American life, they were already fighting for the country’s liberty. In the spring of 1775, in the small frontier settlement of Machias on the Maine coast, the son of Irish Catholic immigrants from County Cork led a band of lumbermen and fishermen against a British warship. His name was Jeremiah O’Brien, and the bold action he commanded would produce the first naval victory of the American Revolution. Jeremiah O’Brien was born in 1744 in Kittery, in the district of Massachusetts that would later form the state of Maine, the eldest of six … [Read more...] about Before the U.S. Navy, There was O’Brien
Irish American Heritage Month Profiles
Patrick Carr: The Forgotten Irish Victim of the Boston Massacre
On the night of March 5, 1770, British soldiers fired into a crowd on Boston’s King Street. The shooting left five men dead and helped ignite the chain of events that would lead to the American Revolution. Patriot leaders seized upon the event, pamphlets spread the story across the colonies, and Paul Revere’s famous engraving turned the episode into a symbol of British tyranny. Most Americans know the name Crispus Attucks. Far fewer remember Patrick Carr. Carr was a thirty-one-year-old Irish Catholic immigrant and a skilled leather-breeches maker who had come to Boston seeking what … [Read more...] about Patrick Carr: The Forgotten Irish Victim of the Boston Massacre
John Boyle O’Reilly: The Fenian Who Became Boston’s Voice
When John Boyle O’Reilly arrived in Boston in 1869, he was not a celebrated poet or civic leader. He was a Fenian exile who had escaped from a British penal colony in Western Australia after being transported there for revolutionary activity. Within twenty years he would become one of the most respected voices in the city: editor of The Boston Pilot, a widely read poet, and a civic leader whose influence extended far beyond the Irish immigrant community. O’Reilly rebuilt his life in America without abandoning the convictions that had sent him into exile. He remained committed to Irish … [Read more...] about John Boyle O’Reilly: The Fenian Who Became Boston’s Voice
“I Shot at Every Damn Plane I Could See”: John Finn’s One Man Fight at Pearl Harbor
On the morning of December 7th, 1941, John William Finn was asleep at his home at Kaneohe Bay Naval Air Station on Oahu when a neighbor's pounding on his door and the sound of gunfire jolted him awake. The Imperial Japanese Navy had launched a devastating sneak attack without warning or declaration of war, and Finn and 32-year-old Chief Petty Officer and chief aviation ordnance man was about to be among the first to fight back. Born in Compton, California in 1909, Finn had dropped out of school and enlisted in the Navy at the age of 17. Now at 32, he had risen to the rank of Chief Petty … [Read more...] about “I Shot at Every Damn Plane I Could See”: John Finn’s One Man Fight at Pearl Harbor
Kate Mullany: An Irish Immigrant Who Helped Working Women Organize
Kate Mullany was a nineteen-year-old Irish immigrant when she became the head of her household. Her father had died in 1864, leaving behind a sickly mother and three sisters, and a brother who depended on her to survive. Like many daughters of Irish immigrants in Troy, New York, she went to work in the one place that offered steady pay to women: the collar laundries. Troy, New York, at the time, was known as Collar City. The detachable linen collar had become an essential fixture of respectable dress. Troy produced most of the nation's collars, but before they reached the market, they had … [Read more...] about Kate Mullany: An Irish Immigrant Who Helped Working Women Organize
John L Sullivan: a Celtic Warrior and American Superstar
John Lawrence Sullivan, born to Irish immigrants on October 15, 1858, in Roxbury, Massachusetts, grew into an embodiment of the American Dream for many Irish Americans. His parents, survivors of the Great Hunger in Ireland, instilled in him a profound sense of identity and resilience. Though he was an excellent student and his parents aspired for him to attend Boston College and become a priest, destiny had a different plan for Sullivan. Lured by the raw appeal of professional sports, Sullivan found his true calling in boxing, a sport then shadowed by legal ambiguities and often relegated to … [Read more...] about John L Sullivan: a Celtic Warrior and American Superstar
From Donegal to Duffy’s Cut: The Forgotten Massacre of Irish Immigrants
On April 24, 1832, 57 Irish immigrants from the counties of Derry, Donegal and Tyrone boarded the barque John Stamp at the port of Derry to begin their voyage to Philadelphia. They had all taken different roads to arrive at this literal and emotional departure. John Ruddy was just 18 when he hugged his parents goodbye, knowing it was unlikely that he would see them again in this life. Catherine Burns was 29 and had already experienced a lifetime of sadness; she was a widow and traveling with her Father-in-Law, hoping for a better life in America. What united them all was their … [Read more...] about From Donegal to Duffy’s Cut: The Forgotten Massacre of Irish Immigrants
Breaking Rules, Breaking News: The Fearless Journalism of Nellie Bly
There was a time when mouse clicks and tweets did not drive reporters; they actually went out, sometimes at great personal peril, to find the news. One such reporter and a pioneer of investigative journalism was Irish American Nellie Bly. 21-year-old Nellie Bly as she appeared while reporting from Mexico Nellie Bly was born Elizabeth Cochrane on May 5, 1864 in Cochran's Mills, now part of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her father, Michael Cochran (Elizabeth would add the 'e' to the last name later), was the son of an immigrant from Derry who has started as a laborer and had … [Read more...] about Breaking Rules, Breaking News: The Fearless Journalism of Nellie Bly
“Never Lose Your Good Name”: The Life of ‘Bonanza King’ John Mackay
John Mackay, the “Bonanza King” William Shakespeare observed, “The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones.” It speaks to the ironic tendency for society to notarize, even glorify, the darkest aspects of humanity while ignoring the noble. Nowhere is this clearer than in the case of Irish American John Mackay, the “Bonanza King.” John Mackay (pronounced Mackee) was born on November 28, 1831, on the outskirts of Dublin in the appalling poverty of pre-famine Ireland. In 1840, when Mackay was nine years old, the family emigrated to New … [Read more...] about “Never Lose Your Good Name”: The Life of ‘Bonanza King’ John Mackay
Daniel Daly: The Marine Who Earned Two Medals of Honor—and Deserved a Third
Sergeant Major Daniel Joseph Daly, USMC, recipient of the Medal of Honor twice for engagements in two separate conflicts In the history of the Medal of Honor, the United States Highest award for "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty", only 19 men have been awarded the medal twice. Among them is Marine Sergeant Major Daniel Daly, one of only two Marines to receive the Medal of Honor Twice for separate acts of heroism and nominated for a third. Daly was born in Glen Cove, Long Island, New York, on 11 November 1873. He was slight of … [Read more...] about Daniel Daly: The Marine Who Earned Two Medals of Honor—and Deserved a Third
From Priest to Martyr, From Klan Robes to Justice Robes
The 1920s marks one of the darkest and least discussed chapters in American history. During this period, the Ku Klux Klan experienced a resurgence, propelled by various factors, including D. W. Griffith's controversial portrayal of the Klan in "Birth of a Nation" (originally titled "The Klansman"), a complex mix of patriotism and isolationism following World War I, and the adoption of modern marketing techniques. As a result, the Klan transcended its Southern roots, evolving into a nationwide movement with a staggering membership of six million. To sustain its rapid growth and appeal to a … [Read more...] about From Priest to Martyr, From Klan Robes to Justice Robes
The Innovative Vision of John Phillip Holland, Father of the Modern Submarine
John Phillip Holland was born on February 24, 1841 in a small coastal town of Liscannor, County Clare. His mother was a native Irish speaker and young John himself would not learn English until he attended school. Holland’s father was a coastal patrolman for the British Coastguard Service and instilled in the young Holland a love of the sea. Holland aspired to go to sea and walked 5.5 miles each way to attend the Christian Brothers secondary school in Ennistymon, which offered a navigation course. However Holland’s dreams of maritime life were soon dashed by frail health which would plague him … [Read more...] about The Innovative Vision of John Phillip Holland, Father of the Modern Submarine
Unsinkable & Unstoppable: The Real Margaret ‘Molly’ Brown
Young Margaret Tobin Brown Margaret Tobin Brown, famously known as the "Unsinkable Molly Brown," is often celebrated in popular culture for her flamboyant personality and heroic actions on the Titanic. However, this portrayal barely scratches the surface of her remarkable life and achievements. While she is invariably portrayed as an outspoken, humorous, flamboyant woman of America's West, these depictions, though rooted in truth, do a disservice to the complexity and depth of her character and contributions. She is even known to history as "Molly", a name she never used in life. Born … [Read more...] about Unsinkable & Unstoppable: The Real Margaret ‘Molly’ Brown
The Sullivan Brothers: Irish-American WWII Heroes Who Inspired a Nation
DID YOU KNOW that in the annals of America's heroes, there is scarcely a brighter entry than that of the fighting Sullivan brothers? Born in Waterloo, Iowa to Railroad conductor Tom Sullivan and his wife Alleta, George, Francis, Albert, Joseph, and Madison grew up the best of friends in the closeness of an Irish family and matured into patriotic Americans. It was no surprise, therefore, that when Pearl Harbor was attacked, the Sullivan brothers headed straight for the nearest U.S. Navy recruiting office. Navy policy discouraged family members from serving together, but the Sullivans … [Read more...] about The Sullivan Brothers: Irish-American WWII Heroes Who Inspired a Nation
Who Was St. Patrick? The Real History Behind Ireland’s Patron Saint
Each year around March 17, the name of St. Patrick appears in every major publication in the civilized world - sometimes with honor and sometimes with scorn - often due to the conduct of those who celebrate his memory at affairs which bear his name. Of the many things written about this holy man, some are true, some misleading, and some false. St. Patrick was Italian; St. Patrick drove the snakes from Ireland; St. Patrick was the first to bring Christianity to Ireland - all of these statements are false! Let’s take them one at a time. Some claim St. Patrick to be Italian … [Read more...] about Who Was St. Patrick? The Real History Behind Ireland’s Patron Saint
“Uncommon Virtue is a Common Irish American Value”
It has been said of those that fought at the battle of Iwo Jima that “Uncommon Valor was a Common Virtue.” It could also be said of many Irish American families that “Uncommon Virtue is a Common Value”. Both are illustrated in the story of William G. Walsh and his family. Firefighter Dennis Walsh, killed when the floor of a burning building collapsed while fighting a fire William G. Walsh was born on April 7, 1922, in Maine to a young mother who gave the child to her grandmother to raise. When the grandmother herself fell ill, she entrusted the baby to her friend Mary Walsh from Roxbury, … [Read more...] about “Uncommon Virtue is a Common Irish American Value”
Annie Moore: The Brave Irish Girl Who Took the First Step Though Ellis Island
The statue of Annie Moore and her brothers at Cobh, Ireland During its period of operation from 1892 till 1954, over 12 million immigrants entered through the immigration station at Ellis Island, a name that was to become synonymous with the “Golden Door” and the “American Dream”. It is estimated that today over forty percent of the United States population can trace their ancestry to an immigrant that entered Ellis Island. On New Year’s Day Morning 1892 on the deck of the steamship Nevada stood three adolescents, Annie Moore and her brothers Phillip and Anthony. They were perhaps … [Read more...] about Annie Moore: The Brave Irish Girl Who Took the First Step Though Ellis Island
King Kelly: The Irish American Who Transformed 19th-Century Baseball
In the early days of baseball, Irish Americans dominated the sport and helped shape it into America’s national pastime. Many young men, hardened by the strenuous labor of the few jobs available to them, found solace in the new game. Their physical strength and competitive drive made them natural stars, and they soon became key innovators. Among them, none left a greater mark on the game’s formative years than Michael “King” Kelly. Michael Joseph Kelly was born in Troy, New York, on December 31, 1857, to Irish immigrants. When the Civil War broke out, his father enlisted in the Union Army. … [Read more...] about King Kelly: The Irish American Who Transformed 19th-Century Baseball
Courage, Sacrifice, and Loyalty: The Foley Family
At the young age of 32, Thomas Foley was already an 11-year decorated veteran firefighter of the FDNY and a legend. He was a larger than life individual who embraced life to the fullest and seemed to excel at everything he tried from powerlifting to skydiving. Having learned to ride horses on visits to his grandfather's farm, he even excelled as a competitor on the rodeo circuit. With boyish good looks, Thomas Foley was featured twice by People Magazine and appeared in the FDNY's "2003 Calendar of Heroes." At one awards ceremony where Thomas Foley was being honored, he responded to a … [Read more...] about Courage, Sacrifice, and Loyalty: The Foley Family
The Angel of Andersonville: The Selfless Heroism of Fr. Peter Whelan
Whelan was born in 1802 in Loughnageer, County Wexford. Little is known about his early life before he attended Birchfield College in Kilkenny, where he studied classics and mathematics. He later emigrated to America, answering God's call for priests to support the newly established Archdiocese of Charleston, where he was ordained in 1830. Over the next thirty years Fr. Whelan was a tireless shepherd of a flock which, as a result of the waves of Irish immigration caused by the Great Hunger, was growing exponentially. He helped build the first Catholic Church in Charlestown and also the … [Read more...] about The Angel of Andersonville: The Selfless Heroism of Fr. Peter Whelan