In Margaret Place, a small park in New Orleans' Lower Garden District where Clio and Prytania Streets meet, a Carrara marble statue of a woman sits in a chair with her arm around a child. She is plain, a bit plump, her face square-chinned, but in her eyes a look of love and compassion. Sculpted by Alexander Doyle and unveiled in 1884, it is the first public monument in the United States erected to honor a female philanthropist. The pedestal bears one word: Margaret, because to the people of New Orleans, nothing more needed to be said. Margaret Gaffney was born in 1813 near Carrigallen, … [Read more...] about Margaret Haughery, A Mother to Orphans, Bread Woman of New Orleans
IAHM 2026
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
King Kelly: The Irish American Who Transformed 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 Baseball
Detective Steven McDonald and the Irish American Tradition of Service
Few modern New York police officers better embodied the Irish American tradition of faith, service, and moral courage than NYPD Detective Steven McDonald. Shot in the line of duty in Central Park in 1986 and left paralyzed for life, McDonald became known not simply for surviving the attack but for the extraordinary act that followed—his public forgiveness of the teenager who shot him. Steven McDonald and his son Connor at the St. Patrick's Day Parade in New York City, Fifth Avenue, New York, NY March 17, 2015. Credit: Kristin Callahan For the next three decades, McDonald carried that … [Read more...] about Detective Steven McDonald and the Irish American Tradition of Service
Irish American Heritage Month: Kathleen McNulty, an Irish American “Hidden Figure”
Kathleen Rita McNulty was born in the village of Creeslough on February 12, 1921, the third of six children of Anne Nelis and James McNulty. Her father was Commandant of the Doe Battalion of the Irish Volunteers. On the night of her birth, he was arrested and imprisoned in Derry Gaol for two years for his republican activities. On his release, the family emigrated to the United States and settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where James worked as a stonemason. James went on to establish a successful construction business, frequently working with Irish American John B Kelly, the father of … [Read more...] about Irish American Heritage Month: Kathleen McNulty, an Irish American “Hidden Figure”
Commodore John Barry: The Irish Father of the American Navy
When Americans think of the naval heroes of the American Revolution, the name usually comes to mind is John Paul Jones. Yet there was another officer—an Irish immigrant from County Wexford—whose service was longer, whose seniority was higher, and whose influence extended beyond the war itself to the very creation of the United States Navy. His name was Commodore John Barry. As we mark Irish American Heritage Month and approach the 250th anniversary of American independence, Barry deserves to be better remembered. He was not a colorful footnote in the founding of the Republic. He was one … [Read more...] about Commodore John Barry: The Irish Father of the American Navy
Dr. J.B. Murphy: The Irish American Surgeon Who Revolutionized Medicine
Dr. J.B. Murphy Dr. John B. Murphy, known throughout his life as "J.B.," was a renowned American surgeon and medical pioneer who made significant contributions to the field of medicine during his lifetime. He was born in a log cabin in Appleton, Wisconsin, on December 21, 1857. Murphy was the son of impoverished Irish immigrants Michael Murphy and Ann (née Grimes) Murphy, who had emigrated from Ireland during the Great Hunger. Murphy grew up in a large family with six siblings. His parents strongly emphasized education and encouraged their children to pursue academic and professional … [Read more...] about Dr. J.B. Murphy: The Irish American Surgeon Who Revolutionized Medicine
Band of Patriot Brothers: The Fighting Butlers
Across the Revolutionary War, five Butler brothers—sons of an Irish immigrant gunsmith—served as officers in the Continental Army. They fought in some of the most important campaigns of the war and continued their service into the early years of the American republic. Their story reminds us that the struggle for American liberty was strengthened by immigrants who carried with them a deep tradition of resistance to tyranny. General Richard Butler, one of the five Butler Brothers who served America's cause during the Revolution and after From Ireland to the Pennsylvania Frontier The … [Read more...] about Band of Patriot Brothers: The Fighting Butlers
Irish American Heritage Month: Col. Joseph Jeremiah McCarthy
The HBO Mini-Series The Pacific has brought a long overdue recognition to the sacrifices and hardships endured by the U.S. Marines in the Second World War. These battles were fought on isolated islands that one would struggle to locate on a map: Guadalcanal, Roi-Namur, Saipan, Tinian, Peleliu, Okinawa. Combat was often at point blank range; not only did the men involved battle the enemy, but poisonous snakes, insects, disease and the climate. Nowhere was the fighting harder than the Battle of Iwo Jima, a battle where Admiral Nimitz later observed “Uncommon Valor was a Common Virtue.” No one … [Read more...] about Irish American Heritage Month: Col. Joseph Jeremiah McCarthy
Marie Connolly Owens: America’s Forgotten First Female Cop Who Fought for Justice Beyond the Badge
As the first female police officer in the United States, Marie Connolly Owens should be remembered and celebrated as a pioneer. Yet, her legacy has been largely forgotten—her achievements erased from history until modern researchers unearthed her remarkable story. She worked tirelessly to enforce child labor laws, tracked down absent fathers who abandoned their families, and often reached into her own meager pockets to help struggling mothers and children. Despite all of this, when she passed away in 1927, her obituary made no mention of her groundbreaking career, a stark reminder of how even … [Read more...] about Marie Connolly Owens: America’s Forgotten First Female Cop Who Fought for Justice Beyond the Badge
Before the U.S. Navy, There was O’Brien
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
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