Research Paper
Impact of Irish Catholicism in Early America*
HIUS 530: American Christian Heritage
Spring 2024
2
Irish Catholics have made a considerable impact on early America. In the years after the
Revolutionary War ended, there was a massive influx of Irish Catholics into America. They were
searching for better job opportunities, greater religious freedoms, and a fresh start. This thesis on
The Impact of Irish Catholics on Early America explores the actual effect of this immigration wave
on the United States and the people involved and how it propelled the still-existing Catholic
population in America today. By analyzing the religious disputes between Catholics and Protestants
at the time, the abundant Irish Catholic lifespan of servitude, and the small social life after the end
of these servants, along with attempts to find steady jobs in addition to different troubles facing
Catholics of this generation.1 There was a discerning Irish upper class, but this was a significantly
small minority. The majority of Irish people were Catholic, lived in destitute poverty, and were
sans even the most basic education. This prominent divide between the frequent Gaelic-Irish and
the upper class, along with the troubles experienced simply due to being Catholic in a Protestant-
dominated Ireland, establishes historical reasons behind Irish Catholic immigration to America.2
The lack of liberty to practice their own religion, the harsh circumstances, the English landlords'
unfair procedures, and the hunger all compounded to force the Irish Catholics into searching for the
American promise of a finer life.3 The early Irish Catholic influence in the United States helped
shape the nation's religious, socio-cultural, and political landscape during the 19th and early 20th
centuries and the key factors that contributed to their integration and growth within American
society.
1 “Early Irish Immigration to America. Few Catholics,” The American Catholic Historical Researches 18, no. 3 (1901):
99–103, https://www.jstor.org/stable/44374223.
2Gene Zubovich, Before the Religious Right: Liberal Protestants, Human Rights, and the Polarization of the United
States, Google Books (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2022), https://books.google.com/books?
hl=en&lr=&id=JHJdEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=Fosdick
%27s+views+on+Christianity+caused+division+and+the+formation+of+liberal+Christian+churches.&ots=6-Y9-
Rq79q&sig=BpC-oIw7Jglhsaw_lp2yGjyOiqY.
3 David T Gleeson, “Empire and Emancipation. Scottish and Irish Catholics at the Atlantic Fringe, 1780–1850.,” The
Journal of Ecclesiastical History: America: History and Life with Full Text 74, no. 2 (April 1, 2023): 443–45,
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022046923000283.
3
Irish Catholics immigrated to the American colonies throughout the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries, and Irish Catholics were present in all of the original thirteen American
colonies. The presence of large numbers of Irish Catholics in the American colonies and in the
early years of the United States is due in large part to the fact that the Irish had been both the first
and the oldest group of non-Spanish European settlers in the New World, with records indicating
that by the year 1790, there were over 35,000 Irish Catholics in the New World.4 However, this
figure is likely to be a significant underestimation of the actual size of the Irish population in the
American colonies at the end of the eighteenth century. It is necessary to keep in mind in relation to
this that the religious, social, economic, and political characteristics of both Irish Catholic
immigrants to the American colonies and of the emergent American Catholic community over the
course of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were not uniform or unchanged over time. On the
contrary, many different and essential processes and developments characterized the way in which
the Irish Catholics sought to integrate into American colonial society and saw their place in
American society and politics as it developed over time from the colonial period to the early
national period of the United States after the American Revolution.5 Also, these different processes
and developments were conditioned by the differing geographical and chronological contexts of the
various waves of Irish Catholic immigration to the American colonies and subsequently to the
United States.6
4William Gordon, "The History of the Rise, Progress, and Establishment of the Independence of the United States of
America: Including an Account of the Late War and of the Thirteen Colonies, from Their Origin to That Period.," info
web-news bank-com.eu1.proxy.openathens.net (Charles et al., 1794), https://infoweb-newsbank-
com.eu1.proxy.openathens.net/apps/readex/doc?p=EAIX&docref=image/v2%3A0F2B1FCB879B099B%40EAIX-
0F3018135691E888%40-0FD3254791C1B720%403.
5 Philip Coleman, James Byrne, and Jason King, Ireland and the Americas [3 Volumes] (Bloomsbury Publishing USA,
2008).jstor
6 Anni Vanhanen, “‘We Have Enough Dirt, Misery, Crime, Sickness and Death of Our Own’: How the Irish Immigrants
Were Portrayed in 19 Th Century America - a Thematic Analysis of New York Times Articles,” 2023,
https://www.doria.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/187296/vanhanen_anni.pdf?sequence=3.
4
The most significant way in which Irish Catholics influenced early American society was on
the religious front.7 As the population of Irish Catholics started increasing in cities such as Boston
and New York, so too did the demand for Irish Catholic churches. The Irish immigrant community
in the antebellum period viewed the church as a focal point of their spiritual and communal lives,
helping to solidify the parish as the primary institution during the daily lives of Irish American
Catholics. Newly arrived groups of Irish Catholics now had the resources to organize communal
religious activities such as processions, novenas, and religious festivals, all of which were staple
events in Irish rural towns.8 The repeated experiences of violence and nativist distrust in the
precincts of parish life reinvigorated and reshaped old ethnic networks, as well as forged new ones
within communities of Irish Catholicism in America. The religious practices lay institutions, and
parish networks that had been formed during the early period of mass migration and nativist
violence show that the church was a crucial focus for immigrant communities in providing a
cultural and societal bridge between the homeland and the new land.9 By successfully establishing a
network of Irish Catholic churches through the personal and financial contributions of the
immigrant community, it is evident that the Irish Catholics greatly impacted the religious landscape
of America in the antebellum period.10
Catholic settlers, both from England and from Ireland, however, were apt to be hidden in
these English settlements. This was particularly valid in the territory known as Carolina, a segment
7 Ray O’Hanlon, Unintended Consequences: The Story of Irish Immigration to the U.S. And How America’s Door Was
Closed to the Irish, Google Books (Merrion Press, 2021), https://books.google.com/books?
hl=en&lr=&id=x6UkEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT8&dq=Irish+immigrants+in+America+faced+xenophobia+and+wer
e+not+seen+as+equals.&ots=55bRf2dlBy&sig=JF_01PW5cEWB2kzVIFkJpFiDNxs.
8Leslie Woodcock Tentler, American Catholics: A History, Google Books (Yale University and Press, 2020),
https://books.google.com/books?
hl=en&lr=&id=T1LaDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=The+first+Diocese+of+the+Roman+Catholic+Church+in+U
SA+was+established+in+1789.&ots=RcFN5M2lZ4&sig=SVrzcGIDa1zyxck5Idz1Tfq30vI.
9 Louis Gasper, The Fundamentalist Movement, Google Books (Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG, 2020),
https://books.google.com/books?
hl=en&lr=&id=3qXiDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP5&dq=The+tension+between+fundamentalism+and+modernism+is
+a+defining+feature+of+modern-day+Christianity.&ots=afJduwdJk3&sig=-YPhgXgiWX6-mbRa45dM1mr9K-
U.Vanhanen
10 Ibid: p.124-127.
5
of the South which, in the expressions of Swiss-conceived sociologist Albert V. Demos, 'turned into
a chronicled no man's land, the terrain of the English colony of South Carolina where history was
really formed by Irish Catholics in disguise.'11 A specific case of this Irish Catholic impact was the
establishment of a Catholic mission in the Catawba town of Pecan Point in 1698. Given the
unfriendly state of the law to Catholic missions in English colonies, we can presume that this
foundation at Pecan Point was the aftereffect of the kind of political control in the colony that
Demos depicts. This propensity of Catholic religious networks to mirror an increasingly Irish
character drove their English-just partners to scrutinize the faithfulness of Irish Catholics to England
and was utilized by religion scholars, for example, as a method for embedding an individual battle
from the Old World into a provincial and colonial setting. Because of the political snugness of the
now politically injurious Anglican power inside the Sabine settlement. This assists with finding a
recognizable flood of a similar religious and political impetus that spread the missions among other
locales in English colonies. Irish Catholic impact in the South was not without challenge, and the
authentic setting up of any changeless Catholic foundation was generally constrained before the
flare-up of England's Spanish War in 1739 when talks in Irish Catholic places generally met with
dread and suspicion from the decision Protestant more significant part.12 However, from up and
down the eastern coast, the effect of the monetary and political support of Irish Catholics was found
in the foundation of schools and missions and the rise of the South from what was alluded to by
contemporary English onlookers as a 'deserted spot.'
In the colonial period, penal laws kept the other religions of the period, such as
Protestantism, dominant, and the Irish were looked down upon by Protestants. Irish Catholics were
held back in various ways, not just financially in terms of living but also morally and in their
spiritual well-being. In terms of wealth, the Irish, as in Ireland, were not the richest and indeed not
11 Jamie Carey and Arthur S Demoss, Power for Living (United States, 1998).
12 William V Shannon, The American Irish: A Political and Social Portrait (Amherst: University Of Massachusetts
Press, 1989).
6
the poorest - the American economy revolved around a Protestant work ethic, and the majority of
the wealth was accumulated by those who participated in this. It also did not help that the Irish
were mainly unskilled workers; due to illiteracy of both the English language and any trade
language, this meant that, in cities such as Boston and New York, the Irish were confined to menial
jobs such as laboring work. On a political level, Irish Catholics and other religions of the Catholic
faith were oppressed through having no rights, no involvement with government, and through abuse
from authority both on the policing side and civilian side through regulations on the Penal laws.
However, the church was huge - not only did attending church services provide a form of escapism
from everyday struggles, but it also gave people hope in hardship and provided a vital source of
solace. Irish Catholic clergymen came under much scrutiny at the time; they were often considered
a direct threat to the Protestant faith and were constantly observed and sometimes even interfered
with by authority. However, established Irish Catholic priests such as Fr. Ferdinand Farmer, who
came from a wealthy background and was educated, were an exception. He was very proud of his
heritage, and his background meant he could relate to his congregation in Maryland and
Pennsylvania, which allowed him to build up a loyal following. He rebelled against persecution -
he often defied authority and its limitations on religious freedoms by holding illegal services and
was still able to establish the first free education for Irish Catholics in the Americas.
The Catholic faith has always emphasized the role of family, and for Irish immigrants,
family, and community were essential supports in the new and unfamiliar land of America. They
practiced religion at home, and communities revolved around the local church and the church
calendar. Children would be baptized into the faith and Catholic practices formed the core of
family life, with regular prayer, reading of scripture, and attendance to the sacraments forming the
everyday routine. Because the church calendar allows for a number of feast days, many of which
involved a day off work, both the religious calendar and traditional Irish celebrations, such as St.
7
Patrick's Day, were essential markers of the passing of time. Perhaps one of the most important
religious practices was the requirement of attending Easter duty; in the Catholic faith, it is in this
period, also known as Lent, that adherents of the faith must faithfully observe penance, which may
include taking communion once during this period. Failure to uphold Easter duty would mean that
a member of the church would not be able to take part in the sacraments, effectively excluding them
from the faith community and risking eternal damnation. Therefore, observation of this duty was
taken highly seriously, so much so that in 1897, The New York Times reported that at St. Michael's
Church, evidence of gunshots was found in the floorboards under the pews, suggesting that
worshippers had rushed to drop in a bullet as a means of satisfying the Easter duty without having
to queue for the sacrament.13 This inspection of the lives and practices of several generations of one
family actually offered an exciting insight into the changes that took place. Starting in the early
1850s, the head of the family, Patrick Hayes, regularly came to the attention of the parish priest,
demonstrating the power that a priest had within the lives of the community. Patrick had become
embroiled in a long-running dispute with a neighbor to the extent that the row had ended up in
court.
The evidence provided showed that violence and threats had been made on a number of
occasions, and yet the court consistently dropped the case against the neighbor. The records
indicated that the court's decision was in part due to the fact that the neighbor was of English
heritage and had embraced the Protestant faith.14 It seemed now judges and juries would have sided
with those of the Protestant affirmations. This fragment from the past clearly demonstrates that
during the late 1800s and moving into the 1900s, generations had attempted to abolish the Catholic
13 William V Shannon, The American Irish: A Political and Social Portrait (Amherst: University Of Massachusetts
Press, 1989).
14 Atalia Omer and Joshua Lupo, Religion, Populism, and Modernity: Confronting White Christian Nationalism and
Racism, Google Books (University of Notre Dame Press, 2023), https://books.google.com/books?
hl=en&lr=&id=TfypEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA42&dq=The+tension+between+fundamentalism+and+modernism+is
+a+defining+feature+of+modern-day+Christianity.&ots=tXRd4Zy_qK&sig=8PDweVmlBqFs4z1nB_cEP_SRhoE.
8
identity, and through several individual instances, the power that the church held over its patrons
was partly unveiled.
Let us address the history. During the revolution, all Catholics were subject to
discrimination, packed off to the western frontier, and denied the right to vote. In all thirteen
colonies before the revolution, there was a firm anti-papist policy. By delving into an exploration
of Catholicism as represented throughout American history, particularly in times of strife, they may
have arrived at the conclusion that the historical Protestant identity of America was not the force to
be reckoned with as it often is. In the revolutionary war, the fourth act of the first session of the
state legislature of Maryland was named an 'act to compel the people called papists to take a
particular oath therein mentioned. This act allowed Catholics to vote and hold office. Maryland is
the only place where this change of fortunes due to revolutionary ideas took place, and this helps to
support the argument that the Irish case of equality was a crucial moment in Americans' perceptions
of Catholicism. Later, in the nineteenth century, Catholics became an essential subject of
discussion between the Whig and Democrat parties.15 Andrew Jackson's Democrats and supporters
knew full well that if they allowed Irish Catholic immigration into the country, they would gain a
larger voter share. Moreover, in 1852, they seized a vital opportunity to secure their power by
endorsing an Irish Catholic for President. This notion is supported by Governor Seward of New
York, who stated that foreigners would not sacrifice anything in upholding the constitution and
protecting slavery, showing the amount of hate and trepidation harbored towards Irish and Catholic
citizens. Irish Catholics became a crucial support of the Democrat party.16
15 Katherine D. Moran, The Imperial Church: Catholic Founding Fathers and United States Empire, Google Books
(Cornell University Press, 2020), https://books.google.com/books?
hl=en&lr=&id=CXW4DwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=Irish+Catholics+played+a+pivotal+role+in+shaping+the+l
andscape+of+American+politics.&ots=uS3Dn-D0MU&sig=JTaPVWMKcC6GztjdHeW9TQqmOXA.
16 Katherine D. Moran, The Imperial Church: Catholic Founding Fathers and United States Empire, Google Books
(Cornell University Press, 2020), https://books.google.com/books?
hl=en&lr=&id=CXW4DwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=Irish+Catholics+played+a+pivotal+role+in+shaping+the+l
andscape+of+American+politics.&ots=uS3Dn-D0MU&sig=JTaPVWMKcC6GztjdHeW9TQqmOXA.
9
Following the widespread famine in Ireland, large numbers of Irish Catholics flocked to the
United States, particularly in the years after 1845 when the famine was at its worst. By 1850, the
Irish-born population had reached seven hundred thousand people.17 Almost all of those Irish
immigrants were Catholics. Although they were among the poorest on the social scale at that time,
they established a noticeable position as a political force. This included not only direct involvement
in their own political and social organizations but also helping to fan the flames of the anti-Catholic,
anti-immigrant fervor that already bubbled at that time.18 The Catholics themselves were actually
relatively slower to get into politics than one might expect because political activism could mean
having to publicly announce where one stood on specific issues. Furthermore, this could have been
a dangerous thing in America, bearing in mind that, at this time, the United States was heavily
influenced by Protestant thought and ideology. Indeed, due to the traditionalism in politics and the
sometimes violent anti-Catholicism in America at the time, it was thought that politics was not the
best way to address social issues for the immigrants and their descendants alike. In addition to
general safety concerns, many well-educated and higher-class Catholics sought to concentrate more
on infiltrating and ultimately having a decisive say in the established areas of power such as the law
and legal aid or the police and such regular fabric of life in the United States in the 1800s. The first
openly Catholic and anti-slavery political party in the United States was founded in 1854 under the
name of the American Party and was a major political force in the 1854-56 years. The party even
won the majority of the seats in the state legislature in New England and the Midwest, and many of
the big offices of mayor in many cities went to the American Party. However, the party decreased
popular and political success reasonably quickly, petering out by the late 1860s. In response to the
fear among many native white Americans that Catholic values and beliefs were influencing politics
17 United States Census Bureau, “Map of the Week: Irish Ancestry in the US | UBIQUE,” UBIQUE American
Geographical Society, 2024, https://ubique.americangeo.org/map-of-the-week/map-of-the-week-irish-ancestry-in-the-
us/
18 Ibid: Census Bureau Maps
10
to the detriment of the well-being of the country, Orestes Brownson founded a political action in the
1860s called the Society for Christian Union and Progress.19 The purpose of the society was to
bring together Catholics and non-Catholics alike who supported the church in various facets, such
as the baptism of young children by priests and papal sovereignty over church properties, to try and
influence and direct political movements to focus on and support.
Members of the Irish Catholic community were able to achieve several milestones in terms
of political achievements for a group that had been historically marginalized. Achieving
representation would not only make the previously marginalized group feel accepted and needed,
but it also ensured that more favorable policies were adopted in the country. The most frequent and
consistent policy under discussion by those against the Irish Catholic group was the policy on
slavery. The Irish Catholics in America were all firmly in support of the abolition of slavery, and
this is clearly depicted in various policies and laws enacted. For example, the National Committee
that had been formed by the Irish Catholics to address the prevalence of slavery in the nation wrote
to the President of the United States, who at that time was President Martin Van Buren, against
slavery and received considerable support from various political and non-political leaders.20
The economic development of Irish Catholics is attributed to the increased number of firms
and businesses owned by the community. This ownership started as early as the 1800s and has
increased to the present times. Research reveals that in the 2007 fiscal year, there were 1,718 firms
registered in the city of Philadelphia, and the majority of these firms were owned by Irish
Catholics.21 This has contributed significantly to economic growth in the city. In terms of property
19 Anni Vanhanen, “‘We Have Enough Dirt, Misery, Crime, Sickness and Death of Our Own’: How the Irish
Immigrants Were Portrayed in 19 Th Century America - a Thematic Analysis of New York Times Articles,” 2023,
https://www.doria.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/187296/vanhanen_anni.pdf?sequence=3.
20 Ray O’Hanlon, Unintended Consequences: The Story of Irish Immigration to the U.S. And How America’s Door Was
Closed to the Irish, Google Books (Merrion Press, 2021), https://books.google.com/books?
hl=en&lr=&id=x6UkEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT8&dq=Irish+immigrants+in+America+faced+xenophobia+and+wer
e+not+seen+as+equals.&ots=55bRf2dlBy&sig=JF_01PW5cEWB2kzVIFkJpFiDNxs.
21 Patrick W. Carey, An Immigrant Bishop: John England’s Adaptation of Irish Catholicism to American
Republicanism, Second Edition, Google Books (CUA Press, 2022), https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=-
5deEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=Irish+Catholics+in+early+America+faced+discrimination+from+the+Protesta
11
ownership, records indicate that Irish Catholics began to engage in real estate investment in the
1900s during the Industrial Revolution. The community has since played a significant role in the
real estate market across the country, where the value of property owned by Irish Catholics in the
U.S. is estimated to be over thirty billion dollars. Irish Catholics have been very active in property
procurement in recent years, and this is attributed to the increased number of families in the
community. This aspect is also in tandem with the high percentage of home ownership attributed to
Irish Catholics, for example, in Philadelphia, where there are various Irish neighborhoods.22 Irish
Catholics, due to their numerical strength in the workforce, have been key players in pushing for the
establishment of workers’ rights and the provision of employee benefits. By the late 1890s and
early 1900s, unions and labor movements became common platforms where the Irish Catholics
engaged in economic and labor activism.23 This saw a chain of events that brought about
instrumental economic and social changes characterized by workers’ rights among various
employee groups. The influence of Irish Catholics in the prosperity of different economic
enterprises and overwhelming workforce presence in various fields juxtaposed with localized
workers' rights calls for a deeper understanding of the various success stories of the community in
the business world.
More than just providing ample primary source evidence showing that the majority of Irish
Catholic immigrants to the United States were in the labor force, the project also outlines the
various occupations in which they were employed and the economic benefits that resulted from
such widespread participation. In doing so, the research allows for a more nuanced understanding
of the socioeconomic status and possible experiences of Irish Catholic immigrants in the nineteenth
century. By the late 1800s, about 60% of Irish men and 40% of Irish women in New York City
nt+majority.&ots=jU-E04Jn8B&sig=__r_5Hs1CTVv47j7DDhU2vqfx0o.
22 American Records of the American Catholic Historical Society of Philadelphia (Catholic Historical and Society of
Philadelphia, 1896).
23 Karen Kauffman, “‘No Fair Claim to the Character of Christians’: Mathew Carey’s Path to Benevolence for
Philadelphia’s White Female Working Poor,” The Catholic Historical Review 105, no. 3 (2019): 480–502,
https://doi.org/10.1353/cat.2019.0096.
12
were employed. Irish men found work in construction, docks, and delivery stations – doing core
tasks such as merging all the levels of a city to make streets, unloading and loading cargo freight off
of ships and trains, and economically ensuring the transitioning of goods and information from
station to road to warehouse. Irish women in New York worked, when given the chance, as
domestics. Almost 50% of all women in domestic service in New York in the mid-1800s were
Irish. These proportions are echoed in the statistics on labor data of the primary source table: in this
period of time, more Irish men than Irish women were in the labor force. With such great numbers
of Irish Catholics in the labor force, it is no surprise that the Irish were responsible for the labor in
so many construction projects and factories in different regions of the United States. For example,
in cities like Rochester, Albany, Chicago, and Cleveland, and cities as far west as St. Paul, St.
Louis, and Omaha, the Irish and German immigrants made up the majority of workers at this time.
Not only that, the stacks and sources portion of the Irish history in the U.S. project already shows
that by the mid-1800s, Irish immigrants made up more than half of Ireland's total immigrant
population in the U.S., and almost a quarter of the total foreign-born population in the U.S. as well.
The needs of these new settlers were evident when societies such as the St. Vincent de Paul Society
and even the Catholic Church’s clergy visited and ministered in the homes of the poor. These
results help provide a comprehensive view of the Irish Catholics in America before immigration
restrictions came into place, and they support the conclusion that the Irish labor played a pivotal
role in helping form not only major cities in America but also the actual architecture through all the
different kinds of labor there.24
Despite the intense prejudice and alienation Irish Catholics faced in early America,
especially in the urban centers they predominated, they historically organized to maintain their
religious and cultural traditions and, subsequently, their own cultural influence. More than offering
24 “Early Irish Immigration to America. Few Catholics,” The American Catholic Historical Researches 18, no. 3 (1901):
99–103, https://www.jstor.org/stable/44374223.
13
aid and solace to the first generation of Irish Catholics, the church functioned as a critical institution
that helped transmit and preserve a distinct Irish Catholic identity for subsequent generations. Like
other Catholic immigrant groups, the Irish in America suffered from attempts at de-Catholicization
and culture stripping, yet they were significantly handicapped by the fact that so many of its
members were held as racially inferior to Anglo-Saxon America.25 While Protestants of all
denominations saw the Catholic Church, and more specifically a foreign Pope, as an anathema to
American freedom and democracy, Irish Catholics were also victims of deeply ingrained and
widespread anti-Irish sentiment. The theory of Irish racial inferiority, as non-Protestants and slower
to assimilate, was a pervasive and ingrained belief in 19th-century America. However, Irish
cultural and political savvy was able to permeate American society, both at the practical, artistic,
and cultural levels. The Ancient Order of Hibernians, named so to hearken to a time when Ireland
was free and purely Irish, was not only a fraternal organization that provided aid and resources for
new Irish Catholic immigrants but also sponsored St. Patrick's Day parades and events come March
17th.26 This act of preserving a national and religious day of celebration, in defiance of the
Protestant workday culture and American norms, showed a unity of identity by the Irish not found
anywhere else in the Roman Catholic Church and arguably anywhere else in current-day America.
Given the large number of Irish political leaders and the organizing strength of such cultural
groups, the actual days in which Irish cultural events occurred also became days of immense
political and social reciprocity. Every Irish traditional holiday was marked with a parade and a
religious celebration. Thanksgiving was always complemented with a Hibernian-sponsored feast
featuring Irish foods and dance. The impact of such societies almost bordered upon statewide
holidays. For instance, the New York City Saint Patrick’s Society organizers began laying
25 James T Fisher, “The Rise of the Immigrant Church,” Oxford Academic Online 24, no. 3 (November 30, 2007): 43–
68, https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780195333305.003.0003.
26 Tara Fitzpatrick, “The Figure of Captivity: The Cultural Work of the Puritan Captivity Narrative,” American Literary
History 3, no. 1 (1991): 1–26, https://doi.org/10.1093/alh/3.1.1.
14
elaborate plans for the 17th of March as early as the 27th of December in order to solicit, organize,
and plan the amusement and proper order of the procession. Such a large, organized, and formally
recognized gathering of Irish Americans was, in some academic debates, a mode of 'soft resistance'
that allowed them to immortalize the liberation of Catholic Ireland from Protestant rule by
demonstrating unity and reverence for their 'home.'
These gatherings and cultural societies served a variety of factors, but a central element was
the preservation of Gaelic language, music, and dance for future generations. Irish Catholics
recognized that the shared experiences of oppression in Ireland, coupled with the new freedoms
offered by America, could facilitate a re-embracement of these customs. So, it became very typical
for Irish cultural societies to make every attempt to play a prominent role in the civic as well as the
social life of the town in which they lived by organizing events around traditional Irish festivals.
When Irish immigrants to the United States began to organize Irish cultural groups and political
organizations, these ancient traditions were given a new and essential life.
The degree of Irish influence in America and the traditions it has given birth to is beyond
dispute. From the St. Patrick’s Day tradition, it has become a custom to wear green clothing. The
foods that have come to be seen as traditionally American and are enjoyed at Thanksgiving and
other special holidays have their roots in Irish recipes. Pumpkin pie and cranberries, the great
recipes of the Thanksgiving holiday, for example, are adapted from traditional Irish recipes.
Moreover, the connections are not only historical; the interfaces of Irish and American tastes in
food continue to influence today’s culture. The idea of Irish national pride and an expression of it
through shared traditions is one that is predominant. The Irish were the first group to establish
minority-based political figures in the United States, and as such, they have had a significant impact
on American culture and society and precisely shaped the politics of America today. Irish influence
15
in the field of media is also very progressive.27 Beginning with newspapers, many of the largest
national and most influential newspapers have been established by Irish immigrants or sons of Irish
immigrants.28 In terms of art, America has seen many Irish actors coming to fame. This has
directly contributed to the diversity of the acting sphere as Irish actors and actresses, as well as the
Irish characters they may play, have given the sphere scope and variety.
The Catholic school system in the Irish Catholic community dates back to 1822 when St.
Mary's Elementary School in New York City was founded under the patronage of Bishop John
Connolly.29 The purpose of the establishment of the school was to guide and educate the young
Irish people by instilling faith, morals, and discipline in them. Schooling in faith was highly valued
as compared to other subjects, and students were expected to obey rules and regulations. The same
year, two more Catholic schools were also established in Philadelphia. This sudden expansion in
the Catholic community's school system alarmed the Republicans. They envisioned a standard
schooling system powered by "noble republicanism," in which children of all religious
denominations would attend to learn the values of the republic. Therefore, Republicans soon
launched an attack on the common council to take away funding for sectarian schools. However,
the Catholic schools in Albany in 1823 and Brooklyn in 1825 continued to develop and drew
attention from joint councils with requests for funding. It was suggested in a New York newspaper
that the Catholic schooling system was an "inundation of ignorance among us" and called upon
people to "ward it off or we shall be, even as Ireland is now, priest-ridden."30 Nevertheless, the
Catholic school system flourished, as seen from the first local share of public school monies by
27 Carol K. Coburn, “Crossing Boundaries and Cultural Barriers: Catholic Sisters, Social Justice, and Transnationalism,”
American Catholic Studies 132, no. 1 (2021): 1–28, https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/156/article/788333/.
28 William V Shannon, The American Irish: A Political and Social Portrait (Amherst: University Of Massachusetts
Press, 1989).
29 Laird T. Hites, “Recent Legislation on Religion and the Public Schools,” Religious Education 20, no. 4 (August
1925): 292–97, https://doi.org/10.1080/0034408250200413.
30 Atalia Omer and Joshua Lupo, Religion, Populism, and Modernity: Confronting White Christian Nationalism and
Racism, Google Books (University of Notre Dame Press, 2023), https://books.google.com/books?
hl=en&lr=&id=TfypEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA42&dq=The+tension+between+fundamentalism+and+modernism+is
+a+defining+feature+of+modern-day+Christianity.&ots=tXRd4Zy_qK&sig=8PDweVmlBqFs4z1nB_cEP_SRhoE.
16
Catholic schools in Philadelphia in 1823 and the state approval of the Christian Brothers' Academy
in 1825. The Republicans' concern for the unification of the schooling system soon led to the
gradual establishment of the free school system and changes in the rules and regulations regarding
schooling. Hence, the Irish Catholics in America managed to create a large and diverse schooling
system. The establishment of Catholic schools made education an integral part of the Catholic
culture and set a long-term intellectual foundation for future generations. It also displayed the
determination of the Irish Catholic immigrants to remain a distinctive cultural and religious entity.
The struggles, triumphs, and lives of Irish Catholics are deserving of greater attention. The
immigrants from the Green Isle demonstrated the multifaceted ways in which Irish Catholics
fostered unity among their own community members, shaped American society through economic
and political engagement, and oftentimes found themselves at odds with widespread notions of
American identity. Early Irish Catholic immigrants often surrendered political and religious
autonomy in exchange for the economic opportunities that America could provide; yet as America
gained cultural maturity and began to chafe against foreign ideological oppression, these very same
Irish Catholics began to actively uplift their religious community with astute political and public
engagement while simultaneously shaping a more inclusive and diverse American social
landscape.31
The early Irish Catholic influence in the United States helped shape the nation's religious,
socio-cultural, and political landscape during the 19th and early 20th centuries and the key factors
that contributed to their integration and growth within American society. Irish Catholics were able
to leave behind a legacy beyond the immediate political implications of their influence. The
children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren of these Irish immigrants went on to enter a wide
31 Ray O’Hanlon, Unintended Consequences: The Story of Irish Immigration to the U.S. And How America’s Door Was
Closed to the Irish, Google Books (Merrion Press, 2021), https://books.google.com/books?
hl=en&lr=&id=x6UkEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT8&dq=Irish+immigrants+in+America+faced+xenophobia+and+wer
e+not+seen+as+equals.&ots=55bRf2dlBy&sig=JF_01PW5cEWB2kzVIFkJpFiDNxs.
17
variety of industries, and in many cases, they were able to infiltrate the upper echelons of American
society. This had profound implications for the social and economic development of early America,
and the Irish directly contributed. Further research on this topic would help to paint a broader
picture of the enduring effects of the Irish Catholic influence on early America and also provide a
more comprehensive understanding of the societal and economic developments that occurred in the
19th and 20th centuries. Such discoveries would help to solidify the position of the Irish Catholics
as one of the most historically significant immigrant populations that America has amongst its
population and would allow for a greater understanding of the complexities that characterized
combating political and social forces throughout America's growth and development. America
would not be the same without its Irish Catholic immigrants.
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