In 1991 Irish-American History month came to be. Irish-American history is filled with stories of discrimination, anti--Catholic prejudice, and perseverance. In 2019, 30.4 million people in America claimed Irish ancestors. Between 1820 and 1930 as many as 4.5 million immigrants from Ireland found their way to America and with them came many important contributions to American culture. Unions, the abolishment of child labor, and improved working conditions are just a few of those contributions.
1001 Things Everyone Should Know About Irish American History is a comprehensive and vividly illustrated celebration of Irish enterprise, talent, and courage. Organized around such broad subjects as culture, politics, business, religion, and sports, it engagingly profiles the Irish American presidents and Congressional Medal of Honor recipients and highlights the ten most important works of Irish American fiction, while offering many surprises. Alongside the exploits of Irish American soldiers like General Philip Sheridan, O’Donnell tells the incredible story of Jennie Hodgers, a Belfast-born woman who served in the Union Army disguised as a man. Elsewhere Bing Crosby shares the stage with Willis O’Brien, the brilliant pioneer of film animation and the man who brought Nat King Cole to life. Entrepreneur Henry Ford is featured with Rose O’Neill, inventor of the wildly popular Kewpie Doll. And throughout readers will find answers to questions like who was the Murphy who dreamed up “Murphy’s Law?”; why is a do-over shot in golf called a “mulligan?”; what exactly does it mean to “scream like a banshee?”; and did Mrs. O’Leary’s cow really start the Great Chicago Fire of 1871? Written with the understanding that so much of the Irish experience in America is inseparable from the history of the Emerald Isle, 1001 Things also devotes substantial coverage to the history of Ireland.
"The authors look at the state's earliest Irish residents and communities and describe the critical roles played by Irish immigrants in the settlement and founding of the Prairie State"-- Provided by publisher.
A guide for everything Irish in Chicago, this book represents the heart and soul of Irish heritage and culture. Included is a list of Chicago pubs where true Irish musicians perform traditional Irish music and tips to impress the pub crowd, as well as other historical and cultural sites and events.
Corrigan's beautifully written memoir intertwines her own story with that of her larger-than-life, Irish-American, born-salesman fathers, and illustrates both an unbelievably powerful and healing father/daughter relationship and the unbreakable bonds of family.
"National Review senior writer Michael Brendan Dougherty delivers a mediation on belonging, fatherhood, and nationalism, through a series of letters to his estranged Irish father. The child of an Irish man and an Irish-American woman who split up soon after he was born, Michael Brendan Dougherty grew up with an acute sense of absence. He loved his mother but longed for his father, who only occasionally returned from Ireland for visits. He was happy enough in America, but desperately wanted the sense of cultural belonging that his Irish half-siblings seemed to enjoy. When his first child was born, Dougherty knew he wanted to give her that kind of solid connection to her heritage. Aware that he was becoming a cliché--the Irish-American who wants to be more Irish than the Irish--he began to study Gaelic. He buried himself in Irish history and learned old songs to sing to his daughter. Most significantly, he began writing letters to his father about what he remembered, what he missed, and what he longed for, realizing along the way that his longings were shared by many of his generation. These letters would become this book. Many Americans today, of all backgrounds, lack a clear sense of cultural heritage or even a vocabulary for expressing this lack. And as the national conversation about identity becomes increasingly polarized, people tend to avoid talking about their roots altogether. In these deeply felt and fascinating letters, Dougherty offers a new way for all of us to think about who we are, where we came from, and where we're going."--Provided by publisher.
"From the National Book Award-winning and best-selling author, Timothy Egan comes the epic story of one of the most fascinating and colorful Irishman in nineteenth-century America. The Irish-American story, with all its twists and triumphs, is told through the improbable life of one man. A dashing young orator during the Great Famine of the 1840s, in which a million of his Irish countrymen died, Thomas Francis Meagher led a failed uprising against British rule, for which he was banished to a Tasmanian prison colony. He escaped and six months later was heralded in the streets of New York--the revolutionary hero, back from the dead, at the dawn of the great Irish immigration to America. Meagher's rebirth in America included his leading the newly formed Irish Brigade from New York in many of the fiercest battles of the Civil War--Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg. Twice shot from his horse while leading charges, left for dead in the Virginia mud, Meagher's dream was that Irish-American troops, seasoned by war, would return to Ireland and liberate their homeland from British rule. The hero's last chapter, as territorial governor of Montana, was a romantic quest for a true home in the far frontier. His death has long been a mystery to which Egan brings haunting, colorful new evidence"-- Provided by publisher.
In the diary account of her journey from Ireland in 1847 and of her work in a mill in Lowell, Massachusetts, fourteen-year-old Mary reveals a great longing for her family.
"Through the battles they fought, the novels they wrote, and the people they touched, these nine men and women fled unthinkable hardship; they not only became American but also helped make our nation what it is today. Inspiring, intimate, and timely, Nine Irish Lives serves as a reminder of America's shared values as we debate issues of immigration and compassion today" -- Back cover.
Although many Irish immigrated to America in the early 1800s, the Ireland potato famine of the 1840s and 50s resulted in more than a million immigrants escaping death and starvation to come to America. Unfortunately, the religious persecution and economic hardships that they experienced in Ireland continued in America. Affordable housing and good-paying jobs were hard to find, and large Irish communities developed in major cities like Boston, New York, and Chicago, relying on each other for support. Through hard work and determination, they overcame these obstacles and succeeded in becoming essential members of American society.
"Fiona and her family moved from Ireland to Chicago to begin a new life. Yet, when the family is struck with misfortune, will Fiona's lace help save them?"-- Provided by publisher.
Craft Month wouldn't be complete without Take-and-Make Crafts. Stop in at the adult circulation desk for a kit to make your own wooden bookmark. Only 25 kits are prepped, so it's a limit of 1 person while supplies last.
.png)
.png)
