Demographics

Irish Immigration to Staten Island

A view of the Quarantine Hospital in Staten Island.

         Many Irish families immigrated to New York during the potato famine in Ireland. Throughout the course of the potato famine nearly 650,000 Irish traveled to New York. Any  Irishmen possessing a fever were not allowed to land in Manhattan. They were moved to the quarantine station at Marine Hospital in St George, Staten Island, which operated from 1799 to 1858. If two people in a family were found to have an infectious disease, those two were taken to the quarantine while the rest were left with little or no money on the streets of Staten Island to wait for their family. There were so many poor Irish families living on Staten Island that it started to be called “Staten Ireland.” Some Irish shantytowns developed along the North Shore where people waited for their family members to recover. Some Irish immigrants decided to stay in Staten Island to create a new life. That was the initial arrival of the Irish on Staten Island.

               Irish presence on Staten Island has been pervasive. The Irish have been so present on Staten Island that it has blended into the common culture of the borough, and is still celebrated. One of Staten Island’s major events of the year is the “Staten Ireland” Irish Fair. The parade celebrates its fifteenth year in June of 2014 with presentations and readings from Irish American authors, authentic Irish music, and Irish food. The famous St. Patrick’s Day Parade along Forest Avenue is another example of Irish culture on Staten Island. Many Islanders come to celebrate their Irish culture with their families at the parade.

        Cultural Visit to Joyce’s Tavern

            Ashley and I really wanted to get a good grasp of the Irish culture by going to and Irish restaurant. After a long time of Internet surfing, we decided we would go to Joyce’s Tavern. From outside the building, one can immediately tell it is an Irish establishment by its green roof, green awnings, and green shamrocks. When we walked in we faced a long bar where many men sat. We were told to seat ourselves since there was only one table being used. The tavern was decorated with all Irish apparel from Irish flags enormous shamrocks that contained pictures of Irish families. There was also a lot of athletic apparel hung up. It ranged from high school apparel to professional apparel.

            The menu is green and white with a large green shamrock on the cover. Although the building, decorations, and physical menu are all very Irish, the content of the menu is not very Irish at all. There is only one Irish meal on the menu and it is the most widely known and well-known Irish meal. You guessed it, corn beef and cabbage. The next closest thing on the menu to an Irish meal was stuffed potatoes, and that was just an appetizer.

              Many people think corn beef and cabbage is a traditional Irish meal straight from Ireland. However, this is a common misconception as it is not really a traditional Irish meal. Corn beef and cabbage is really an Irish-American meal. In Ireland, before many Irish people immigrated to America, the favored meat was pork because it was cheap and tasty. An Irish favorite was Irish Bacon, which is very similar to Canadian bacon, and a side of potatoes, which in America were also too expensive for Irish immigrants.

               The real question is: how did pork and potatoes become corn beef and cabbage? The Irish usually lived with other immigrant groups that were treated poorly in America, usually Jewish immigrants. The Irish often went to Jewish delis for food, which is where corn beef was first introduced to them. Corn beef was very similar to Irish bacon and was also much cheaper than any pork, and the cabbage was a cost friendly replacement for the potatoes.

            The menu includes chicken wings, hamburgers, and wraps as well as Italian food like chicken parmesan. The more diverse menu is used to appease a majority of people, as many people are not looking for traditional Irish food. Just like corn beef and cabbage was adopted to help the Irish in America, the decisions to have these meals on the menu helped the owners stay in business. The tavern has a very nice, Irish atmosphere that is accompanied by diverse menu.

Cultural Visit to St Patrick’s and Currys Claddagh Gift Shop

                   After we visited Joyce’s Irish Tavern, Ashley and I wanted to go somewhere that really expressed Irish culture. We figured that a great place to visit would be a catholic church named after the patron saint of Ireland, Saint Patrick. From the outside, the church was beautiful. It was decorated with stained glass windows, shamrocks on the bulletin, and neatly kept shrubbery and grass. Unfortunately, we were unable to go inside as there was a wedding going on the day we visited.

            Saint Patrick was Roman and lived in Britain with his parents during the Rome occupation of the British colonies. He was captured at the age of fourteen and brought to Ireland to work as a slave. He prayed to God everyday in hopes that God would keep him safe. At the age of twenty he escaped and returned to his family. Patrick then began his studies in the priesthood. After becoming a priest he felt as though Ireland was calling him to return in his dreams. Patrick was assigned to bring the Gospel to Ireland after he was ordained as a Bishop. Once there he converted many Irish to the Catholic religion. He is the patron Saint of Ireland and his feast day is on March seventeenth, a day that everyone is “Irish”.

            We searched online for quite sometime trying to find a place on Staten Island that expressed Irish culture and was not a pub or church. We even drove to Snug Harbor to see if they had any cultural exhibits open. Finally, our friend Timmy introduced us to an Irish gift shop, Curry’s Claddagh Irish Gift Shop to be exact.

(Photo taken by Christopher Pinto)

            The shop is very small, something you might miss if you were not looking for it. Inside there are Irish trinkets, clothing, jewelry, and china. The jewelry is in a glass case while the clothing is hung on racks and most of the china is on shelves. The owners are very nice. Many of the items obviously have shamrocks on them. This is a very family friendly store that really knows how to express the Irish culture. It is a big part of West Brighton’s strong Irish culture and will hopefully still be for many upcoming years.

            The shamrock is a symbol of Ireland and Irish culture, but why? It is because of their patron Saint, Saint Patrick. When Patrick was in Ireland as a Bishophe explained the religion to the Irish pagans, telling them about the history and miracles. When it came time for him to explain the Trinity, or three persons in one God, he used a shamrock. He illustrated with the shamrock that God was three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This is why the shamrock is an Irish symbol.