History

   

Ireland is a country with a rich heritage, a deep history, and an interesting culture. An island off the coast of continental Europe, it is split into “The Republic of Ireland” and “Northern Ireland”, and has a total population of about 6.4 million people. This population had an extreme increase in the 18th and 19th century due to agricultural and industrial advances, but due to the Great famine of the mid 1800s, it was seriously cut down. In recent decades, it has been increasing quickly, however, by an astonishing 4.4% every year.

The majority of these people are of Gaelic descent, but recently the diversity of the Irish country has increased. The expansion of nationalities includes people from Poland, the United States of America, United Kingdom, China, India, Nigeria, Lithuania, Pakistan, the Philippines, Latvia, and Russia. The most prominent religion practiced in Ireland is Roman Catholicism. Minor religions include Anglican, Presbyterian, Islam, Methodist, and a very small number of Jews.

Emigration from Ireland is apparent all over the world in forms of their celebrations. Holidays such as St. Patrick’s Day and Halloween originated from Irish customs and quickly spread throughout the world. Saint Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland, and Halloween is actually called All Hallows Evening (the similarity in the name is amusing!). Although the customs vary from country to country, these celebrations are thanks to the Irish!

Irish citizens make up a very large number of people who live in New York. A huge number of them came to America during the Great Famine, and since Ireland is right across the Atlantic, Irish emigrants came through Ellis Island. Upon entering America, the vast majority of immigrants was poor and could not afford to travel into the United States. Due to this reality, they had to stay in New York City, where the cost of living was relatively low. However, for the first couple decades, because of this low cost of living, Irish portions of the city were overcrowded and impoverished.

Irish Americans also faced discrimination when they first immigrated to
New York City, as did most groups when they first came to America. They
were looked upon as rowdy drunks, and in many cases would not be hired at well paying jobs. Today, however, they have made many advances in our nation, and play a vital role in almost all aspects of society such as city jobs, teachers, and even government officials.

Gaps in literature concerning the Irish are very small and, in a way, almost insignificant due to their minute size. This is probably because the Irish are such a prominent group in America (making up ¼ the population in New York City, Baltimore, Boston, etc.). As such, their development has been tracked and recorded more than some other cultures.

As with all cultures, the Irish are an extremely interesting group of people. Their customs have become worldwide, and will continue to spread to regions around the world, as they already have in New York City.