223-741: People of Irish descent form the largest single ethnic group in Massachusetts , and one of the largest in Boston . Once a Puritan stronghold, Boston changed dramatically in the 19th century with the arrival of immigrants from other parts of the world. The Irish dominated the first wave of newcomers during this period, especially following the Great Irish Famine . Their arrival transformed Boston from an Anglo-Saxon, Protestant city into one that has become progressively more diverse. These people hired Irish as workers and servants, but there
446-481: A Hessian garrison at Trenton to hold western New Jersey and the east shore of the Delaware. Desperate for a victory, Washington and his generals devised a surprise attack on Trenton. The army was to cross the Delaware in three divisions: one led by Washington (2,400 troops), another by General James Ewing (700), and the third by Colonel John Cadwalader (1,500). The force was to then split, with Washington taking
669-751: A Treaty of Alliance with the Americans. Congress ratified the treaty in May, which amounted to a French declaration of war against Britain. In May 1778, Howe resigned and was replaced by Sir Henry Clinton . The British evacuated Philadelphia for New York that June and Washington summoned a war council of American and French generals. He chose a partial attack on the retreating British at the Battle of Monmouth . Generals Charles Lee and Lafayette moved with 4,000 men, without Washington's knowledge, and bungled their first attack on June 28. Washington relieved Lee and achieved
892-582: A federal holiday , various media depictions , geographical locations including the national capital , the State of Washington , stamps , and currency . In 1976, Washington was posthumously promoted to the rank of general of the Armies , the highest rank in the U.S. Army . Washington consistently ranks in both popular and scholarly polls as one of the greatest presidents in American history. George Washington
1115-839: A list of resolutions for the Fairfax County committee, including a call to end the Atlantic slave trade , which were adopted. On August 1, Washington attended the First Virginia Convention . There, he was selected as a delegate to the First Continental Congress . As tensions rose in 1774, he helped train militias in Virginia and organized enforcement of the Continental Association boycott of British goods instituted by
1338-578: A powdered wig ; instead he wore his hair curled, powdered, and tied in a queue in the fashion of the day . Though generally in good physical condition throughout his life, Washington frequently suffered from severe tooth decay and ultimately lost all his teeth but one. He had several sets of false teeth during his presidency. Contrary to common lore, these were not made of wood, but of metal, ivory, bone, animal teeth, and human teeth possibly obtained from slaves. These dental problems left him in constant pain, which he treated with laudanum . Washington
1561-672: A Catholic boy who refused to recite the Protestant version of the Ten Commandments was severely beaten, leading to the Eliot School Rebellion . Over 300 boys withdrew from the school, prompting St. Mary's Parish to create a primary school to educate them. Although Boston was an important center of abolitionism , most Irish immigrants were strongly opposed to blacks and to abolitionists. Historian Brian Kelly says, "Though they were neither consistent stalwarts of
1784-741: A Southern invasion against Savannah , reinforced by 2,000 British and Loyalist troops. They repelled an attack by American patriots and French naval forces , which bolstered the British war effort. In June 1778, Iroquois warriors joined with Loyalist rangers led by Walter Butler and killed more than 200 frontiersmen, laying waste to the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania . In mid-1779, in response to this and other attacks on New England towns, Washington ordered General John Sullivan to lead an expedition to force
2007-515: A chaotic ten-day evacuation aboard 120 ships. Soon after, Washington entered the city with 500 men, with explicit orders not to plunder the city. He refrained from exerting military authority in Boston, leaving civilian matters in the hands of local authorities. After the victory at Boston, Washington correctly guessed that the British would return to New York City , a Loyalist stronghold, and retaliate. He arrived there on April 13, 1776, and ordered
2230-774: A close link with the Icelandic people . In the Icelandic Laxdœla saga , for example, "even slaves are highborn, descended from the kings of Ireland." The first name of Njáll Þorgeirsson , the chief protagonist of Njáls saga , is a variation of the Irish name Neil . According to Eirik the Red's Saga , the first European couple to have a child born in North America was descended from the Viking Queen of Dublin , Aud
2453-592: A draw after an expansive battle. At nightfall, the British continued their retreat to New York, and Washington moved his army outside the city. Monmouth was Washington's last battle in the North. Washington became America's first spymaster by designing an espionage system against the British. In 1778, Major Benjamin Tallmadge formed the Culper Ring at Washington's direction to covertly collect information about
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#17327761407942676-565: A fierce rivalry that emerged between cabinet members Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton . During the French Revolution , he proclaimed a policy of neutrality while additionally sanctioning the Jay Treaty . He set enduring precedents for the office of president , including republicanism , a peaceful transfer of power , the use of the title " Mr. President ", and the two-term tradition . His 1796 farewell address became
2899-695: A frequency of 65%. This subclade is also dominant in Scotland, Wales and Brittany and descends from a common ancestor who lived in about 2,500 BC. According to 2009 studies by Bramanti et al. and Malmström et al. on mtDNA , related western European populations appear to be largely from the neolithic and not paleolithic era, as previously thought. There was discontinuity between mesolithic central Europe and modern European populations mainly due to an extremely high frequency of haplogroup U (particularly U5) types in mesolithic central European sites. The existence of an especially strong genetic association between
3122-425: A group of African Americans living on Elm Street signed a petition to keep the Irish out of their neighborhood. Advertisements for domestic servants sometimes stipulated "a Protestant woman", implying that an Irish Protestant would be acceptable; others specifically warned, "no Irish need apply". Irish people The Irish ( Irish : Na Gaeil or Na hÉireannaigh ) are an ethnic group and nation native to
3345-539: A hundred rules for social interaction styled Rules of Civility and Decent Behaviour in Company and Conversation , copied from an English translation of a French book of manners. Washington often visited Mount Vernon and Belvoir , the plantation of William Fairfax , Lawrence's father-in-law. Fairfax became Washington's patron and surrogate father. In 1748, Washington spent a month with a team surveying Fairfax's Shenandoah Valley property. The following year, he received
3568-769: A hundred ships and thousands of troops, began arriving on Staten Island on July 2 to lay siege to the city. After the Declaration of Independence was unanimously adopted on July 4, Washington informed his troops on July 9 that Congress had declared the united colonies to be "free and independent states". Howe's troop strength totaled 32,000 regulars and Hessian auxiliaries , and Washington's consisted of 23,000, mostly raw recruits and militia. In August, Howe landed 20,000 troops at Gravesend, Brooklyn , and approached Washington's fortifications Opposing his generals, Washington chose to fight, based on inaccurate information that Howe's army had only 8,000-plus troops. In
3791-479: A hundred. As a respected military hero and large landowner, Washington held local offices and was elected to the Virginia provincial legislature, representing Frederick County in the House of Burgesses for seven years beginning in 1758. He first ran for the seat in 1755 but was soundly beaten by Hugh West. When he ran in 1758, Washington plied voters with beer, brandy, and other beverages. Despite being away serving on
4014-590: A mile from Trenton, so Washington split his force into two columns, rallying his men: "Soldiers keep by your officers. For God's sake, keep by your officers." The two columns were separated at the Birmingham crossroads. General Greene's column took the upper Ferry Road, led by Washington, and General Sullivan's column advanced on River Road. The Americans marched in sleet and snowfall. Many were shoeless with bloodied feet, and two died of exposure. At sunrise, Washington, aided by Colonel Knox and artillery, led his men in
4237-956: A named person. Mac is the Irish for son. Names that begin with "O'" include: Ó Bánion ( O'Banion ), Ó Briain ( O'Brien ), Ó Ceallaigh ( O'Kelly ), Ó Conchobhair ( O'Connor, O'Conor ), Ó Chonaill ( O'Connell ), O'Coiligh ( Cox ), Ó Cuilinn ( Cullen ), Ó Domhnaill ( O'Donnell ), Ó Drisceoil ( O'Driscoll ), Ó hAnnracháin, ( Hanrahan ), Ó Máille ( O'Malley ), Ó Mathghamhna ( O'Mahony ), Ó Néill ( O'Neill ), Ó Sé ( O'Shea ), Ó Súilleabháin ( O'Sullivan ), Ó Caiside/Ó Casaide ( Cassidy ), Ó Brádaigh/Mac Bradaigh ( Brady ) and Ó Tuathail ( O'Toole ). Names that begin with Mac or Mc include: Mac Cárthaigh ( McCarthy ), Mac Diarmada ( McDermott ), Mac Domhnaill ( McDonnell ), and Mac Mathghamhna ( McMahon ) Mac(g) Uidhir ( Maguire ), Mac Dhonnchadha ( McDonagh ), Mac Conmara ( MacNamara ), Mac Craith ( McGrath ), Mac Aodha ( McGee ), Mac Aonghuis ( McGuinness ), Mac Cana ( McCann ), Mac Lochlainn ( McLaughlin ) and Mac Conallaidh ( McNally ). Mac
4460-693: A nurse on the front lines, where she was known as the "Angel of the Battlefield". Irish Bostonians also contributed to the war effort by working in the Watertown arsenal and the iron foundries of South Boston, or in the shipyards, building warships for the navy. However, as in New York City , on July 14, 1863, a draft riot attempting to raid Union armories broke out among Irish Catholics in the North End , resulting in approximately 8 to 14 deaths. In
4683-554: A particularly harsh winter, a group of Irish Protestants met in Boston to organize the Charitable Irish Society . Its mission was to provide loans and other assistance to Irish immigrants who were elderly, sick, or in need. The gathering was the first known observance of St. Patrick's Day in the Thirteen Colonies . Still in existence, the society is the oldest Irish organization in North America. Once
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#17327761407944906-459: A preeminent statement on republicanism in which he wrote about the importance of national unity and the dangers that regionalism, partisanship, and foreign influence pose to it. As a planter of tobacco and wheat, Washington owned many slaves . He grew to oppose slavery near the end of his lifetime, and provided in his will for the manumission of his slaves. Washington's image is an icon of American culture . He has been memorialized by monuments,
5129-612: A proclamation , which promised freedom to slaves if they joined the British. Desperate for manpower by late 1777, Washington relented and overturned his ban. By the end of the war, around one-tenth of Washington's army were blacks. Following the British surrender, Washington sought to enforce terms of the preliminary Treaty of Paris (1783) by reclaiming slaves freed by the British and returning them to servitude. He arranged to make this request to Sir Guy Carleton on May 6, 1783. Instead, Carleton issued 3,000 freedom certificates and all former slaves in New York City were able to leave before
5352-621: A result of disease and lack of food, clothing, and shelter. The British were comfortably quartered in Philadelphia, paying for supplies in pounds sterling , while Washington struggled with a devalued American paper currency . The woodlands were soon exhausted of game. By February, Washington was facing lowered morale and increased desertions among his troops. An internal revolt by his officers, led by Major General Thomas Conway , prompted some members of Congress to consider removing Washington from command. Washington's supporters resisted, and
5575-445: A small force of Virginians and Indian allies to ambush them. During the ambush , French forces were killed outright with muskets and hatchets, including French commander Joseph Coulon de Jumonville , who had been carrying a diplomatic message for the British. The French later found their countrymen dead and scalped, blaming Washington, who had retreated to Fort Necessity. The full Virginia Regiment joined Washington at Fort Necessity
5798-604: A special envoy. He had sent Washington to demand French forces to vacate land that was claimed by the British. Washington was also appointed to make peace with the Iroquois Confederacy , and to gather further intelligence about the French forces. Washington met with Half-King Tanacharison , and other Iroquois chiefs, at Logstown , and gathered information about the numbers and locations of the French forts, as well as intelligence concerning individuals taken prisoner by
6021-606: A standoff. As Washington headed for Boston, word of his march preceded him, and he was greeted everywhere; gradually, he became a symbol of the Patriot cause. Upon Washington's arrival on July 2, 1775, two weeks after the Battle of Bunker Hill , he set up headquarters in Cambridge . When he went to inspect the army, he found undisciplined militia. After consultation, he initiated Benjamin Franklin 's suggested reforms: drilling
6244-518: A successful telephone operators' strike in 1919 that paralyzed telephone service across New England for six days. That same year, the Boston Police went on strike for better wages and working conditions. Most of the officers who subsequently lost their jobs were Irish Catholics, while most of those who condemned the strikers were "old-line Protestant Yankees". Many of the strikebreakers were students at Harvard University . During this period
6467-502: A surprise attack on the unsuspecting Hessians and their commander, Colonel Johann Rall . The Hessians had 22 killed, including Colonel Rall, 83 wounded, and 850 captured with supplies. Washington retreated across the Delaware to Pennsylvania and returned to New Jersey on January 3, 1777, launching an attack on British regulars at Princeton , with 40 Americans killed or wounded and 273 British killed or captured. American Generals Hugh Mercer and John Cadwalader were being driven back by
6690-542: A surrender document in which he unwittingly took responsibility for "assassinating" Jumonville, later blaming the translator for not properly translating it. In the aftermath, Colonel James Innes took command of intercolonial forces, the Virginia Regiment was divided, and Washington was offered a captaincy in one of the newly formed regiments. He refused, however, as it would have been a demotion and instead resigned his commission. The "Jumonville affair" became
6913-610: A surveyor's license from the College of William & Mary . Even though Washington had not served the customary apprenticeship, Thomas Fairfax appointed him surveyor of Culpeper County, Virginia , where he took his oath of office on July 20, 1749. He subsequently familiarized himself with the frontier region, and though he resigned from the job in 1750, he continued to do surveys west of the Blue Ridge Mountains . By 1752, he had bought almost 1,500 acres (600 ha) in
History of Irish Americans in Boston - Misplaced Pages Continue
7136-625: A time, in some Irish parishes, Italians were forced to attend Mass in the basement. The most prominent figure in Boston politics early in the 20th century was John F. Fitzgerald , a man so well known for his charming personality that he was nicknamed "Honey Fitz". During his two terms as mayor, Fitzgerald made major improvements to the Port of Boston, an investment that brought increased traffic from Europe. Perhaps more significantly, in his later years he taught his grandchildren how to succeed in politics. One of them, John F. Kennedy , would go on to become
7359-461: A turning point in their "political consciousness". A succession of Irish mayors—Hynes, John F. Collins , and Kevin White —pushed urban renewal projects that contributed to gentrification . As immigrant families assimilated and their children moved to the suburbs, Boston's neighborhoods began to lose their ethnic identities. Irish Americans in Boston responded with alarm to news reports of
7582-410: A typical Irish slum as "a perfect hive of human beings, without comforts and mostly without common necessaries; in many cases huddled together like brutes, without regard to age or sex or sense of decency." Many Irish women became domestic servants; by 1860, two-thirds of the servants in Boston were Irish. Most Irish men worked in construction, in quarries, or on the docks. Irish laborers helped build up
7805-570: A voyage of exploration to northwestern Europe in about 325 BC, but his account of it, known widely in Antiquity , has not survived and is now known only through the writings of others. On this voyage, he circumnavigated and visited a considerable part of modern-day Great Britain and Ireland . He was the first known scientific visitor to see and describe the Celtic and Germanic tribes. The terms Irish and Ireland are probably derived from
8028-414: A woman in Irish uses the feminine prefix nic (meaning daughter) in place of mac. Thus a boy may be called Mac Domhnaill whereas his sister would be called Nic Dhomhnaill or Ní Dhomhnaill – the insertion of 'h' follows the female prefix in the case of most consonants (bar H, L, N, R, & T). A son has the same surname as his father. A female's surname replaces Ó with Ní (reduced from Iníon Uí – "daughter of
8251-445: Is a presumed invasion of Wales , which according to a Welsh manuscript may have taken place around the 7th century. In the words of Seumas MacManus: If we compare the history of Ireland in the 6th century, after Christianity was received, with that of the 4th century, before the coming of Christianity, the wonderful change and contrast is probably more striking than any other such change in any other nation known to history. Following
8474-676: Is an Irish-American monthly newspaper owned and operated by Boston Neighborhood News, Inc., of Dorchester. In the mid-20th century, when Roxbury was still an Irish neighborhood, thousands of Bostonians regularly flocked to dance halls in then-Dudley Square (now Nubian Square )—the Dudley Street Opera House, Hibernian Hall , the Intercolonial, the Rose Croix, and Winslow Hall—to socialize and enjoy traditional Irish music. The dance halls have closed, but
8697-625: Is commonly anglicised Mc. However, "Mac" and "Mc" are not mutually exclusive, so, for example, both "MacCarthy" and "McCarthy" are used. Both "Mac" and "Ó'" prefixes are both Irish in origin, Anglicized Prefix Mc is far more common in Ireland than Scotland with 2/3 of all Mc Surnames being Irish in origin However, "Mac" is more common in Scotland and Ulster than in the rest of Ireland; furthermore, "Ó" surnames are less common in Scotland having been brought to Scotland from Ireland. The proper surname for
8920-610: Is easier to conceive, than to describe, the distress of this Family". He canceled all business activity and remained with Martha every night for three months. Washington played a central role before and during the American Revolution. His distrust of the British military had begun when he was passed over for promotion into the Regular Army in 1757. Opposed to taxes imposed by the British Parliament on
9143-486: Is generally agreed that the jury was biased against them, it is impossible to say whether French Catholics in their position, or any outsiders for that matter, would have suffered the same fate. Governor Michael Dukakis officially exonerated both men on St. Patrick's Day, 1984. In 1837, the same year as the Broad Street Riot , Irish Bostonians formed their own volunteer militia company, one of ten that made up
History of Irish Americans in Boston - Misplaced Pages Continue
9366-420: Is no archaeological or placename evidence for a migration or a takeover by a small group of elites. He states that "the Irish migration hypothesis seems to be a classic case of long-held historical beliefs influencing not only the interpretation of documentary sources themselves but the subsequent invasion paradigm being accepted uncritically in the related disciplines of archaeology and linguistics." Dál Riata and
9589-495: Is that they are descendants of Spanish traders or of the few sailors of the Spanish Armada who were shipwrecked on Ireland's west coast, but there is little evidence for this. Irish Travellers are an ethnic people of Ireland . A DNA study found they originally descended from the general Irish population, however, they are now very distinct from it. The emergence of Travellers as a distinct group occurred long before
9812-537: Is the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Boston . The paper was founded by Bishop Benedict Joseph Fenwick , the second bishop of Boston, at a time of increased Irish immigration to the United States. It featured a "missing friends" section and kept immigrants apprised of news from Ireland. Early editors included Patrick Donahoe and John Boyle O'Reilly . The Boston Irish Reporter , founded in 1990,
10035-595: Is thought to have rendered him sterile, though it is equally likely that "Martha may have sustained injury during the birth of Patsy, her final child, making additional births impossible." The couple lamented not having any children together. Despite this, the two raised Martha's children John Parke Custis (Jacky) and Martha Parke Custis (Patsy), and later Jacky's two youngest children Eleanor Parke Custis (Nelly) and George Washington Parke Custis (Washy), along with numerous nieces and nephews. The marriage gave Washington control over Martha's one-third dower interest in
10258-602: The 1860 presidential election , Boston Irish Catholics mostly voted against Abraham Lincoln . The critical factor among the Irish, according to Kelly, was the powerful role of the Catholic Church. He states: By 1870, Boston had 250,000 residents, 56,900 of whom were Irish. Around this time several powerful Irish ward bosses appeared on the scene, including Martin Lomasney in the West End , John F. Fitzgerald in
10481-649: The Abbey of St Gall in Switzerland, and Bobbio Abbey in Italy. Common to both the monastic and the secular bardic schools were Irish and Latin . With Latin, the early Irish scholars "show almost a like familiarity that they do with their own Gaelic". There is evidence also that Hebrew and Greek were studied, the latter probably being taught at Iona. "The knowledge of Greek", says Professor Sandys in his History of Classical Scholarship, "which had almost vanished in
10704-471: The Battle of Long Island , Howe assaulted Washington's flank and inflicted 1,500 Patriot casualties, the British suffering 400. Washington retreated, instructing General William Heath to acquire river craft. On August 30, General William Alexander held off the British and gave cover while the army crossed the East River under darkness to Manhattan without loss of life or materiel, although Alexander
10927-516: The Brehons would hold their courts upon hills to arbitrate the matters of the lordship. Indeed, the Tudor lawyer John Davies described the Irish people with respect to their laws: There is no people under the sun that doth love equal and indifferent (impartial) justice better than the Irish, or will rest better satisfied with the execution thereof, although it be against themselves, as they may have
11150-615: The Charles River froze over, Washington was eager to cross and storm Boston, but General Gates and others were opposed to untrained militia striking well-garrisoned fortifications. Instead, he agreed to secure the Dorchester Heights , 100 feet (30 m) above Boston, with Knox's artillery to try to force the British out. On March 9, under cover of darkness, Washington's troops bombarded British ships in Boston harbor. On March 17, 9,000 British troops and Loyalists began
11373-463: The Christian Front , roamed the streets of Jewish neighborhoods, vandalizing property and assaulting residents. Several victims were seriously injured with blackjacks and brass knuckles . Boston's predominantly Irish police, politicians, and clergy were of little help, and the local press largely ignored the problem. Mayor Curley once proudly proclaimed Boston "the strongest Coughlin city in
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#173277614079411596-538: The Delaware River into Pennsylvania , where Major General Lee's replacement General John Sullivan joined him with 2,000 more troops. The future of the Continental Army was in doubt due to lack of supplies, a harsh winter, expiring enlistments, and desertions. Washington was disappointed that many New Jersey residents were Loyalists or skeptical about independence. Howe split up his army and posted
11819-481: The Great Famine , a genetic analysis shows. The research suggests that Traveller origins may in fact date as far back as 420 years to 1597. The Plantation of Ulster began around that time, with native Irish displaced from the land, perhaps to form a nomadic population. One Roman historian records that the Irish people were divided into "sixteen different nations" or tribes. Traditional histories assert that
12042-1048: The Home for Destitute Catholic Children ), homes for wayward teens (House of the Angel Guardian and House of the Good Shepherd), a foundling home (St. Mary's Infant Asylum), two homeless shelters ( Working Boys Home and Working Girls' Home), and a Catholic hospital (Carney Hospital). The Catholic St. Vincent de Paul Society offered food, shelter, clothing, and counseling. One parish, St. Francis de Sales in Charlestown, issued food stamps. In response to bias and proselytism in Protestant-dominated schools, Boston's Irish Catholics built Catholic schools. By 1917, they had established 29 elementary schools, four high schools, four academies, and one college ( Boston College ). The first New England native to be ordained to
12265-624: The Hudson River . Historians Nathaniel Philbrick and Ron Chernow noted possible reasons for Arnold's defection to be his anger at losing promotions to junior officers, or repeated slights from Congress. He was also deeply in debt, profiteering from the war, and disappointed by Washington's lack of support during his eventual court-martial . After repeated requests, Washington agreed to give Arnold command of West Point in August. On September 21, Arnold met André and gave him plans to take over
12488-541: The Hudson River . However, General Howe in British-occupied New York City blundered, taking his army south to Philadelphia rather than up the Hudson River to join Burgoyne near Albany . Washington and Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette rushed to Philadelphia to engage Howe. In the Battle of Brandywine , on September 11, 1777, Howe outmaneuvered Washington and marched unopposed into
12711-687: The Irish diaspora one of the largest of any nation. Historically, emigration from Ireland has been the result of conflict, famine and economic issues. People of Irish descent are found mainly in English-speaking countries, especially Great Britain , the United States , Canada , New Zealand and Australia . There are also significant numbers in Argentina , Mexico , Brazil , Germany , and The United Arab Emirates . The United States has
12934-755: The MacGrath . Irish physicians, such as the O'Briens in Munster or the MacCailim Mor in the Western Isles , were renowned in the courts of England, Spain, Portugal and the Low Countries. Learning was not exclusive to the hereditary learned families, however; one such example is Cathal Mac Manus , the 15th century diocesan priest who wrote the Annals of Ulster . Other learned families included
13157-410: The Mic Aodhagáin and Clann Fhir Bhisigh . It was this latter family which produced Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh , the 17th century genealogist and compiler of the Leabhar na nGenealach . (see also Irish medical families ). The 16th century Age of exploration brought an interest among the English to colonize Ireland with the reign of the Tudors. King Henry IV established surrender and regrants to
13380-655: The Norse-Gaels . Anglo-Normans also conquered parts of Ireland in the 12th century, while England 's 16th/17th century conquest and colonisation of Ireland brought many English and Lowland Scots to parts of the island, especially the north. Today, Ireland is made up of the Republic of Ireland (officially called Ireland ) and Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom ). The people of Northern Ireland hold various national identities including Irish, British or some combination thereof. The Irish have their own unique customs, language , music , dance , sports , cuisine and mythology . Although Irish (Gaeilge)
13603-717: The Penal laws . A knowledge of Latin was common among the poor Irish mountaineers in the 17th century, who spoke it on special occasions, while cattle were bought and sold in Greek in the mountain market-places of County Kerry . For a comparatively small population of about 6 million people, Ireland made an enormous contribution to literature. Irish literature encompasses the Irish and English languages. Notable Irish writers , playwrights and poets include Jonathan Swift , Laurence Sterne , Oscar Wilde , Oliver Goldsmith , James Joyce , George Bernard Shaw , Samuel Beckett , Bram Stoker , W.B. Yeats , Séamus Heaney and Brendan Behan . Known as An Górta Mór ("The Great Hurt") in
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#173277614079413826-416: The Pennington Road and General Sullivan traveling south on the river's edge. Washington ordered a 60-mile search for Durham boats to transport his army, and the destruction of vessels that could be used by the British. He personally risked capture while staking out the Jersey shoreline alone leading up to the crossing. Washington crossed the Delaware on Christmas night, 1776. His men followed across
14049-438: The Troubles in Northern Ireland , and NORAID set up a chapter in the city to raise funds for the families of dead or imprisoned Provisional Irish Republican Army members. IRA supporters in the U.S. tended to be politically far to the right of the IRA members themselves. In the early 1970s Bernadette Devlin offended IRA supporters in Boston when she said she felt more comfortable with black people in Roxbury than she did with
14272-437: The Virginia militia inspired George to seek a commission. Virginia's lieutenant governor, Robert Dinwiddie , appointed Washington as a major and commander of one of the four militia districts. The British and French were competing for control of the Ohio Valley : the British were constructing forts along the Ohio River, and the French between the Ohio River and Lake Erie . In October 1753, Dinwiddie appointed Washington as
14495-399: The West Country Men , were active in Ireland at around this time. The Enterprise of Ulster which pitted Shane O'Neill (Irish chieftain) against Queen Elizabeth I was a total failure This was followed by the somewhat successful first British-English colony the Munster planations which had a population of 4,000 in 1580 and in the 1620s may have grown to 16,000 After the defeat of
14718-445: The coffin ships that had brought them. To contain the health risk, a quarantine hospital and almshouse were built on Deer Island , where hundreds of immigrants died and were buried in unmarked graves. To make matters worse, a cholera epidemic swept through Boston in 1849. The North End poor, living in crowded, unsanitary conditions on the waterfront, were the hardest hit; over 500 Irish were killed. Boston health inspectors described
14941-402: The sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic archdiocese of Boston . The Boston Globe 's coverage of a series of criminal prosecutions of five local priests drew national attention to the issue of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy and subsequent cover-ups by the church hierarchy. The Globe investigation was dramatized in Tom McCarthy 's film Spotlight in 2015. The Pilot , founded in 1829,
15164-572: The 1760s. Washington imported luxuries and other goods from England, paying for them by exporting tobacco. His profligate spending combined with low tobacco prices left him £1,800 in debt by 1764, prompting him to diversify his holdings. Washington's complete reliance on London tobacco buyer and merchant Robert Cary caused alarm for his own economic security. In 1765, because of erosion and other soil problems, he changed Mount Vernon's primary cash crop from tobacco to wheat and expanded operations to include corn flour milling and fishing. Washington soon
15387-446: The 18,000-acre (7,300 ha) Custis estate , and he managed the remaining two-thirds for Martha's children; the estate also included 84 slaves. As a result, he became one of the wealthiest men in Virginia, which increased his social standing. At Washington's urging, Governor Lord Botetourt fulfilled Dinwiddie's 1754 promise of land bounties to all-volunteer militia during the French and Indian War. In late 1770, Washington inspected
15610-897: The 2016 US election. In the Democratic primaries, Boston's Irish were said to break strongly for Hillary Clinton , whose victories in Irish-heavy Boston suburbs may have helped her narrowly carry the state over Bernie Sanders . A 2016 March survey by Irish Central showed that 45% of Irish Americans nationwide supported Trump, although the majority of those in Massachusetts supported Hillary Clinton. The presence of supporters of Trump among Irish and Italian communities which had once themselves been marginalized immigrants generated controversy, with Irish American and Italian American politicians and journalists admonishing their co-ethnics against "myopia" and "amnesia". An October poll by Buzzfeed showed that Irish respondents nationwide split nearly evenly between Trump (40%) and Clinton (39%), with large numbers either undecided or supporting other candidates (21%), and that
15833-408: The 27-year-old widow of wealthy plantation owner Daniel Parke Custis . The marriage took place at Martha's estate; she was intelligent, gracious, and experienced in managing a planter's estate, and the couple had a happy marriage. They moved to Mount Vernon, near Alexandria , where he lived as a planter of tobacco and wheat, and he emerged as a political figure. Washington's 1751 bout with smallpox
16056-661: The 300-strong Virginia Regiment , with orders to confront French forces at the Forks of the Ohio . Washington set out with half the regiment in April and soon learned a French force of 1,000 had begun construction of Fort Duquesne there. In May, having set up a defensive position at Great Meadows, he learned that the French had made camp seven miles (11 km) away; he decided to take the offensive. The French detachment proved to be only about 50 men, so Washington advanced on May 28 with
16279-506: The 35th president of the United States. Fitzgerald was succeeded as mayor by another charismatic Irish American, James Michael Curley . Fatherless at the age of ten, Curley left school to help support his family while his mother scrubbed floors in downtown office buildings. He had a natural flair for public speaking, which he deliberately honed, studying the speeches of famous orators in the Boston Public Library . By 1900 he
16502-634: The Acts were mostly repealed in 1770. Parliament sought to punish Massachusetts colonists for their role in the Boston Tea Party in 1774 by passing the Coercive Acts , which Washington saw as "an invasion of our rights and privileges". He said Americans must not submit to acts of tyranny since "custom and use shall make us as tame and abject slaves, as the blacks we rule over with such arbitrary sway". That July, he and George Mason drafted
16725-470: The Black Rose on State Street, regularly feature live Irish music. Boston hosted the 43rd World Irish Dancing Championships in 2013. Edwin O'Connor 's best-selling 1956 novel, The Last Hurrah , is set in an unnamed city, widely assumed to be Boston; its main character, Frank Skeffington, is likely based on James Michael Curley. A film adaptation , directed by John Ford and starring Spencer Tracy ,
16948-449: The Boston area had to convert or hide their identity, since Catholicism was outlawed. Other Irish immigrants may have come to Boston involuntarily, after being kidnapped by pirates. The Boston News-Letter announced an auction of Irish boys in 1730, and women convicts deported from Belfast were sold in Boston in 1749. Conflation of such immigrants, indentures, and convicts has given rise to the Irish slaves myth . On March 17, 1737, after
17171-529: The British demand to vacate to the French commander Saint-Pierre , but the French refused to leave. Saint-Pierre gave Washington his official answer after a few days' delay, as well as food and winter clothing for his party's journey back to Virginia. Washington completed the precarious mission in 77 days, in difficult winter conditions, achieving a measure of distinction when his report was published in Virginia and London. In February 1754, Dinwiddie promoted Washington to lieutenant colonel and second-in-command of
17394-456: The British in New York. Washington had disregarded incidents of disloyalty by Benedict Arnold , who had distinguished himself in many campaigns, including his invasion of Quebec and the Battle of Saratoga . In 1780, Arnold began supplying British spymaster John André with sensitive information intended to compromise Washington and capture West Point , a key American defensive position on
17617-602: The British strategy of showing overwhelming force followed by offering generous terms, changing the course of the war. In February 1777, word of the American victories reached London, and the British realized the Patriots were in a position to demand unconditional independence. In July 1777, British General John Burgoyne led the Saratoga campaign south from Quebec through Lake Champlain and recaptured Fort Ticonderoga intending to divide New England , including control of
17840-579: The British when Mercer was mortally wounded. Washington arrived and led the men in a counterattack which advanced to within 30 yards (27 m) of the British line. Some British troops retreated after a brief stand, while others took refuge in Nassau Hall , which became the target of Colonel Alexander Hamilton 's cannons. Washington's troops charged, the British surrendered in less than an hour, and 194 soldiers laid down their arms. Howe retreated to New York City where his army remained inactive until early
18063-638: The Catholic priesthood was John Thayer , a Boston-born Congregationalist minister who converted to Catholicism in 1783. Thayer started the first Catholic congregation in Boston in 1790, ministering to French and Irish immigrants; eventually he moved to Limerick, Ireland , where he lived the rest of his life. The first church built in Boston for Catholics was the Holy Cross Church on Franklin Street, designed by Charles Bulfinch and built in 1803; it
18286-653: The Ciannachta, Eóganachta, and possibly the Soghain, a deified ancestor. This practice is paralleled by the Anglo-Saxon dynasties. One legend states that the Irish were descended from the Milesians , who supposedly conquered Ireland around 1000 BC or later. Haplogroup R1b is the dominant haplogroup among Irish males, reaching a frequency of almost 80%. R-L21 is the dominant subclade within Ireland, reaching
18509-830: The Colonies without proper representation , he and other colonists were also angered by the Royal Proclamation of 1763 which banned American settlement west of the Allegheny Mountains and protected the British fur trade . Washington believed the Stamp Act 1765 was an "Act of Oppression" and celebrated its repeal the following year. In March 1766, Parliament passed the Declaratory Act asserting that Parliamentary law superseded colonial law. In
18732-868: The Congress. The American Revolutionary War broke out on April 19, 1775, with the Battles of Lexington and Concord and the Siege of Boston . Upon hearing the news, Washington was "sobered and dismayed", and he hastily departed Mount Vernon on May 4, 1775, to join the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia . On June 14, 1775, Congress created the Continental Army and John Adams nominated Washington as its commander-in-chief , mainly because of his military experience and
18955-678: The Deep-minded , and a Gaelic slave brought to Iceland. The arrival of the Anglo-Normans brought also the Welsh , Flemish , Anglo-Saxons , and Bretons . Most of these were assimilated into Irish culture and polity by the 15th century, with the exception of some of the walled towns and the Pale areas. The Late Middle Ages also saw the settlement of Scottish gallowglass families of mixed Gaelic-Norse and Pict descent, mainly in
19178-596: The Fianna and the Fenian Cycle were purely fictional, they would still be representative of the character of the Irish people: ...such beautiful fictions of such beautiful ideals, by themselves, presume and prove beautiful-souled people, capable of appreciating lofty ideals. The introduction of Christianity to the Irish people during the 5th century brought a radical change to the Irish people's foreign relations. The only military raid abroad recorded after that century
19401-662: The Floor! The Story of Irish Music in Boston (2015), produced by Newstalk . Rugby is popular with the Irish community in Boston. The Boston Irish Wolfhounds , a rugby union team, was founded in 1989, and the Boston Thirteens , a semi-professional rugby league football team, was founded in 2009. Boston also takes part in hurling and Gaelic football competitions organized by the Gaelic Athletic Association . In other sports, Irish Bostonians in
19624-481: The Forbes Expedition, he won the election with roughly 40 percent of the vote, defeating three opponents with the help of local supporters. Early in his legislative career, Washington rarely spoke or even attended legislative sessions. He would later become a prominent critic of Britain's taxation policy and mercantilist policies towards the American colonies and became more politically active starting in
19847-606: The French. Washington was nicknamed Conotocaurius by Tanacharison. The name, meaning "devourer of villages", had been given to his great-grandfather John Washington in the late 17th century by the Susquehannock . Washington's party reached the Ohio River in November 1753, and was intercepted by a French patrol. The party was escorted to Fort Le Boeuf , where Washington was received in a friendly manner. He delivered
20070-716: The Irish Cultural Centre help to maintain a connection with Ireland. In 2013, Boston elected a first-generation Irish-American mayor, Marty Walsh . The vast majority of the Irish immigrants who arrived in Boston in the 19th century were Roman Catholic. The Catholic Church with its tradition of pastoral care played an especially important role in the lives of the poor. While Protestant and secular charitable organizations offered various forms of assistance, they often discriminated or proselytized . To avoid this, Catholics built orphanages (the St. Vincent Female Orphan Asylum and
20293-537: The Irish and other Celtic populations (Welsh, Highland Scots and Cornish) and showing a possible link to the Bretons ; and a 'West Norwegian' component related to the Viking era. As of 2016, 10,100 Irish nationals of African descent referred to themselves as "Black Irish" in the national census. The term "Black Irish" is sometimes used outside Ireland to refer to Irish people with black hair and dark eyes. One theory
20516-583: The Irish and the Basques was first challenged in 2005, and in 2007 scientists began looking at the possibility of a more recent Mesolithic- or even Neolithic-era entrance of R1b into Europe. A new study published in 2010 by Balaresque et al. implies either a Mesolithic- or Neolithic- (not Paleolithic-) era entrance of R1b into Europe. Unlike previous studies, large sections of autosomal DNA were analyzed in addition to paternal Y-DNA markers. They detected an autosomal component present in modern Europeans which
20739-673: The Irish came to be seen as a nation of "saints and scholars". The 6th-century Irish monk and missionary Columbanus is regarded as one of the "fathers of Europe", followed by saints Cillian and Fergal . The scientist Robert Boyle is considered the "father of chemistry ", and Robert Mallet one of the "fathers of seismology ". Irish literature has produced famous writers in both Irish- and English-language traditions, such as Eoghan Rua Ó Súilleabháin , Dáibhí Ó Bruadair , Jonathan Swift , Oscar Wilde , W. B. Yeats , Samuel Beckett , James Joyce , Máirtín Ó Cadhain , Eavan Boland , and Seamus Heaney . Notable Irish explorers include Brendan
20962-639: The Irish climb out of poverty. Early in Lomasney's career, he and his brother Joseph founded the Hendricks Club. The Hendricks began as a social club and gathering place, but later turned into the center of Lomasney's political machine . It was from here that he began to provide social services, charity, and shelter for poor immigrants. In return, he was able to drum up votes and support for candidates of his choosing. Partly through his influence, Boston elected its first Irish mayor, Hugh O'Brien , in 1884. As Irish Americans began to gain political power, there
21185-505: The Irish had proved their loyalty by fighting in the American Revolutionary War , they were more welcome in Boston and better able to assimilate—provided, of course, that they were Protestants. According to historian Michael J. O'Brien, hundreds of Irish Americans fought in the Battle of Bunker Hill despite being Protestant analysis of their names in the records shows them to have bore Irish surnames derived from
21408-618: The Irish in South Boston. Boston's Irish Catholics tended to be socially conservative , with little interest in the civil rights , opposition to the Vietnam War , and feminist movements . In the 1970s, many of Boston's remaining working class Irish residents became embroiled in the busing controversy . To combat the de facto segregation of Boston's public schools, federal judge W. Arthur Garrity Jr. ruled that students must be bused between predominantly white and black areas of
21631-513: The Irish in Ulster in the Nine Years' War (Ireland) ; which was not exclusively confined to Ulster. The English would try again to colonize Ireland fearing another rebellion in Ulster, using previous colonial Irish endeavours as their influence. King James would succeed Queen Elizabeth the I, because King James I was previously King James VI of Scotland, he would plant both English and Scottish in
21854-448: The Irish language One son of Irish immigrants, John Sullivan , served under George Washington and became a brigadier general. According to local legend, Sullivan used "Saint Patrick" as the official password when he led Colonial troops into town following the British evacuation of Boston in 1776. Boston still celebrates the event each year on Evacuation Day , which coincides with Saint Patrick's Day . Sullivan's brother, James Sullivan ,
22077-458: The Irish language, during the famine millions of Irish people died and emigrated during Ireland's largest famine. The famine lasted from 1845 - 1849, and it was worst in the year 1847, which became known as Black '47. The famine occurred due to the extremely impoverished Irish population's staple food the potato being infected with Blight , and the British administration appropriating all other crops and livestock to feed her armies abroad. This meant
22300-558: The Irish often clashed with Italians , despite the fact that the vast majority of both groups shared a common religion and political party. Thousands of Irish immigrants who had settled in Boston's North End in the 19th century, displacing the Yankee residents, were crowded out by Italians in the early 20th century. The two groups were in competition for jobs as well as housing, and there were cultural differences, including different styles of Catholic worship, that caused additional friction. For
22523-423: The Irish shows that there is fine-scale population structure between different regional populations of the island, with the largest difference between native 'Gaelic' Irish populations and those of Ulster Protestants known to have recent, partial British ancestry. They were also found to have most similarity to two main ancestral sources: a 'French' component (mostly northwestern French) which reached highest levels in
22746-648: The Irish took political control of the city, leaving the Yankees in charge of finance, business, and higher education. The Irish left their mark on the region in a number of ways: in still heavily Irish neighborhoods such as Charlestown and South Boston ; in the name of the local basketball team, the Boston Celtics ; in the iconic Irish-American political family, the Kennedys ; in a large number of prominent local politicians, such as James Michael Curley ; and in
22969-478: The Irish were more supportive of Clinton than other West European-descended Americans including fellow Catholic Italian Americans . In early November 2016, six days before the election, another poll by IrishCentral showed Clinton ahead at 52% among Irish Americans, while Trump was at 40% and the third-party candidates together had 8%; Irish respondents in Massachusetts similarly favored Clinton by majority. In
23192-486: The Irish, but it was not until the Catholic queen Mary I of England who started the first plantations in Ireland in 1550, this would become the model for English colonization moving forward in Ireland and would later form the British imperial model The 1550 plantation counties were known as Philipstown (now Daingean) and Maryborough (now Portlaoise) named by the English planters at the time. A group of explorers, known as
23415-419: The Irish. Boston's politics changed after the war. New Deal legislation and federal programs such as the G.I. Bill made the local patronage system obsolete. Mayor John Hynes got along better with business leaders than Curley had, while Cardinal Cushing reached out to other religious communities. The election of president John F. Kennedy was a source of great pride to Boston's Irish Americans, and marked
23638-655: The Iroquois by half. They became unable to survive the harsh winter of 1779–1780; some historians now describe the campaign as a genocide. Washington's troops went into quarters at Morristown, New Jersey for their worst winter of the war, with temperatures well below freezing. New York Harbor was frozen, snow covered the ground for weeks, and the troops again lacked provisions. In January 1780, Clinton assembled 12,500 troops and attacked Charles Town, South Carolina , defeating General Benjamin Lincoln . By June, they occupied
23861-410: The Iroquois out of New York by effecting "the total destruction and devastation" of their villages and taking their women and children hostage. The expedition systematically destroyed Iroquois villages and food stocks, and forced at least 5,036 Iroquois to flee to British Canada. The campaign directly killed a few hundred Iroquois, but according to historian Rhiannon Koehler, the net effect was to reduce
24084-808: The Native American Party and later the American Party. The Know Nothings gained a large following in Boston with their program of "Temperance, Liberty, and Protestantism". In 1847 they held a mass rally in the crowded Irish neighborhood of Fort Hill; residents, forewarned by the clergy and urged to keep the peace, stayed indoors that day. In 1854 the Know Nothings took control of the Massachusetts legislature . Among other things, they passed laws barring Catholics from being buried in public cemeteries, denying church officials any control over church property, and requiring children to read from
24307-475: The Navigator , Sir Robert McClure , Sir Alexander Armstrong , Sir Ernest Shackleton and Tom Crean . By some accounts, the first European child born in North America had Irish descent on both sides. Many presidents of the United States have had some Irish ancestry. The population of Ireland is about 6.9 million, but it is estimated that 50 to 80 million people around the world have Irish forebears, making
24530-539: The North End, and P. J. Kennedy in East Boston . Though often depicted as ruthless and corrupt, ward bosses provided much-needed aid to their neighbors. As Lomasney put it, "The great mass of people are interested in only three things—food, clothing, and shelter. A politician in a district like mine sees to it that his people get these things." This approach to politics, known as the patronage system , helped
24753-809: The Protestant Bible (the King James Version ) in public schools. They formed a Nunnery Committee that raided Catholic schools and convents on trumped-up pretexts. The Boston Police Department 's first Irish officer, Bernard "Barney" McGinniskin , was fired that year without cause, and on Independence Day, the newly constructed St. Gregory's Church in Dorchester was burned to the ground by Know Nothing rioters. In Boston's public schools, Catholic children were required to say Protestant prayers and sing Protestant hymns, and their history books were written from an anti-Catholic point of view. In 1859,
24976-685: The Romans never attempted to conquer Ireland, although it may have been considered. The Irish were not, however, cut off from Europe; they frequently raided the Roman territories, and also maintained trade links. Among the most famous people of ancient Irish history are the High Kings of Ireland , such as Cormac mac Airt and Niall of the Nine Hostages , and the semi-legendary Fianna . The 20th-century writer Seumas MacManus wrote that even if
25199-1014: The South Carolina Piedmont . Clinton returned to New York and left 8,000 troops under the command of General Charles Cornwallis . Congress replaced Lincoln with Horatio Gates; after his defeat in the Battle of Camden , Gates was replaced by Nathanael Greene, Washington's initial choice, but the British had firm control of the South. Washington was reinvigorated, however, when Lafayette returned from France with more ships, men, and supplies, and 5,000 veteran French troops led by Marshal Rochambeau arrived at Newport, Rhode Island in July 1780. French naval forces then landed, led by Admiral de Grasse . Washington's army went into winter quarters at New Windsor, New York in December 1780; he urged Congress and state officials to expedite provisions so
25422-706: The United States. He resigned his commission in 1783 after the conclusion of the Revolutionary War. Washington played an indispensable role in the drafting of the Constitution, which replaced the Articles of Confederation in 1789. He was then twice elected president unanimously by the Electoral College in 1788 and 1792. As the first U.S. president, Washington implemented a strong, well-financed national government while remaining impartial in
25645-576: The Valley and owned 2,315 acres (937 ha). In 1751, Washington left mainland North America for the first and only time, when he accompanied Lawrence to Barbados , hoping the climate would cure his brother's tuberculosis. Washington contracted smallpox during that trip, which left his face slightly scarred. Lawrence died in 1752, and Washington leased Mount Vernon from his widow Anne; he inherited it outright after her death in 1761. Throughout his life Washington generally had good physical health and
25868-615: The Virginia Regiment in 1755. He was later elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses and was named a delegate to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, which appointed him commander-in-chief of the Continental Army . Washington led American forces to a decisive victory over the British in the Revolutionary War , leading the British to sign the Treaty of Paris , which acknowledged the sovereignty and independence of
26091-484: The advice of Generals Greene and Putnam to defend Fort Washington . They were unable to hold it; Washington abandoned the fort and ordered his army north to the White Plains . Howe's pursuit forced Washington to retreat across the Hudson River to Fort Lee to avoid encirclement. Howe landed his troops on Manhattan in November and captured Fort Washington , inflicting high casualties on the Americans. Washington
26314-570: The army would not "continue to struggle under the same difficulties they have hitherto endured". On March 1, 1781, Congress ratified the Articles of Confederation , but the government that took effect on March 2 did not have the power to levy taxes, and it loosely held the states together. General Clinton sent Benedict Arnold, now a British Brigadier General with 1,700 troops, to Virginia to capture Portsmouth and conduct raids on Patriot forces; Washington responded by sending Lafayette south to counter Arnold's efforts. Washington initially hoped to bring
26537-450: The army's supply lines by reorganizing the commissary department. By late February, supplies began arriving. Meanwhile, Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben 's incessant drilling transformed Washington's recruits into a disciplined fighting force by the end of winter camp. For his services, Washington promoted Von Steuben to Major General and made him chief of staff. In early 1778, the French responded to Burgoyne's defeat and entered into
26760-490: The belief that a Virginian would better unite the colonies. He was unanimously elected by Congress the next day. Washington appeared before Congress in uniform and gave an acceptance speech on June 16, declining a salary, though he was later reimbursed expenses. Washington was commissioned on June 19 and officially appointed by Congress as "General & Commander in chief of the army of the United Colonies and of all
26983-555: The business district behind Faneuil Hall , built townhouses on Beacon Hill , cleared land for North Station , and filled in the South End ; others worked on the waterfront as fish cutters and stevedores. A notable exception was Andrew Carney . Born into poverty in County Cavan , Ireland, he trained as a tailor's apprentice, then moved to Boston in 1816 and opened a successful tailoring business. Carney & Sleeper, Clothier,
27206-530: The chaos and tightened his grip on South Boston. Irish American public figures were prominent on both sides of the issue, and surveys during the 1960s and 1970s found Irish Americans divided on the issue. Although many Irish Americans opposed busing, as a group they were more sympathetic to the aims of the civil rights movement than most other white ethnic groups in the country. In 1992, the Irish-American Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Group of Boston (GLIB)
27429-457: The city was evacuated by the British in late November 1783. Early in 1775, in response to the growing rebellious movement, London sent British troops to occupy Boston , led by General Thomas Gage , commander of British forces in America. They set up fortifications, making the city impervious to attack. Local militias surrounded the city and effectively trapped the British troops, resulting in
27652-431: The city. South Boston High School was the site of many of the most vocal and violent protests. Senator Ted Kennedy supported Garrity's ruling, while Ray Flynn , then serving on the state legislature representing South Boston, opposed it. The plan ultimately led to an increase in the dropout rate and a wave of white flight to the suburbs and private schools. Meanwhile, local crime boss Whitey Bulger took advantage of
27875-572: The combined forces of the Continental Army commanded by Washington, the French Army commanded by General Comte de Rochambeau, and the French Navy commanded by Admiral de Grasse. On August 19, the march to Yorktown led by Washington and Rochambeau began, which is known now as the " celebrated march ". Washington was in command of an army of 7,800 Frenchmen, 3,100 militia, and 8,000 Continentals. Inexperienced in siege warfare, he often deferred to
28098-513: The commanders positioned under Arnold at key points around the fort to prevent any complicity. He assumed personal command at West Point and reorganized its defenses. André's trial for espionage ended in a death sentence, and Washington offered to return him to the British in exchange for Arnold, but Clinton refused. André was hanged on October 2, 1780, despite his request for a firing squad, to deter other spies. In late 1778, General Clinton shipped 3,000 troops from New York to Georgia and launched
28321-540: The construction of fortifications to thwart the expected British attack. He also ordered his occupying forces to treat civilians and their property with respect, to avoid the abuses Bostonians suffered at the hands of British troops. Howe transported his resupplied army, with the British fleet, from Halifax to New York City . George Germain , who ran the British war effort in England, believed it could be won with one "decisive blow". The British forces, including more than
28544-535: The conversion of the Irish to Christianity, Irish secular laws and social institutions remained in place. The 'traditional' view is that, in the 4th or 5th century, Goidelic language and Gaelic culture was brought to Scotland by settlers from Ireland, who founded the Gaelic kingdom of Dál Riata on Scotland's west coast. This is based mostly on medieval writings from the 9th and 10th centuries. The archaeologist Ewan Campbell argues against this view, saying that there
28767-418: The crew list of 1492, no Irish or English sailors were involved in the voyage. An English report of 1515 states that the Irish people were divided into over sixty Gaelic lordships and thirty Anglo-Irish lordships. The English term for these lordships was "nation" or "country". The Irish term " oireacht " referred to both the territory and the people ruled by the lord. Literally, it meant an "assembly", where
28990-673: The crop failed and turned black. Starving people who tried to eat them would only vomit it back up soon afterwards. Soup kitchens were set up but made little difference. The British government produced little aid, only sending raw corn known as 'Peel's Brimstone' to Ireland. It was known by this name after the British Prime Minister at the time, Robert Peel , and the fact that many Irish weren't aware of how to cook corn. This led to little or no improvement. The British government set up workhouses which were disease-ridden (with cholera, TB and others) but they also failed as little food
29213-630: The cultural unity of Europe", and it was the 6th-century Irish monk Columbanus who is regarded as "one of the fathers of Europe". Another Irish saint, Aidan of Lindisfarne , has been proposed as a possible patron saint of the United Kingdom, while Saints Kilian and Vergilius became the patron saints of Würzburg in Germany and Salzburg in Austria, respectively. Irish missionaries founded monasteries outside Ireland, such as Iona Abbey ,
29436-470: The current Constitution of the United States . Washington has thus become commonly known as the " Father of his Country ". Washington's first public office, from 1749 to 1750, was as surveyor of Culpeper County in the Colony of Virginia . In 1752, he received military training and was granted the rank of major in the Virginia Regiment . During the French and Indian War , Washington was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1754 and subsequently became head of
29659-475: The defeat of the Irish rebels would also plant New English in Ireland, known as the Protestant ascendency. There have been notable Irish scientists. The Anglo-Irish scientist Robert Boyle (1627–1691) is considered the father of chemistry for his book The Sceptical Chymist , written in 1661. Boyle was an atomist , and is best known for Boyle's Law . The hydrographer Rear Admiral Francis Beaufort (1774–1857), an Irish naval officer of Huguenot descent,
29882-414: The early 20th century founded the Royal Rooters , a Boston Red Sox fan club which evolved into Red Sox Nation ; and "Lucky the Leprechaun", mascot of the Boston Celtics , is a nod to Boston's historically large Irish population. Irish immigrants to the U.S. in the 19th century faced a combination of anti-immigrant, anti-Catholic, and specifically anti-Irish bigotry which were closely intertwined. This
30105-433: The emergency alarm, summoning all of the fire engines in Boston. Local Yankee and Irish Americans came running to join the fight, bearing sticks, stones, bricks, and cudgels . Some 800 men were involved in the actual fighting and at least 10,000 gathered in the street to cheer them on. The riot ended when the mayor called in the National Lancers and the state militia. Remarkably, no one was killed. Three Irishmen, and none of
30328-431: The end of the century, the city's core neighborhoods had become enclaves of ethnically distinct immigrants; the Irish dominated South Boston and Charlestown . In the early 20th century, Boston's Irish Americans were successful in Democratic Party politics and the labor movement , yet were relatively slow to break into business and the professions . This was only partly due to discrimination against them, although that
30551-436: The engagement, he had two horses shot from under him, and his hat and coat were bullet-pierced. His conduct under fire redeemed his reputation among critics of his command in the Battle of Fort Necessity, but he was not included by the succeeding commander (Colonel Thomas Dunbar) in planning subsequent operations. The Virginia Regiment was reconstituted in August 1755, and Dinwiddie appointed Washington its commander, again with
30774-455: The establishment of Catholic Boston College . The Catholic Irish have been in Boston since colonial times, when they arrived as indentured servants , mostly women and children, as opposed to those of Scots-Irish Protestant ancestry who were merchants, sailors, or tradesmen. According to historian James Cullen, a large number of Irish immigrants arrived as early as 1654, on the ship Goodfellow, and were "sold" into indentured servitude "to such of
30997-618: The families who bear them appear to have had Gaelic origins. "Fitz" is an old Norman French variant of the Old French word fils (variant spellings filz , fiuz , fiz , etc.), used by the Normans, meaning son . The Normans themselves were descendants of Vikings , who had settled in Normandy and thoroughly adopted the French language and culture. With the exception of the Gaelic-Irish Fitzpatrick ( Mac Giolla Phádraig ) surname, all names that begin with Fitz – including FitzGerald (Mac Gearailt), Fitzsimons (Mac Síomóin/Mac an Ridire) and FitzHenry (Mac Anraí) – are descended from
31220-457: The famine. The Great Famine is one of the biggest events in Irish history and is ingrained in the identity on the nation to this day. It was a major factor in Irish nationalism and Ireland's fight for independence during subsequent rebellions, as many Irish people felt a stronger need to regain independence from British rule after the famine. George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732 – December 14 , 1799)
31443-419: The fight to New York, drawing off British forces from Virginia and ending the war there, but Rochambeau advised him that Cornwallis in Virginia was the better target. De Grasse's fleet arrived off the Virginia coast, cutting off British retreat. Seeing the advantage, Washington made a feint towards Clinton in New York, then headed south to Virginia. The siege of Yorktown in October 1781 was a decisive victory by
31666-496: The firemen, received jail sentences. The incident became known as the Broad Street Riot . The Port of Boston was a major center of immigration during the Great Irish Famine (1845–1852). By 1850, the Irish were the largest ethnic group in Boston. Most of the immigrants during this period were poor, unskilled laborers from rural backgrounds who settled in the slums of the North End , the South Cove , and Fort Hill . Many were not only destitute but weakened by typhus contracted on
31889-489: The following month with news that he had been promoted to command of the regiment and colonel upon the regimental commander's death. The regiment was reinforced by an independent company of a hundred South Carolinians led by Captain James Mackay ; his royal commission outranked Washington's and a conflict of command ensued. On July 3, a French force attacked with 900 men, and the ensuing battle ended in Washington's surrender. Washington did not speak French, however, he signed
32112-434: The forces raised or to be raised by them". He was instructed to take charge of the Siege of Boston on June 22, 1775. Congress chose his primary staff officers, including Major General Artemas Ward , Adjutant General Horatio Gates , Major General Charles Lee , Major General Philip Schuyler , and Major General Nathanael Greene . Henry Knox , a young bookkeeper, impressed Adams and Washington with ordnance knowledge and
32335-420: The formal education his elder half-brothers received at Appleby Grammar School in England, but he did attend the Lower Church School in Hartfield . He learned mathematics, including trigonometry , and land surveying , and became a talented draftsman and mapmaker . By early adulthood, he was writing with "considerable force" and "precision". As a teenager, to practice his penmanship, Washington compiled over
32558-415: The founding of many of Ireland's most important towns, including Cork , Dublin, Limerick , and Waterford (earlier Gaelic settlements on these sites did not approach the urban nature of the subsequent Norse trading ports). The Vikings left little impact on Ireland other than towns and certain words added to the Irish language, but many Irish taken as slaves inter-married with the Scandinavians, hence forming
32781-434: The founding, in 1870, of the Union Institution for Savings, which provided loans to Catholics who were turned away by other banks. Other successful Irish businessmen included Christopher Blake, who started a large furniture factory in Dorchester ; Patrick Maguire, founder of The Republic , a weekly political journal; and Dennis Hern, founder of a telegram service that employed 400 messengers. The Boston Irish Famine Memorial
33004-403: The garrison. While returning to British lines, André was captured by militia who discovered the plans; upon hearing the news of André's capture on September 24, while waiting to greet and have breakfast with Washington, Arnold immediately fled to HMS Vulture , the ship that had brought André to West Point, and escaped to New York. Upon being told about Arnold's treason, Washington recalled
33227-403: The genre. Documentaries include The Greening of Southie (2008), a film about the development of the Macallen Building, Boston's first green (Gold LEED certified) residence; The Irish in America (1998), a PBS special which includes a segment on Boston; Hungering for A New Life: The Potato Famine and the Irish Immigration to Boston (2014), a two-part special produced by WGBH-TV ; and Clear
33450-400: The goddess Ériu . A variety of tribal groups and dynasties have inhabited the island, including the Airgialla , Fir Ol nEchmacht , Delbhna , the mythical Fir Bolg , Érainn , Eóganachta , Mairtine , Conmaicne , Soghain , and Ulaid . In the cases of the Conmaicne, Delbhna, and perhaps Érainn, it can be demonstrated that the tribe took their name from their chief deity, or in the case of
33673-416: The grandson of") and Mac with Nic (reduced from Iníon Mhic – "daughter of the son of"); in both cases the following name undergoes lenition. However, if the second part of the surname begins with the letter C or G, it is not lenited after Nic. Thus the daughter of a man named Ó Maolagáin has the surname Ní Mhaolagáin and the daughter of a man named Mac Gearailt has the surname Nic Gearailt . When anglicised,
33896-403: The green-clad Montgomery Guards marched across town to their armory at Dock Square , hostile crowds pelted them with bottles and rocks, and thousands of rioters surrounded the armory, threatening to break down the doors. The company was forced to disband for public safety reasons. The Irish who arrived during the famine years were among the poorest and least welcome immigrants in Boston. In 1850,
34119-493: The highest levels of opposition to the legalization of marijuana, a typically socially conservative position. The Catholic Church no longer has as much influence as it once did over Irish Americans in Boston. Boston has not entirely lost its regional Irish identity: the city remains a popular destination for Irish immigrants, students, and businesses. South Boston still holds an annual St. Patrick's Day parade, Boston College offers an Irish Studies program, and organizations such as
34342-401: The hostility hurled at Irish immigrants was hurled at them as Catholics; "some of it was a new chapter in the old quarrels between England and Ireland." This makes it difficult in some cases to say which form of bias was most in evidence. In 1806, for example, two Irish Catholics from Boston, Dominic Daley and James Halligan , were convicted of murder on flimsy evidence and hanged; and while it
34565-538: The ice-obstructed river from McConkey's Ferry , with 40 men per vessel. The wind churned up the waters, and they were pelted with hail, but by 3:00 a.m. on December 26, they made it across with no losses. Knox was delayed, managing frightened horses and about 18 field guns on flat-bottomed ferries. Cadwalader and Ewing failed to cross due to the ice and heavy currents. Once Knox arrived, Washington proceeded to Trenton, rather than risk being spotted returning his army to Pennsylvania. The troops spotted Hessian positions
34788-446: The incident which ignited the French and Indian War , later to become part of the Seven Years' War . In 1755, Washington served voluntarily as an aide to General Edward Braddock , who led a British expedition to expel the French from Fort Duquesne and the Ohio Country . On Washington's recommendation, Braddock split the army into one main column and a lightly equipped "flying column". Suffering from severe dysentery , Washington
35011-416: The infantry regiment of the Boston Brigade. The Montgomery Guards were named for Richard Montgomery , an Irish-born general who served in the Continental Army ; their emblem depicted an American eagle alighting on an Irish harp . Their efforts had the blessing of city officials and the governor, and the local press applauded their public spirit. After the annual Fall Muster on Boston Common, however, when
35234-447: The influence of Irish music in Boston has continued. Accordionist Joe Derrane was inducted into the Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann Hall of Fame in 1998 for his contribution to Irish traditional music. A number of Celtic punk bands, such as Dropkick Murphys , originated in Boston. BCMFest, Boston's annual week-long Celtic Music Festival, features local musicians of Irish, Scottish, and other Celtic traditions, and many Boston pubs, such as
35457-490: The inhabitants as needed them." one of these Irish may have been Ann Glover Most of the early arrivals were Presbyterians from Ulster who came seeking relief from high rents, repressive taxes, and other pressures. Wary of Boston's Anglo-Saxon Puritans , who were hostile to the Irish, many moved to the outer fringes of the Bay Colony and founded towns such as Bangor and Belfast in Maine, and Londonderry and Derry in New Hampshire. The few Irish Catholics who settled in
35680-640: The initial Norman settlers. A small number of Irish families of Goidelic origin came to use a Norman form of their original surname—so that Mac Giolla Phádraig became Fitzpatrick—while some assimilated so well that the Irish name was dropped in favour of a new, Hiberno-Norman form. Another common Irish surname of Norman Irish origin is the 'de' habitational prefix, meaning 'of' and originally signifying prestige and land ownership. Examples include de Búrca (Burke), de Brún, de Barra (Barry), de Stac (Stack), de Tiúit, de Faoite (White), de Londras (Landers), de Paor (Power). The Irish surname "Walsh" (in Irish Breathnach )
35903-420: The island of Ireland , who share a common ancestry, history and culture . There have been humans in Ireland for about 33,000 years, and it has been continually inhabited for more than 10,000 years (see Prehistoric Ireland ). For most of Ireland's recorded history , the Irish have been primarily a Gaelic people (see Gaelic Ireland ). From the 9th century, small numbers of Vikings settled in Ireland, becoming
36126-490: The lands in the Ohio and Great Kanawha regions, and he engaged surveyor William Crawford to subdivide it. Crawford allotted 23,200 acres (9,400 ha) to Washington; Washington told the veterans that their land was hilly and unsuitable for farming, and he agreed to purchase 20,147 acres (8,153 ha), leaving some feeling they had been duped. He also doubled the size of Mount Vernon to 6,500 acres (2,600 ha) and, by 1775, had increased its slave population by more than
36349-450: The late 1760s, the interference of the British Crown in American lucrative western land speculation spurred the American Revolution. Washington was a prosperous land speculator, and in 1767, he encouraged "adventures" to acquire backcountry western lands. Washington helped lead widespread protests against the Townshend Acts passed by Parliament in 1767, and he introduced a proposal in May 1769 which urged Virginians to boycott British goods;
36572-524: The local Irish stayed with the Democratic party. This differs from other areas like metropolitan New York and Illinois where the Irish vote barely differs from the general white vote, and some heavily Irish small towns in Northern New England where it is quite Republican, but is similar to some other places like Gloucester, New Jersey and Butte, Montana which retain strongly liberal and Democratic-leaning Irish populations. The voting intentions of Irish Americans and other white ethnic groups attracted attention in
36795-487: The majority of Irish emigrants to Australia were in fact prisoners. A substantial proportion of these committed crimes in hopes of being extradited to Australia, favouring it to the persecution and hardships they endured in their homeland. Emigrants travelled on ' Coffin Ships' , which got their name from the often high mortality rates on board. Many died of disease or starved. Conditions on board were abysmal - tickets were expensive so stowaways were common, and little food stuff
37018-449: The matter of Dagworthy; Loudoun humiliated Washington, refused him a royal commission and agreed only to relieve him of the responsibility of manning Fort Cumberland. In 1758, the Virginia Regiment was assigned to the British Forbes Expedition to capture Fort Duquesne. Washington disagreed with General John Forbes' tactics and chosen route. Forbes nevertheless made Washington a brevet brigadier general and gave him command of one of
37241-494: The matter was dropped after much deliberation. Once the plot was exposed, Conway wrote an apology to Washington, resigned, and returned to France. Washington made repeated petitions to Congress for provisions. He received a congressional delegation to check the Army's conditions and expressed the urgency of the situation, proclaiming: "Something must be done. Important alterations must be made." He recommended that Congress expedite supplies, and Congress agreed to strengthen and fund
37464-429: The most people of Irish descent, while in Australia those of Irish descent are a higher percentage of the population than in any other country outside Ireland. Many Icelanders have Irish and Scottish Gaelic ancestors due to transportation there as slaves by the Vikings during their settlement of Iceland . During the past 33,000 years, Ireland has witnessed different peoples arrive on its shores. Pytheas made
37687-467: The name can remain O' or Mac, regardless of gender. There are a number of Irish surnames derived from Norse personal names, including Mac Suibhne (Sweeney) from Swein and McAuliffe from "Olaf". The name Cotter , local to County Cork , derives from the Norse personal name Ottir. The name Reynolds is an Anglicization of the Irish Mac Raghnaill, itself originating from the Norse names Randal or Reginald. Though these names were of Viking derivation some of
37910-429: The nation's capital at Philadelphia. A Patriot attack failed against the British at Germantown in October. In Upstate New York , the Patriots were led by General Horatio Gates . Concerned about Burgoyne's movements southward, Washington sent reinforcements north with Generals Benedict Arnold , his most aggressive field commander, and Benjamin Lincoln . On October 7, 1777, Burgoyne tried to take Bemis Heights but
38133-413: The neighborhoods with beaches and bathhouses, playgrounds and parks, public schools and libraries. Among the many local legends about Curley, perhaps the most telling is his ordering long-handled mops for the cleaning women at City Hall so they would not have to be on their knees. According to City Councilman Fred Langone , Curley was more popular with the newer immigrants, such as Italians and Jews, than he
38356-411: The next year. Washington took up winter headquarters in Jacob Arnold's Tavern in Morristown, New Jersey , while he received munition from the Hibernia mines . While in Morristown, Washington's troops disrupted British supply lines and expelled them from parts of New Jersey. During his stay in Morristown, Washington ordered the inoculation of Continental troops against smallpox. This went against
38579-455: The north; due to similarities of language and culture they too were assimilated. The Irish were among the first people in Europe to use surnames as we know them today. It is very common for people of Gaelic origin to have the English versions of their surnames beginning with 'Ó' or 'Mac' (Over time however many have been shortened to 'O' or Mc). 'O' comes from the Irish Ó which in turn came from Ua, which means " grandson ", or " descendant " of
38802-456: The northern war effort nor pure-and-simple dupes of the slavocracy, the Irish were capable both of ardent support and sacrifices for the Union cause and of vicious hatred for the "n*****s" and his/her abolitionist sympathizers." Many fought for the Union , including Colonel Thomas Cass , who commanded an Irish regiment, the Fighting Ninth ; and Patrick Robert Guiney , who fought in over thirty engagements. Sister Mary Anthony O'Connell served as
39025-553: The official 2016 election results, Irish-heavy Boston suburbs including on the South Shore witnessed swings to the left (Scituate: +19.5% D, Cohasset: +32.8% D, Milton: +26.6% D, etc.) even as the country as a whole moved right. This caused many of the most heavily Irish-descended communities in the country, such as Scituate , to flip from split or Republican-voting to Democrat-voting by significant margins (Scituate: +18% D, Hull: +21% D, Cohasset: +24% D, Milton: +41% D). Despite voting against Trump, many of these same communities had some of
39248-462: The original Neolithic farming population was most similar to present-day Sardinians , while the three Bronze Age remains had a large genetic component from the Pontic-Caspian steppe . Modern Irish are the population most genetically similar to the Bronze Age remains, followed by Scottish and Welsh, and share more DNA with the three Bronze Age men from Rathlin Island than with the earlier Ballynahatty Neolithic woman. A 2017 genetic study done on
39471-515: The plantations and went into decline. Among the last of the true bardic poets were Brian Mac Giolla Phádraig (c. 1580–1652) and Dáibhí Ó Bruadair (1625–1698). The Irish poets of the late 17th and 18th centuries moved toward more modern dialects. Among the most prominent of this period were Séamas Dall Mac Cuarta , Peadar Ó Doirnín , Art Mac Cumhaigh , Cathal Buí Mac Giolla Ghunna , and Seán Clárach Mac Domhnaill . Irish Catholics continued to receive an education in secret "hedgeschools", in spite of
39694-512: The plantations of Ulster drawing upon the Munster Plantations, this proved to be the most successful they were settled in what's mostly Now Northern Ireland. The Plantations of Ireland introduced Tudor English settlers to Ireland, while The Plantation of Ulster in the 17th century introduced a great number of Scottish and to a lesser extent English as well as French Huguenots as colonists. All previous endeavours were solely an English venture. The Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell (1653–1658) after
39917-492: The professionalism of the regiment as it grew from 300 to 1,000 men, and Virginia's frontier population suffered less than other colonies. Though he failed to realize a royal commission, he gained self-confidence, leadership skills, and knowledge of British military tactics. The destructive competition Washington witnessed among colonial politicians fostered his later support of a strong central government. On January 6, 1759, Washington, at age 26, married Martha Dandridge Custis ,
40140-493: The protection and benefit of the law upon which just cause they do desire it. Another English commentator records that the assemblies were attended by "all the scum of the country"—the labouring population as well as the landowners. While the distinction between "free" and "unfree" elements of the Irish people was unreal in legal terms, it was a social and economic reality. Social mobility was usually downwards, due to social and economic pressures. The ruling clan's "expansion from
40363-415: The pulpit against the "blasphemy" and "idolatry" of Roman Catholicism, and local newspapers fanned the flames by printing anti-Catholic propaganda, filled with wild conspiracy theories about the Jesuits . On July 11, 1837, a company of Yankee firemen returning from a call met with an Irish funeral procession on Broad Street. What started as a street brawl escalated into an all-out riot when a fireman sounded
40586-590: The rank of colonel. Washington clashed over seniority almost immediately, this time with John Dagworthy , another captain of superior royal rank, who commanded a detachment of Marylanders at the regiment's headquarters in Fort Cumberland . Washington, impatient for an offensive against Fort Duquesne, was convinced Braddock would have granted him a royal commission and pressed his case in February 1756 with Braddock's successor as Commander-in-Chief , William Shirley , and again in January 1757 with Shirley's successor, Lord Loudoun . Shirley ruled in Washington's favor only in
40809-713: The soldiers and imposing strict discipline. Washington ordered his officers to identify the skills of recruits to ensure military effectiveness, while removing incompetent officers. He petitioned Gage, his former superior, to release captured Patriot officers from prison and treat them humanely. In October 1775, King George III declared that the colonies were in open rebellion and relieved Gage of command for incompetence, replacing him with General William Howe . The Continental Army, reduced to only 9,600 men by January 1776 due to expiring short-term enlistments, had to be supplemented with militia. Soon, they were joined by Knox with heavy artillery captured from Fort Ticonderoga . When
41032-466: The territory of the neighbouring Picts merged to form the Kingdom of Alba , and Goidelic language and Gaelic culture became dominant there. The country came to be called Scotland , after the Roman name for the Gaels: Scoti . The Isle of Man and the Manx people also came under massive Gaelic influence in their history. Irish missionaries such as Saint Columba brought Christianity to Pictish Scotland . The Irishmen of this time were also "aware of
41255-443: The three brigades that would assault the fort. The French had abandoned the fort and the valley before the assault, however, and Washington only saw a friendly fire incident which left 14 dead and 26 injured. Frustrated, he resigned his commission soon afterwards and returned to Mount Vernon. Under Washington, the Virginia Regiment had defended 300 miles (480 km) of frontier against twenty Indian attacks in ten months. He increased
41478-421: The top downwards" was constantly displacing commoners and forcing them into the margins of society. As a clan-based society, genealogy was all important. Ireland 'was justly styled a "Nation of Annalists"'. The various branches of Irish learning—including law, poetry, history and genealogy, and medicine—were associated with hereditary learned families. The poetic families included the Uí Dhálaigh (Daly) and
41701-410: The use of a common language and mass Irish migration to Scotland in the late 19th and early to mid-20th centuries. The Irish people of the Late Middle Ages were active as traders on the European continent. They were distinguished from the English (who only used their own language or French) in that they only used Latin abroad—a language "spoken by all educated people throughout Gaeldom". According to
41924-460: The west was so widely dispersed in the schools of Ireland that if anyone knew Greek it was assumed he must have come from that country."' Since the time of Charlemagne , Irish scholars had a considerable presence in the Frankish court , where they were renowned for their learning. The most significant Irish intellectual of the early monastic period was the 9th century Johannes Scotus Eriugena , an outstanding philosopher in terms of originality. He
42147-634: The wishes of the Continental Congress who had issued a proclamation prohibiting it, but Washington feared the spread of smallpox in the army. The mass inoculation proved successful, with only isolated infections occurring and no regiments incapacitated by the disease. The British still controlled New York, and many Patriot soldiers did not re-enlist or deserted after the harsh winter campaign. Congress instituted greater rewards for re-enlisting and punishments for desertion to effect greater troop numbers. Strategically, Washington's victories at Trenton and Princeton were pivotal; they revived Patriot morale and quashed
42370-413: The world." Another Irish Catholic, Frances Sweeney , led protests against the Christian Front and similar groups. Despite Coughlin's popularity with Boston's Irish Catholics, South Boston residents overwhelmingly voted against William Lemke , Coughlin's candidate in the 1936 presidential election. After 1945, a large-scale movement to the suburbs was made possible by the steady upward social mobility of
42593-414: The writer Seumas MacManus , the explorer Christopher Columbus visited Ireland to gather information about the lands to the west, a number of Irish names are recorded on Columbus' crew roster preserved in the archives of Madrid and it was an Irishman named Patrick Maguire who was the first to set foot in the Americas in 1492; however, according to Morison and Miss Gould , who made a detailed study of
42816-428: Was Boston's youngest ward boss. He went on to serve three terms in Congress, four terms as mayor, and a term as Governor of Massachusetts. He also spent time in prison for fraud. The city's elites saw him as unforgivably corrupt, but he was well loved by Boston's poor. During the Great Depression , he enlarged Boston City Hospital, expanded the subway system , funded projects to improve the roads and bridges, and improved
43039-411: Was a Founding Father of the United States , military officer, and farmer who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Second Continental Congress as commander of the Continental Army in 1775, Washington led Patriot forces to victory in the American Revolutionary War . He then served as president of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, which drafted
43262-516: Was a resurgence of anti-Catholic nativism. Groups such as the American Protective Association (APA), the Immigration Restriction League , and Loyal Women of American Liberty were active in Boston. The APA introduced legislation aimed at disaccrediting local Catholic schools, while other groups focused on purging Catholics from the School Committee. Area Catholics responded by founding as many Catholic schools (such as St. Augustine's in South Boston, founded in 1895) as their limited resources allowed. By
43485-497: Was a talented equestrian, with Thomas Jefferson describing him as "the best horseman of his age". He collected thoroughbreds at Mount Vernon, his two favorite horses being Blueskin and Nelson . He enjoyed hunting foxes, deer, ducks, and other game. He was an excellent dancer and frequently attended the theater. He drank alcohol in moderation but was morally opposed to excessive drinking, smoking tobacco, gambling, and profanity. Lawrence Washington's service as adjutant general of
43708-439: Was available and many died on arrival as they were overworked. Some British political figures at the time saw the famine as a purge from God to exterminate the majority of the native Irish population. Irish people emigrated to escape the famine journeying predominantly to the east coast of the United States , especially Boston and New York , as well as Liverpool in England, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. Many records show
43931-433: Was barred from marching in the city-sponsored St. Patrick's Day parade in South Boston. The group filed suit, and the case made it as far as the Supreme Court, which ruled against them in 1995. The Irish no longer dominate Boston politics as they once did, nor are they reliably Democratic. Many became Reagan Democrats in the 1980s. However, in Massachusetts and elsewhere in Southern New England, significant majorities of
44154-634: Was born on February 22, 1732, at Popes Creek in Westmoreland County, Virginia . He was the first of six children of Augustine and Mary Ball Washington . His father was a justice of the peace and a prominent public figure who had four additional children from his first marriage to Jane Butler. The family moved to Little Hunting Creek in 1734 before eventually settling in Ferry Farm near Fredericksburg, Virginia . When Augustine died in 1743, Washington inherited Ferry Farm and ten slaves; his older half-brother Lawrence inherited Little Hunting Creek and renamed it Mount Vernon . Washington did not have
44377-436: Was captured. Howe was emboldened by his Long Island victory and dispatched Washington as "George Washington, Esq." in futility to negotiate peace. Washington declined, demanding to be addressed with diplomatic protocol, as general and fellow belligerent, not as a "rebel", lest his men be hanged as such if captured. The Royal Navy bombarded the unstable earthworks on lower Manhattan Island. Despite misgivings, Washington heeded
44600-400: Was certainly a factor. For cultural reasons, they gravitated to modest positions offering job security and pensions rather than high-risk business ventures. Many became schoolteachers, police officers, firefighters, nurses, librarians, custodians, and clerks. Historian Dennis P. Ryan calls them "occupationally nearsighted". Few Irish women in Boston were active in the suffrage movement , which
44823-518: Was counted among the political and social elite in Virginia. From 1768 to 1775, he invited some 2,000 guests to Mount Vernon, mostly those whom he considered people of rank, and was known to be exceptionally cordial toward guests. Washington also took time for leisure with fox hunting, fishing, dances, theater, cards, backgammon, and billiards. Washington's stepdaughter Patsy suffered from epileptic attacks from age 12, and she died at Mount Vernon in 1773. The following day, he wrote to Burwell Bassett : "It
45046-535: Was demolished in 1862 and replaced by the Holy Cross Cathedral . The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston was established in 1808 by Pope Pius VII . The Boston-born John Bernard Fitzpatrick , son of immigrants from King's County , Ireland, became the first Irish-American Bishop of Boston in 1846. Irish Americans would eventually dominate the Catholic Church in Boston. Prominent figures include Cardinal O'Connell , Cardinal Cushing , and Archbishop Williams . In 2002, Irish-American and other Catholics were shaken by
45269-419: Was dominated by upper-class women. Margaret Foley of Dorchester was a rare exception. Known for confronting anti-suffrage candidates at political rallies, she was nicknamed the "Grand Heckler". Most working-class women were more interested in labor issues: Mary Kenney O'Sullivan helped found the Women's Trade Union League in 1903, and was a leader of the Lawrence textile strike in 1912; Julia O'Connor led
45492-498: Was elected governor of Massachusetts in 1807. A wave of Irish immigration to Boston started in the 1820s. Initially most of the newcomers were Protestants, but increasingly they were joined by Catholics. From the start, there were problems. The " papists " were seen as both a spiritual and a political threat, and the locals reacted accordingly. Gangs of militant Protestants roamed the streets of Irish neighborhoods, damaging property and even destroying several houses. Preachers railed from
45715-425: Was erected at the corner of Washington and School Streets, on the Freedom Trail , in 1998. One bronze sculpture depicts a starving woman, looking up to the heavens as if to ask "Why?", while her children cling to her. A second sculpture shows the figures hopeful as they land in Boston. In the 1840s and 50s, increasing nativist and anti-Catholic sentiment gave rise to the Know Nothing movement, formally known as
45938-510: Was especially true in Puritan-founded Boston, with its strongly Anglo-Saxon population. Generations of Bostonians celebrated Pope's Night on November 5 each year, holding anti-Catholic parades and burning the pope in effigy. In cases of simple anti-Catholic bigotry, other ethnic groups were also affected: for example, the nuns who lived in the Ursuline convent in Charlestown, which was burned down by anti-Catholic rioters in 1834, were French Canadians. As Cardinal Cushing wrote, however, not all
46161-423: Was given to passengers who were simply viewed as cargo in the eyes of the ship workers. Notable coffin ships include the Jeanie Johnston and the Dunbrody . There are statues and memorials in Dublin, New York and other cities in memory of the famine. The Fields of Athenry is a late-20th century song about the Great Famine and is often sung at national team sporting events in memory and homage to those affected by
46384-439: Was in question, something that has been diminished with the loss of prefixes such as Ó and Mac. Different branches of a family with the same surname sometimes used distinguishing epithets, which sometimes became surnames in their own right. Hence the chief of the clan Ó Cearnaigh (Kearney) was referred to as An Sionnach (Fox), which his descendants use to this day. Similar surnames are often found in Scotland for many reasons, such as
46607-636: Was isolated from support by Howe. He was forced to retreat to Saratoga and ultimately surrendered after the Battles of Saratoga . As Washington suspected, Gates' victory emboldened his critics. Biographer John Alden maintains, "It was inevitable that the defeats of Washington's forces and the concurrent victory of the forces in upper New York should be compared." Admiration for Washington was waning, including little credit from John Adams. Washington and his Continental Army of 11,000 men went into winter quarters at Valley Forge north of Philadelphia in December 1777. There they lost between 2,000 and 3,000 men as
46830-418: Was left behind, and when he rejoined Braddock at Monongahela the French and their Indian allies ambushed the divided army. Two-thirds of the British force became casualties, including the mortally wounded Braddock. Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Gage , Washington, still very ill, rallied the survivors and formed a rear guard, allowing the remnants of the force to disengage and retreat. During
47053-406: Was little social interaction. In the 1840s and 50s, the anti-Catholic, anti-immigrant Know Nothing movement targeted Irish Catholics in Boston. In the 1860s, many Irish immigrants fought for the Union in the American Civil War, and that display of patriotism helped to dispel much of the prejudice against them. With an expanding population, group loyalty, and block-by-block political organization,
47276-501: Was not present in Neolithic or Mesolithic Europeans, and which would have been introduced into Europe with paternal lineages R1b and R1a, as well as the Indo-European languages. This genetic component, labelled as " Yamnaya " in the studies, then mixed to varying degrees with earlier Mesolithic hunter-gatherer and Neolithic farmer populations already existing in western Europe. A more recent whole genome analysis of Neolithic and Bronze Age skeletal remains from Ireland suggested that
47499-560: Was one of the first shops to offer "ready-made" suits. After selling the business, Carney retired from tailoring and went on to a career in finance and a legacy of philanthropy. He co-founded the First National Bank of Boston and the John Hancock Insurance Company ; funded the Church of the Immaculate Conception in the South End, and several Catholic orphanages; helped found Boston College ; and in 1863 founded Carney Hospital , where, he insisted, "the sick without distinction of creed, color or nation shall be received and cared for." This policy
47722-406: Was relatively enlightened at a time when Boston City Hospital was refusing to admit Jewish patients. Another influential figure was Thomas F. Ring, president of the St. Vincent de Paul Society and the Catholic Union of Boston. A Boston native of Irish descent, Ring worked for his family's paper export business and was a leading member of several charitable organizations. Ring was also involved in
47945-404: Was released in 1958. Films with a Boston Irish focus include Good Will Hunting (1997), The Boondock Saints (1999), Mystic River (2003), The Departed (2006), Gone Baby Gone (2007), The Town (2010), Spotlight (2015), and Black Mass (2015). Boston Accent Trailer , a faux-movie trailer that first appeared on Late Night with Seth Meyers in 2016, parodies the clichés of
48168-429: Was responsible for delaying the retreat, though he blamed Congress and General Greene. Loyalists in New York City considered Howe a liberator and spread a rumor that Washington had set fire to the city. Patriot morale reached its lowest when Lee was captured. Now reduced to 5,400 troops, Washington's army retreated through New Jersey , and Howe broke off pursuit to set up winter quarters in New York. Washington crossed
48391-400: Was routinely given to settlers of Welsh origin, who had come during and after the Norman invasion. The Joyce and Griffin/Griffith (Gruffydd) families are also of Welsh origin. The Mac Lochlainn, Ó Maol Seachlainn, Ó Maol Seachnaill, Ó Conchobhair, Mac Loughlin and Mac Diarmada families, all distinct, are now all subsumed together as MacLoughlin. The full surname usually indicated which family
48614-498: Was somewhat reserved in personality, but was known for having a strong presence. He made speeches and announcements when required, but he was not a noted orator nor debater. He was taller than most of his contemporaries; accounts of his height vary from 6 ft (1.83 m) to 6 ft 3.5 in (1.92 m) tall, he weighed between 210–220 pounds (95–100 kg) as an adult, and was known for his great strength. He had grey-blue eyes and long reddish-brown hair. He did not wear
48837-428: Was subsequently promoted to colonel and chief of artillery. Similarly, Washington was impressed by Alexander Hamilton 's intelligence and bravery. He would later promote him to colonel and appoint him his aide-de-camp . Washington initially banned the enlistment of blacks, both free and enslaved, into the Continental Army. The British saw an opportunity to divide the colonies, and the colonial governor of Virginia issued
49060-446: Was the creator of the Beaufort scale for indicating wind force. George Boole (1815–1864), the mathematician who invented Boolean algebra , spent the latter part of his life in Cork . The 19th century physicist George Stoney introduced the idea and the name of the electron . He was the uncle of another notable physicist, George FitzGerald . The Irish bardic system, along with the Gaelic culture and learned classes, were upset by
49283-412: Was the earliest of the founders of scholasticism , the dominant school of medieval philosophy . He had considerable familiarity with the Greek language, and translated many works into Latin, affording access to the Cappadocian Fathers and the Greek theological tradition , previously almost unknown in the Latin West. The influx of Viking raiders and traders in the 9th and 10th centuries resulted in
49506-450: Was their main language in the past, today most Irish people speak English as their first language. Historically, the Irish nation was made up of kin groups or clans , and the Irish also had their own religion , law code , alphabet and style of dress . There have been many notable Irish people throughout history. After Ireland's conversion to Christianity , Irish missionaries and scholars exerted great influence on Western Europe, and
49729-450: Was with the lace curtain Irish of Jamaica Plain , West Roxbury , and Hyde Park . Historian James M. O'Toole has argued: Urban historian Kenneth T. Jackson has argued that: During World War II , there was an outbreak of antisemitic violence in Boston. Jewish residents, businesses, and synagogues were frequent targets of what would now be called hate crimes : gangs of mostly Irish Catholic youths, incited by Father Coughlin and
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