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103-698: NORAID , officially the Irish Northern Aid Committee , is an Irish American membership organization founded after the start of the Troubles in Northern Ireland in 1969. The organization states its mission is to aid in the creation of a United Ireland in the spirit of the 1916 Easter Proclamation and to support the Northern Ireland Peace process . During the Troubles, NORAID was known for raising funds for

206-601: A "cessation of military operations" from midnight. Albert Reynolds , the Irish Taoiseach , said that he accepted the IRA statement as implying a permanent ceasefire. Many unionists were sceptical. UUP leader James Molyneaux , in a rare slip, declared "This (the ceasefire) is the worst thing that has ever happened to us." In the following period, there were disputes about the permanence of the ceasefire, whether parties linked to paramilitaries should be included in talks, and

309-495: A 190-page report, containing more than 30 recommendations, expected to cost in total £300m. The report recommended setting up a 5-year Legacy Commission, a Reconciliation Forum to aid the existing commission for victims and survivors, and a new historical case review body. The report concluded the Legacy Commission should make proposals on how "a line might be drawn", but omitted proposals for an amnesty. Additionally, it

412-447: A 2019 study, "the sons of farmers and illiterate men were more likely to emigrate than their literate and skilled counterparts. Emigration rates were highest in poorer farming communities with stronger migrant networks." Of the total Irish immigrants to the U.S. from 1820 to 1860, many died crossing the ocean due to disease and dismal conditions of what became known as coffin ships . Irish immigration had greatly increased beginning in

515-487: A better life elsewhere. At the time European colonies were being founded in the Americas , offering destinations for emigration. Most Irish immigrants to the Americas traveled as indentured servants , with their passage paid for a wealthier person to whom they owed labor for a period of time. Some were merchants and landowners, who served as key players in a variety of different mercantile and colonizing enterprises. In

618-649: A cropland rent spike in Ireland. From 1815 to 1845, 500,000 more Irish Protestant immigrants came from Ireland to the United States, as part of a migration of approximately 1 million immigrants from Ireland from 1820 to 1845. In 1820, following the Louisiana Purchase in 1804 and the Adams–Onís Treaty in 1819, and acquisition of territories formerly controlled by Catholic European nations,

721-660: A generation of Americans, not of Englishmen or Germans or Scots-Irish." The two groups had little initial interaction in America, as the 18th-century Ulster immigrants were predominantly Protestant and had become settled largely in upland regions of the American interior, while the huge wave of 19th-century Catholic immigrant families settled primarily in the Northeast and Midwest port cities such as Boston , Philadelphia , New York , Buffalo , or Chicago . However, beginning in

824-600: A great influence on the later culture of the Southern United States in particular and the culture of the United States in general through such contributions as American folk music , country and western music, and stock car racing , which became popular throughout the country in the late 20th century. Irish immigrants of this period participated in significant numbers in the American Revolution , leading one British Army officer to testify at

927-620: A new course." The Consultative Group on the Past was an independent group established to consult across the community in Northern Ireland on the best way to deal with the legacy of the Troubles. The Group stated its terms of reference as: To consult across the community on how Northern Ireland society can best approach the legacy of the events of the past 40 years; and to make recommendations, as appropriate, on any steps that might be taken to support Northern Ireland society in building

1030-697: A shared future that is not overshadowed by the events of the past. The Group was co-chaired by the Most Rev. Dr. Robin Eames (Lord Eames), the former Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh , and Denis Bradley , and published its report in January 2009. Whilst the group met MI5 and the UVF , the Provisional IRA refused to meet with the group. The Group published its recommendations on 28 January 2009 in

1133-695: A significant portion, if not the vast majority, of native Irish Americans belonged to the Protestant faith, having converted prior to or after settling in the Thirteen Colonies . In 1820 Irish-born John England became the first Catholic bishop in the mainly Protestant city of Charleston, South Carolina . During the 1820s and 1830s, Bishop England defended the Catholic minority against Protestant prejudices. In 1831 and 1835, he established free schools for free African American children. Inflamed by

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1236-577: Is a responsibility on society to ensure that there is no re-occurrence of the pogroms of 1969 and the early 1970s. There is also a universal responsibility to tackle sectarianism in all its forms. The IRA is fully committed to the goals of Irish unity and independence and to building the Republic outlined in the 1916 Proclamation . We call for maximum unity and effort by Irish republicans everywhere. We are confident that by working together Irish republicans can achieve our objectives. Every Volunteer

1339-404: Is aware of the import of the decisions we have taken and all Óglaigh are compelled to fully comply with these orders. There is now an unprecedented opportunity to utilise the considerable energy and goodwill which there is for the peace process. This comprehensive series of unparalleled initiatives is our contribution to this and to the continued endeavours to bring about independence and unity for

1442-714: The Amazon region , in Newfoundland , and in Virginia between 1604 and the 1630s. According to historian Donald Akenson, there were "few if any" Irish forcibly transported to the Americas during this period. Irish immigration to the Americas was the result of a series of complex causes. The Tudor conquest and subsequent colonization by English and Scots people during the 16th and 17th centuries had led to widespread social upheaval in Ireland. Many Irish people tried to seek

1545-748: The American Revolutionary War in 1775). Indentured servitude in British America emerged in part due to the high cost of passage across the Atlantic Ocean. Indentured servants followed their patrons to the latter's choice of colonies as destinations. While the Colony of Virginia established the Anglican Church as the official religion, and passed laws prohibiting the free exercise of Catholicism during

1648-822: The Continental United States as of the 1790 Census . A 1932 report conducted by the American Council of Learned Societies , in collaboration with the United States Census Bureau , concluded that around 6.3% of the White population was of native Irish descent - separate from those of Anglo-Irish and Scots-Irish descent - by determining ancestry based on distinctly native Irish surnames (such as Murphy , Sullivan and Doherty , for example). It has been noted by several historians - in particular Kerby A. Miller - that

1751-761: The Democratic Party Organizations , opposed abolition of slavery , and generally favored preserving the Union in 1860, when they voted for Stephen Douglas . After secession in 1861, the Southern Irish Catholic community supported the Confederate States of America and 20,000 Irish Catholics served in the Confederate States Army . Gleason says: Support for Irish Confederate soldiers from home

1854-709: The Glorious Revolution (1688–1689), colonial governments disenfranchised Catholics in Maryland, New York, Rhode Island, Carolina, and Virginia. In Maryland, suffrage was restored in 1702. In 1692, the Maryland General Assembly had established the Church of England as the official state church. In 1698 and 1699, Maryland, Virginia, and Carolina passed laws specifically limiting immigration of Irish Catholic indentured servants. In 1700,

1957-737: The House of Commons that "half the rebels (referring to soldiers in the Continental Army) were from Ireland and that half of them spoke Irish." Irish Americans - Charles Carroll , Daniel Carroll , Thomas Lynch Jr. , James Duane , Cornelius Harnett , and several more signed the foundational documents of the United States—the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution —and, beginning with Andrew Jackson , served as president. Estimated Irish American population in

2060-485: The Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) withdrew from the "current phase" of the peace process. On 26 July two hardline Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) MPs, David Burnside and Jeffrey Donaldson , both called for their party's withdrawal of supporting the new power-sharing Stormont assembly. Much of the disturbances are thought to have been caused by the alienation of loyalists in the years following

2163-534: The Provisional Irish Republican Army and Nationalist relief groups such as Green Cross and An Cumann Cabrach . Irish Northern Aid is an American based membership organization that supports through peaceful means, the establishment of a socialist and democratic 32-county Ireland. Our Strategy: To develop a broad coalition of supporters for Irish Unity through organizing and educating the public, our members, political leaders, and

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2266-606: The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), and Gerry Adams of Sinn Féin (SF), continued. These talks led to a series of joint statements on how the violence might be brought to an end. The talks had been going on since the late 1980s and had secured the backing of the Irish government through an intermediary, the priest Alec Reid . In November it was revealed that the British government had also been in talks with

2369-575: The Southern Colonies ). Immigration during the war came to a standstill except by 5,000 German mercenaries from Hesse who remained in the country following the war. Out of the 115 killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill , 22 were Irish-born. Their names include Callaghan, Casey, Collins, Connelly, Dillon, Donohue, Flynn, McGrath, Nugent, Shannon, and Sullivan. By the end of the war in 1783, there were approximately 24,000 to 25,000 Catholics in

2472-503: The Thirteen Colonies in the aggregate, was not sex-balanced until the 18th century. Three-quarters of the immigrants to the Chesapeake Colonies were male (and in some periods, 4:1 or 6:1 male-to-female) and fewer than 1 percent were over the age of 35. As a consequence, the population grew only because of sustained immigration rather than natural increase . Many of those who survived their indentured servitude contracts left

2575-618: The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) argued that it was not a "sell-out" of unionists, and Gerry Adams of Sinn Féin requested dialogue with the governments and clarification of the Declaration. On 6 April 1994, the Provisional IRA announced a three-day "temporary cessation of hostilities" to run from Wednesday 6 April – Friday 8 April 1994. Five months later, on Wednesday 31 August 1994, the Provisional IRA announced

2678-720: The United States and are American citizens. Most Irish Americans of the 21st century are descendants of immigrants who moved to the United States in the mid-19th century because of the Great Famine in Ireland. Some of the first Irish people to travel to the New World did so as members of the Spanish garrison in Florida during the 1560s. Small numbers of Irish colonists were involved in efforts to establish colonies in

2781-698: The White House with the Northern Ireland First Minister Ian Paisley, Martin McGuinness, the Deputy First Minister, said to the press "Up until the 26 March this year, Ian Paisley and I never had a conversation about anything – not even about the weather – and now we have worked very closely together over the last seven months and there's been no angry words between us. ... This shows we are set for

2884-588: The established Puritan church. The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations had no established church, while the former New Netherland colonies ( New York , New Jersey , and Delaware ) had no established church under the Duke's Laws . The Frame of Government in William Penn 's 1682 land grant established free exercise of religion for all Christians in the Province of Pennsylvania . Following

2987-621: The 1620s significant numbers of Irish laborers began traveling to English colonies such as Virginia on the continent, and the Leeward Islands and Barbados in the Caribbean region. Half of the Irish immigrants to the United States in its colonial era (1607–1775) came from the Irish province of Ulster and were largely Protestant, while the other half came from the other three provinces ( Leinster , Munster , and Connacht ). In

3090-593: The 1790s. In the 18th century Thirteen Colonies and the independent United States, while interethnic marriage among Catholics remained a dominant pattern, Catholic-Protestant intermarriage became more common (notably in the Shenandoah Valley where intermarriage among Ulster Protestants and the significant minority of Irish Catholics in particular was not uncommon or stigmatized). While fewer Catholic parents required that their children be disinherited in their wills if they renounced Catholicism, compared to

3193-544: The 17th century, immigration from Ireland to the Thirteen Colonies was minimal, confined mostly to male Irish indentured servants who were primarily Catholic and peaked with 8,000 prisoner-of-war penal transports to the Chesapeake Colonies from the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland in the 1650s (out of a total of approximately 10,000 Catholic immigrants from Ireland to the United States prior to

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3296-528: The 1830s due to the need for unskilled labor in canal building, lumbering, and construction works in the Northeast . The large Erie Canal project was one such example where Irishmen were many of the laborers. Small but tight communities developed in growing cities such as Philadelphia, Boston, and New York. Northern Ireland peace process In 1994, talks between the leaders of the two main Irish nationalist parties in Northern Ireland , John Hume of

3399-531: The 30 Catholic churches with regular services in the Thirteen Colonies, 15 were located in Maryland, 11 in Pennsylvania, and 4 in the former New Netherland colonies. By 1756, the number of Catholics in Maryland had increased to approximately 7,000, which increased further to 20,000 by 1765. In Pennsylvania, there were approximately 3,000 Catholics in 1756 and 6,000 by 1765 (the large majority of

3502-577: The Agreement to a peak of 124 in 2001/02. On 9 September 2001 a gang of 15 Provisional IRA members kidnapped, tortured and shot two youths. Major loyalist rioting and violence broke out amid the Holy Cross dispute on 27 September. The next day, journalist Martin O'Hagan was killed by Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) members. On 13 October 2001, Reid declared the ceasefires of two loyalist paramilitary groups, Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and

3605-650: The Alamo in March 1836 were 12 who were Irish-born, while an additional 14 bore Irish surnames. About 100 Irish-born soldiers participated in the Battle of San Jacinto – about one-seventh of the total force of Texians in that conflict. The Irish Catholics concentrated in a few medium-sized cities, where they were highly visible, especially in Charleston , Savannah and New Orleans . They often became precinct leaders in

3708-487: The Catholic population of the United States had grown to 195,000 (or approximately 2 percent of the total population of approximately 9.6 million). By 1840, along with resumed immigration from Germany by the 1820s, the Catholic population grew to 663,000 (or approximately 4 percent out of the total population of 17.1 million). Following the potato blight in late 1845 that initiated the Great Famine in Ireland, from 1846 to 1851, more than 1 million more Irish immigrated to

3811-751: The General Assembly modified the legislation to allow Mass to be privately conducted for an 18-month period. In 1707, the General Assembly passed a law which permanently allowed Mass to be privately conducted. During this period, the General Assembly also began levying taxes on the passage of Irish Catholic indentured servants. In 1718, the General Assembly required a religious test for voting that resumed disenfranchisement of Catholics. However, lax enforcement of penal laws in Maryland (due to its population being overwhelmingly rural) enabled churches on Jesuit-operated farms and plantations to serve growing populations and become stable parishes . In 1750, of

3914-535: The Good Friday Agreement, who increasingly feared that the Agreement was largely in the Catholics' favour and that Irish unity was inevitable. Northern Ireland Secretary John Reid told unionists in a speech that they are "wrong" to think so, and that the Agreement would be a failure if Protestants no longer felt at home. The number of loyalist paramilitary shootings increased from 33 at the time of

4017-528: The IRA has left the peace process in a "substantial and serious crisis". On 14 October 2002, the Northern Ireland Assembly was suspended and direct rule from Westminster imposed. In January 2005, Robert McCartney was murdered after a pub brawl by IRA members. After a high-profile campaign by his sisters and fiancée, the IRA admitted its members were responsible and offered to meet them. The McCartney sisters turned down their offer, but

4120-555: The Irish American community, and the British, Irish and United States governments accused NORAID of being a front for the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA), and that it was involved in fundraising for IRA arms importation from North America since the early 1970s. Historian Ed Moloney disputed this by saying that funds raised by NORAID went largely to the families of imprisoned IRA volunteers , and that Clan na Gael

4223-776: The Irish saint when they established the San Patricio Colony south of San Antonio; James Power and James Hewetson contracted to create the Refugio Colony on the Gulf Coast. The two colonies were settled mainly by Irish, but also by Mexicans and other nationalities. At least 87 Irish-surnamed individuals settled in the Peters Colony, which included much of present-day north-central Texas, in the 1840s. The Irish participated in all phases of Texas' war of independence against Mexico. Among those who died defending

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4326-549: The LVF, to be over due to their violent shooting and rioting incidents. Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams urged the Provisional IRA to disarm amid Stormont's near-collapse. In December 2001, two army watchtowers were attacked in South Armagh by republicans that caused many injuries. Throughout 2002 rioting and sectarian clashes continued, the most tense incident being the clashes in Short Strand . On 6 May 2002 Progressive Unionist Party politician David Ervine said that continuing violence, doubts among loyalists and uncertainty about

4429-554: The Pennsylvania Catholic population was from provinces of southern Germany ). From 1717 to 1775, though scholarly estimates vary, the most common approximation is that 250,000 immigrants from Ireland emigrated to the Thirteen Colonies. By the beginning of the American Revolutionary War in 1775, approximately only 2 to 3 percent of the colonial labor force was composed of indentured servants, and of those arriving from Britain from 1773 to 1776, fewer than 5 percent were from Ireland (while 85 percent remained male and 72 percent went to

4532-418: The Protestant and Catholic churches, to testify to this. The Army Council took these decisions following an unprecedented internal discussion and consultation process with IRA units and Volunteers. We appreciate the honest and forthright way in which the consultation process was carried out and the depth and content of the submissions. We are proud of the comradely way in which this truly historic discussion

4635-406: The Provisional IRA, although they had long denied it. On Wednesday 15 December 1993, the Downing Street Declaration was issued by John Major , Prime Minister of the United Kingdom , and Albert Reynolds , Taoiseach , on behalf of the British and Irish governments. This included statements that: Ian Paisley of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) opposed the Declaration, James Molyneaux of

4738-399: The Scotch-Irish (such as The Mind of the South by W. J. Cash ) is often incorrect. Historians David Hackett Fischer and James G. Leyburn note that usage of the term is unique to North American English and it is rarely used by British historians, or in Ireland or Scotland, where Scots-Irish is a term used by Irish Scottish people to describe themselves. The first recorded usage of

4841-497: The South/ Lowlands of Scotland and the bordering North of England ) who had in the previous century settled the Plantations of Ireland , the largest of which was the Plantation of Ulster . By the late 18th century, these Protestant immigrants primarily migrated as families rather than as individuals. Most of these Irish Protestants were Ulster Protestants . During the first half of the 18th century, 15,000 Ulster Protestants emigrated to North America , with another 25,000 during

4944-504: The United States (including 3,000 slaves ) out of a total population of approximately 3 million (or less than 1 percent). The majority of the Catholic population in the United States during the colonial period came from England , Germany, and France , not Ireland. Irish historiographers tried and failed to demonstrate Irish Catholics were more numerous in the colonial period than previous scholarship had indicated. By 1790, approximately 400,000 people of Irish birth or ancestry lived in

5047-412: The United States (or greater than 10 percent of the total population of approximately 3.9 million). The U.S. Bureau of the Census estimates 2% of the United States population in 1776 was of native Irish heritage. The Catholic population grew to approximately 50,000 by 1800 (or less than 1 percent of the total population of approximately 5.3 million) due to increased Catholic emigration from Ireland during

5150-410: The United States in the 18th century likely became common among Episcopalians and Quakers in Pennsylvania, where numerous of these immigrants entered through Philadelphia. Records show that usage of the term with this meaning was made as early as 1757 by Anglo-Irish philosopher Edmund Burke . However, multiple historians have noted that from the time of the American Revolutionary War until 1850,

5253-417: The United States, 90 percent of whom were Catholic. From 1800 to 1844, Irish emigrants were mainly skilled and economically sufficient Ulster Protestants , including artisans, tradesmen and professionals, and farmers. The Famine and the threat of starvation amongst the Irish Catholic population broke down the psychological barriers that had discouraged them from making the passage to America before. After

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5356-479: The United States. During the French Revolutionary Wars (1792–1802) and Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815), there was a 22-year economic expansion in Ireland due to increased need for agricultural products for British soldiers and an expanding population in England. Following the conclusion of the War of the Seventh Coalition and Napoleon 's exile to Saint Helena in 1815, there was a six-year international economic depression that led to plummeting grain prices and

5459-402: The agreement was between 51 and 53 per cent. Complicating matters for the calculation was the turnout, with a substantial increase over elections in many traditionally unionist areas, whilst the turnout was close to that for elections in staunch nationalist areas. Approximately 147,000 more people voted in the referendum than in the subsequent Assembly elections, though it is estimated that there

5562-528: The agreement, the erosion of British identity, the destruction of the Royal Ulster Constabulary , the vague language of the agreement, and the rushed nature in which the agreement was written. It was widely expected that the nationalist community would endorse the agreement. As the vote approached, unionist opinion appeared divided into those who supported the agreement, those who opposed the agreement on principle, and those who welcomed agreement, but still had major misgivings about aspects like prisoner release and

5665-437: The colonial period , the General Assembly of the Province of Maryland enacted laws in 1639 protecting freedom of religion (following the instructions of a 1632 letter from Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore to his brother Leonard Calvert , the 1st Proprietary-Governor of Maryland ). The Maryland General Assembly later passed the 1649 Maryland Toleration Act explicitly guaranteeing those privileges for Catholics. Like

5768-538: The colonial period, Irish Protestant immigrants settled in the southern Appalachian backcountry and in the Carolina Piedmont . They became the primary cultural group in these areas, and their descendants were in the vanguard of westward movement through Virginia into Tennessee and Kentucky , and thence into Arkansas , Missouri and Texas . By the 19th century, through intermarriage with settlers of English and German ancestry, their descendants lost their identification with Ireland. "This generation of pioneers...was

5871-471: The decision but lost. After three years of fighting, a compromise was reached between federal attorneys and NORAID, allowing it to include with its filings a written statement expressing that the document had been signed under duress and that NORAID maintained that the IRA was not its "foreign principal". NORAID resumed filing its financial returns in July 1984. By the late 1980s, NORAID was a loose federation of local branches centred on fundraising. Sinn Féin ,

5974-406: The decommissioning process. Real IRA bombs at the BBC and a commercial district in London threatened to derail the peace process. The Holy Cross dispute in north Belfast starting in June 2001 would become a major episode of sectarian conflict. Widespread rioting occurred in July , and that same month the loyalist Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) pulled out of the Good Friday Agreement whilst

6077-415: The demand. Many of the Famine immigrants to New York City were required quarantine on Staten Island or Blackwell's Island . Weakened by famine and diseases of the poor, who suffered lack of sanitation and crowded shipboard conditions, thousands died from typhoid fever or cholera for reasons directly or indirectly related to the Famine. Doctors did not know how to treat or prevent these. Despite

6180-455: The development of purely political and democratic programmes through exclusively peaceful means. Volunteers must not engage in any other activities whatsoever. The IRA leadership has also authorised our representative to engage with the IICD to complete the process to verifiably put its arms beyond use in a way which will further enhance public confidence and to conclude this as quickly as possible. We have invited two independent witnesses, from

6283-485: The early 1970s, and became the committee's publicity director and editor of its weekly newspaper, The Irish People. He later joined the group's board of directors. Galvin split with Sinn Féin in the mid-1990s over the direction of the Northern Ireland peace process . NORAID has in the past supported "Project Children", a New York-based organization founded in 1975, to provide summer vacations for children from Northern Ireland away from sectarian strife. In 1994, Sinn Féin

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6386-412: The early 19th century, many Irish migrated individually to the interior for work on large-scale infrastructure projects such as canals and, later in the century, railroads . The Irish Protestants settled mainly in the colonial "back country" of the Appalachian Mountain region, and became the prominent ethnic strain in the culture that developed there. The descendants of Irish Protestant settlers had

6489-443: The episode badly damaged the standing of the IRA in Belfast. In April 2005, Gerry Adams called for the IRA to lay down its weapons. It agreed on 28 July 2005 calling for its volunteers to use "exclusively peaceful means". It would not disband, but simply use peaceful means to achieve its aims. On 28 July 2005 , the IRA announced the end of its armed campaign, and committed to the complete decommissioning of all its weapons, which

6592-521: The estimated population of Maryland was 29,600, about 2,500 of whom were Catholic. In the 18th century, emigration from Ireland to the Thirteen Colonies shifted from being primarily Catholic to being primarily Protestant . With the exception of the 1790s, it would remain so until the mid-to-late 1830s, with Presbyterians constituting the absolute majority until 1835. These Protestant immigrants were principally descended from Scottish and English pastoralists and colonial administrators (often from

6695-402: The goal of Irish unity (or the right to pursue the armed struggle) was depicted as a betrayal of those who had fought and died for Ireland. Decommissioning of weapons and an end to paramilitary activity was portrayed as surrender to the British. The principle of consent was represented as a unionist veto, as it meant political progress would be almost impossible without unionist participation. It

6798-414: The land of trees, built homes, and planted fields. Many others worked in coastal areas as fishers, on ships, and as dockworkers. In the 1800s, Irish immigrants in the United States tended to stay in the large cities where they landed. From 1820 to 1860, 1,956,557 Irish arrived, 75% of these after the Great Irish Famine (or The Great Hunger , Irish : An Gorta Mór ) of 1845–1852, struck. According to

6901-416: The media. To support the current Peace Process, including the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement which was endorsed by the vast majority of the Irish people. To support a process of National reconciliation and equality for all the citizens of Ireland. Membership: In keeping with the principles of the 1916 Proclamation , Irish Northern Aid is open to anyone who shares these values. NORAID

7004-577: The people of Ireland. The IICD confirmed in its final report of September 2005 that the IRA had decommissioned all of its weapons. The definitive end of The Troubles and thus of the Peace Process came in 2007. Following the St Andrews Agreement of October 2006, and March 2007 elections , the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Féin formed a government in May 2007. In July 2007, the British Army formally ended Operation Banner , their mission in Northern Ireland which began 38 years earlier, in 1969. On 8 December 2007, while visiting President Bush in

7107-547: The period 1751 to 1775. The reasons for their emigration consisted mainly of: bad harvests, landlords increasing rents as leases fell through, and agrarian violence by Protestant gangs such as the " Hearts of Steel ", also known as the "Steelboys", before the American revolution cut off further emigration. In 1704, the Maryland General Assembly passed a law that banned the Jesuits from proselytizing , baptizing children other than those with Catholic parents, and publicly conducting Catholic Mass . Two months after its passage,

7210-477: The political party associated with the IRA, wanted NORAID to expand its activities. At the end of 1988, NORAID agreed to try to broaden its appeal and its executive committee was expanded. Sinn Féin sent an organizer to the United States, and more time and money was devoted to lobbying. Then-president Pat O'Connell said "Americans are fed up with their own nation's politics. They sure as hell don't want to get involved in Irish politics. They only want to give money for

7313-477: The prisoners and their families, not for political lobbying." O'Connell subsequently opened a separate NORAID office in the Bronx. A letter later published in New York's two Irish weeklies charged that under Martin Galvin and others, NORAID was "being steered in a direction toward politics and away from its original humanitarian objectives." The first name among forty-one signers was Michael Flannery, who in 1986 had quietly resigned from NORAID. Galvin joined Noraid in

7416-595: The propaganda of the American Anti-Slavery Society , a mob raided the Charleston post office in 1835 and the next day turned its attention to England's school. England led Charleston's "Irish Volunteers" to defend the school. Soon after this, however, all schools for "free blacks" were closed in Charleston, and England acquiesced. Two pairs of Irish empresarios founded colonies in coastal Texas in 1828. John McMullen and James McGloin honored

7519-583: The rate of "normalisation" in Northern Ireland. Loyalist bombings and shootings, and punishment beatings from both sides, continued. This is an abbreviated list of events of significance in the lead-up to all-party negotiations: The agreement, known as the Good Friday Agreement , included a devolved, inclusive government, prisoner release, troop reductions, targets for paramilitary decommissioning, provisions for polls on Irish reunification, and civil rights measures and " parity of esteem " for

7622-491: The region. In 1650, all five Catholic churches with regular services in the eight British American colonies were located in Maryland. The Province of Carolina did not restrict suffrage to members of the established Anglican church. In contrast to 17th century Maryland, the New England colonies had a variety of policies. Plymouth , Massachusetts Bay and Connecticut Colonies restricted suffrage to members of

7725-417: The release of convicted paramilitaries from prison (often those who had killed friends and relatives of unionist politicians and were serving "life" sentences), the presence of "terrorists" (by which they meant Sinn Féin) in government, the lack of guarantees on decommissioning, the perceived one-way nature of the process in moving towards a united Ireland, the lack of trust in all those who would be implementing

7828-676: The rest of the US population, this response was more common among Catholic parents that Protestants. Despite such constraints, many Irish Catholics who immigrated to the United States from 1770 to 1830 converted to Baptist and Methodist churches during the Second Great Awakening (1790–1840). Between the end of the American Revolutionary War in 1783 and the War of 1812 , 100,000 immigrants came from Ulster to

7931-466: The rest of the indentured servant population (who were mostly men) in the Chesapeake Colonies at the time, 40 to 50 percent died before completing their contracts. Conditions were harsh and the Tidewater region had a highly malignant disease environment, with mosquitoes spreading disease. Most of the men did not establish families and died childless because the population of the Chesapeake Colonies, like

8034-530: The results of the vote on the agreement were: There is no official breakdown of how the nationalist and unionist communities voted, but CAIN, the Conflict Archive on the Internet, estimated that the overwhelming majority (up to 97%) of members of the largely Catholic nationalist community in Northern Ireland voted 'Yes'. Their estimate of the largely Protestant unionist community's support for

8137-496: The role of paramilitaries and parties associated with them (particularly Sinn Féin). The fear among the Agreement's supporters was that there would not be a majority (or only a slim majority) of the unionist community in favour of the agreement, and that its credibility would be thereby undermined. In the Republic of Ireland , the results of the vote to change the constitution in line with the agreement were: In Northern Ireland,

8240-434: The rowdiness of their foreign-born employees. Nevertheless, they recognized the importance of the Irish worker to the protection of slavery.... The Catholicism practiced by Irish immigrants was of little concern to Southern natives. Before the 1800s, Irish immigrants to North America often moved to the countryside. Some worked in the fur trade, trapping and exploring, but most settled in rural farms and villages. They cleared

8343-431: The sacrifices of our patriot dead, those who went to jail, Volunteers, their families and the wider republican base. We reiterate our view that the armed struggle was entirely legitimate. We are conscious that many people suffered in the conflict. There is a compelling imperative on all sides to build a just and lasting peace. The issue of the defence of nationalist and republican communities has been raised with us. There

8446-430: The same day, 22 May 1998. The pro-agreement campaign framed the question as progress versus stalemate, as a struggle between intolerant bigots with no solutions on the one hand, and moderates with a constructive way forward on the other. The agreement was promoted to the nationalist community as delivering civil rights , inclusive government, recognition of their Irishness, and a peaceful route to Irish reunification. To

8549-440: The scale of sceptical and anti-agreement sentiment in the unionist community, their continued misgivings over aspects of the agreement, and differing expectations from the Agreement on the part of the two communities were to cause difficulties in the following years. Although the peace process initially progressed mostly trouble-free, tensions escalated in 2001 with increasing sectarian conflicts, rioting, political disagreements and

8652-403: The second potato blight in 1846, panic over the need to escape their difficult situation in Ireland led many to the belief that "anywhere is better than here". Irish Catholics traveled to England , Canada , and America for new lives. Irish immigration increased dramatically during the period 1845–1849, as ships started transporting Irish emigrants during the autumn and winter periods to meet

8755-479: The small increase in Catholic-Protestant intermarriage following the American Revolutionary War, Catholic-Protestant intermarriage remained uncommon in the United States in the 19th century. Historians have characterized the etymology of the term " Scotch-Irish " as obscure. The term itself is misleading and confusing to the extent that even its usage by authors in historic works of literature about

8858-605: The term largely fell out of usage, because most Ulster Protestants identified as "Irish" until large waves of immigration by Irish Catholics both during and after the 1840s Great Famine in Ireland led those Ulster Protestants in America who lived in proximity to the new immigrants to change their self-identification to "Scotch-Irish," Those Ulster Protestants who did not live in proximity to Irish Catholics continued to self-identify as "Irish" or, as time went on, began to identify as being of " American ancestry ." While those historians note that renewed usage of "Scotch-Irish" after 1850

8961-565: The term was by Elizabeth I of England in 1573 in reference to Gaelic-speaking Scottish Highlanders who crossed the Irish Sea and intermarried with the Irish Catholic natives of Ireland. While Protestant immigrants from Ireland in the 18th century were more commonly identified as "Anglo-Irish," and while some preferred to self-identify as "Anglo-Irish," usage of "Scotch-Irish" in reference to Ulster Protestants who immigrated to

9064-441: The two communities in Northern Ireland. The agreement was to be approved by a referendum in Northern Ireland, and a separate referendum was to be held in the Republic to approve the necessary change to Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution . The people of the Republic overwhelmingly endorsed the agreement, but the campaign in Northern Ireland was more controversial, and the result less predictable. The referendums were held on

9167-409: The unionist "Yes" vote – this is despite the fact that none of the wording from these "pledges" was actually contained within the agreement that was being put to the electorate. These "pledges" were: On the republican side, the "No" campaign seemed to concentrate on the purity of the republican ideal of complete and absolute independence from Britain. In this view, any compromise, however temporary, on

9270-464: The unionist community, it was presented as bringing an end to the troubles, a guaranteed end to paramilitaries and their weapons, and a guarantee of the Union for the foreseeable future. There was a massive government-funded campaign for the "Yes" vote, with large posters posted across Northern Ireland. One such poster featured five handwritten "pledges" by Prime Minister Tony Blair in an attempt to obtain

9373-449: The world want to see the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. Notwithstanding these difficulties our decisions have been taken to advance our republican and democratic objectives, including our goal of a united Ireland. We believe there is now an alternative way to achieve this and to end British rule in our country. It is the responsibility of all Volunteers to show leadership, determination and courage. We are very mindful of

9476-416: Was also a very important factor in Irish integration [into Southern society].... Upper-class southerners, therefore, did not object to the Irish, because Irish immigration never threatened to overwhelm their cities or states.... The Irish were willing to take on potentially high-mortality occupations, thereby sparing valuable slave property. Some employers objected not only to the cost of Irish labor but also to

9579-414: Was also some deliberate abstentions by hardline republican voters. The referendum was calculated centrally so it is not clear what the geographic spread of voting was, but an exit poll found that out of all eighteen constituencies, only Ian Paisley 's North Antrim stronghold voted against the Agreement. The pro-agreement result was greeted at the time with relief by supporters of the agreement. However,

9682-476: Was conducted. The outcome of our consultations show very strong support among IRA Volunteers for the Sinn Féin peace strategy. There is also widespread concern about the failure of the two governments and the unionists to fully engage in the peace process. This has created real difficulties. The overwhelming majority of people in Ireland fully support this process. They and friends of Irish unity throughout

9785-541: Was de-listed as a foreign terrorist organization by the US State Department after the start of peace efforts in Northern Ireland. NORAID was supportive of the peace process and the subsequent Good Friday Agreement and is nowadays highly supportive of Sinn Féin. NORAID published the final issue of The Irish People on 13th March 2004. Irish American 38,597,428 Irish Americans ( Irish : Gael-Mheiriceánaigh ) are ethnic Irish who live in

9888-694: Was motivated by anti-Catholic prejudices among Ulster Protestants, considering the historically low rates of intermarriage between Protestants and Catholics in both Ireland and the United States, as well as the relative frequency of interethnic and interdenominational marriage amongst Protestants in Ulster, and despite the fact that not all Protestant migrants from Ireland historically were of Scottish descent, James G. Leyburn argued for retaining its usage for reasons of utility and preciseness, while historian Wayland F. Dunaway also argued for retention for historical precedent and linguistic description . During

9991-656: Was one of the Southern United States ' most outspoken supporters during the American Civil War through his newspapers the Southern Citizen and the Richmond Enquirer . Although most began as unskilled laborers, Irish Catholics in the South achieved average or above average economic status by 1900. David T. Gleeson emphasizes how well they were accepted by society: Native tolerance, however,

10094-702: Was organized and directed by Irish immigrant Michael Flannery , who in the 1920s was a member of the IRA North Tipperary Brigade. To collect funds, NORAID organized dinner dances, donations in Irish bars, and direct-mail appeals for support in humanitarian relief in Ireland during the Troubles . NORAID officials maintained that its money went to two Irish relief organizations, Green Cross (founded in 1973) and An Cumann Cabrach (founded in November 1953), to help families of imprisoned or dead Irish nationalists. However, Unionist politicians, much of

10197-509: Was pointed out that the agreement accepted partition . The state and its institutions would remain hostile to the republican community, claimed the critics. Despite these misgivings, the vast majority of republicans voted yes, with only some tiny unrepresentative parties (such as Republican Sinn Féin ) on the nationalist side advocating a No vote. On the unionist side, the "No" campaign was much stronger and stressed what were represented as concessions to republicanism and terrorism, particularly

10300-404: Was proposed that no new Public Inquiries be held, and an annual Day of Reflection and Reconciliation and a shared memorial to the conflict. A controversial proposal to pay the relatives of all victims killed in the Troubles, including the families of paramilitary members, £12,000, as a "recognition payment", caused disruption to the report's launch by protesters. This estimated cost of this part of

10403-733: Was the principal financial backer of the IRA. In May 1981, the United States Department of Justice won a court case forcing NORAID to register the Provisional Irish Republican Army as its "foreign principal" under the Foreign Agents Registration Act . In his decision, U.S. District Judge Charles S. Haight Jr. wrote: "The uncontroverted evidence is that [Noraid] is an agent of the IRA, providing money and services for other than relief purposes." NORAID lawyers appealed

10506-433: Was to be witnessed by both Catholic and Protestant clergymen. The statement was first read by veteran IRA militant Séanna Walsh in a video released to the public and contained the following text: The leadership of Óglaigh na hÉireann has formally ordered an end to the armed campaign. This will take effect from 4pm this afternoon. All IRA units have been ordered to dump arms. All Volunteers have been instructed to assist

10609-578: Was vital both for encouraging them to stay in the army and to highlight to native white southerners that the entire Irish community was behind the Confederacy. Civilian leaders of the Irish and the South did embrace the Confederate national project and most became advocates of a 'hard-war' policy. Irish nationalist John Mitchel lived in Tennessee and Virginia during his exile from Ireland and

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