The Irish in America

As a person of Irish descent, I was very happy to see "The Irish in America". This book is full of colorful illustrations showing what the Irish have accomplished in this country. I am referencing the book in my MA, History Thesis, this Autumn.On page 57, however, the editors have made an understandable error. They attribute the founding of Manhattan College (1853), De La Salle University (1863) and St. Mary's (Moraga, California, (1863) to the Irish Christian Brothers. As a 1965 graduate of Manhattan College, I can tell you that these three colleges were founded by the French Christian Brothers, also know as the De La Salle Brothers. This teaching order was founded in Paris by St. John Baptist de la Salle, and predates the Irish Christian Brothers by almost two hundred years. To my knowledge, the only college founded by the Irish Christian Brothers in the U.S. is Iona College (1940) in New York. Personally, I enjoyed the book, found new facts about the Irish in America, and would recommend it to any Irish or Irish-American person.

Coffey and Golway give a wonderful overview of the experiences of Irish men and women in the United States. Coming to the U.S. as a result of political an religious oppression, as well as a result of the potato blight in the mid-19th century, the Irish worked hard to gain respectablity and political voices as American citizens. In many cases, especially in the early 20th Century, to be Irish was to be a second class citizen in the U.S. Today's attitudes prove that the Irish have come a long way in American society from being judged as such to becoming a very proud and celebrated nationality in our country. Coffey and Golway use numerous anecdotes, excerpts, and other quotations from famous and not so famous Irish Americans. Included in this book are Denis Leary, Frank McCourt, and a forward by Patrick Kennedy. Reflections of these Irish-American personalities on their grandparents' or parents' lives and hard work, as well as memories of Catholic school, and other aspects of Irish-American life. Glossy photographs accent each passage beautifully and add to the overall attraction of the book. Contributions by all the authors provides a celebration of Irish ethnicity and heritage in the United States that is portrayed as humorous, melancholy, but overall proud. This book accents the PBS Documentary by the same name very nicely. After reading this book, I wished in a sense, that I had some Irish heritage.