The Irish in Philadelphia: Ten Generations of Urban Experience

I had this book recommended to me by someone in one of my genealogical mailing lists. I highly recommend it.

This was a very informative book about how the Irish in Philadelphia affected the city, and how the old establishment of the city was able to keep the Philadlephia Irish from gaining the same political power as those from New York and Boston. It is not a very easy read, due to the fact that it contains many facts and figures, but is nonetheless a very informative work about the forgotten Irish-Americans of Philadelphia, and why they were forgotten.

The thing I most liked most about this book was that the author went into detail about the conditions of life in Ireland for these people. Whether they came before the famine or after, these folks didn't just get off the boat and become Americans. They brought with them a rich culture and way of life. If you are Irish and from Philadelphia, this book will mean something to you.

There is much to be written about the Irish in Philadelphia and this book certainly goes into great detail about the emigrants. It tells the conditions of the city, famillies and how they lived, worked, died. I have read it several times and will read it again and again. A family member in Northern Ireland picked up my book and read bits of it while visiting. I was asked to get a copy for them to take back to Ireland as they wanted to know more about the emigrants and their lives after they left the old country.