Irish Cabal

The "Big Three" - Most Irish Cities Boston, Massachusetts THE iconic Irish-American city Over 20% claim Irish ancestry (highest major city percentage) South Boston ("Southie") - legendary Irish neighborhood Dorchester, Charlestown also heavily Irish Irish political dominance for generations (Kennedys, etc.) Massive St. Patrick's Day parade "Irish Riviera" south shore suburbs New York City Largest Irish-American population by numbers Hell's Kitchen, Woodlawn (Bronx), Bay Ridge (Brooklyn) Historic Five Points immigrant gateway NYPD and FDNY traditionally Irish-dominated Tammany Hall political machine St. Patrick's Cathedral, massive Fifth Avenue parade Chicago Third largest Irish population South Side Irish neighborhoods (Beverly, Bridgeport) Multiple St. Patrick's Day parades Dye the Chicago River green annually Irish mayors (Daley family dynasty) Strong labor union Irish presence   Other Major Irish Cities Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...

  Irish-American Occupations: The Career Pipeline First Generation (Famine Era - 1840s-1870s) Manual Labor - The Starting Point Canal diggers ("paddies on the canal") Railroad construction workers Dock workers/longshoremen Street pavers and road builders Construction laborers Coal miners (Pennsylvania especially) Factory workers (textiles, manufacturing) Quarry workers Hod carriers (carrying bricks/mortar) Domestic Service - Women's Work Household maids and servants (largest female occupation) Cooks Laundresses Nannies and childcare "Bridget" became slang term for Irish maid Why These Jobs? Required no education or English proficiency No capital/tools needed Physically demanding = unwanted by others Dangerous work (high injury/death rates) Low pay, long hours "No Irish Need Apply" kept them out of better jobs   Second Generation (1870s-1920s) - Moving Up Public Service - The Irish Niche Police officers (became THE Irish profession) Firefight...

  The Sheep Economics: Replacing Humans with Wool The Economic "Logic" of Clearance Before Clearances: Crofter families paid small rents (often in kind) Grew oats, barley, potatoes Raised small cattle Subsistence farming Provided military recruits for clan chief Minimal cash income for landlord After Clearances: Cheviot sheep imported from borders Vast sheep walks (grazing lands) High-quality wool production Premium prices in southern markets One shepherd managed thousands of sheep Massive cash income for landlord The Math That Destroyed Communities Traditional Crofting System: 50 families on 10,000 acres Each pays £2-5/year rent Total income: £100-250/year to landlord Plus: military service, loyalty, labor Sheep Farming System: 10,000 acres = 5,000-8,000 sheep Annual wool clip value: £3,000-5,000 Lamb sales: £1,000-2,000 Total income: £4,000-7,000/year Labor: 2-3 shepherds at £20/year each Net increase: 20-30x more profit The Cheviot Sheep Why Cheviots? Hardy br...

  The Highland Clearances: Scotland's Century of Ethnic Cleansing The Highland Clearances represent one of the most systematic campaigns of forced displacement in British history, yet they remain largely unknown compared to Ireland's Great Famine. Over the course of a century, Scottish landlords methodically removed tens of thousands of Gaelic-speaking tenant farmers from ancestral lands, replacing human communities with sheep. What makes the Clearances particularly chilling is their calculated nature—this was not a natural disaster or sudden crisis, but a deliberate economic decision executed over generations. Entire villages were burned, families were herded onto ships bound for Canada, and a thousand-year-old way of life was systematically erased. The trauma scarred Scottish culture so deeply that the Highlands, once densely populated, remain sparsely inhabited today. While the Irish fled starvation in a desperate exodus, the Scots were methodically pushed out by their own ...

The Jacobite Rebellions were a series of uprisings (1689-1746) attempting to restore the Catholic Stuart dynasty to the British throne. The final rebellion in 1745-46, led by "Bonnie Prince Charlie," saw Highland clans march as far as Derby, England, before retreating and meeting catastrophic defeat at Culloden in April 1746. What followed was not merely military victory but cultural annihilation. The British government systematically dismantled Highland society: clan chiefs lost their hereditary jurisdictions, wearing tartan became illegal, bagpipes were banned as "instruments of war," and the Gaelic language was suppressed. The Disarming Acts confiscated weapons, and entire estates were forfeited. Many Jacobite supporters were executed, imprisoned, or transported to the American colonies as indentured servants. This deliberate destruction of the clan system created the conditions for the Highland Clearances—with traditional power structures shattered...

The Irish Immigration Supremacy Period When Irish Were #1 (or Close) 1840s-1850s: DOMINANT - Irish were the largest immigrant group by far 1860s-1880s: Still #1 or #2 - Competed with Germans 1890s: Declining - Germans, Italians, Eastern Europeans overtaking   The Numbers - Irish vs. Other Groups 1840s Immigration to America: Irish: ~780,000 Germans: ~435,000 British: ~267,000 Irish = 45% of ALL immigrants that decade 1850s Immigration (Peak Irish Decade): Irish: ~914,000 Germans: ~951,000 (Germans barely edged out Irish) British: ~424,000 Irish = 35% of all immigrants Combined Irish + German = 71% of all immigrants 1860s: Germans: ~787,000 (#1) Irish: ~435,000 (#2) British: ~607,000 1870s: Germans: ~718,000 (#1) Irish: ~436,000 (#2) British: ~548,000 1880s: Germans: ~1,452,000 (#1) Irish: ~655,000 (#3) British: ~807,000 (#2) Scandinavians rising Eastern Europeans beginning   The Visual Reality In 1850, if you walked through: New York City immigrant wards: E...