The Birth of the Irish American (shown through maps)
The maps above show the strong foothold Irish emigrants found in the Northeast US as early as the mid-19th century. The left map shows the population of Irish-born immigrants in the United States. Many of these immigrants may have left Ireland to escape the Great Famine, coming to “view their departure as an enforced exile,” with, “the blame [laid] squarely on British misrule” (Delaney 2006). However, Delaney points out that this certainly only applies to a fraction of immigrants, as contrary to the “collective memory both in Ireland and among the Irish overseas,” Irish emigration even during that era cannot be solely attributed to the Great Famine (Delaney 2006). Despite this, many other symptoms of British imperialist oppression such as job insecurity and religious persecution can be pointed to as sources of emigration. Thus, across many waves of immigrants, and those who stayed, there is a shared struggle that kept these communities connected to each other. When Irish families wound up in port cities like Boston and New York, they found further discrimination and hate alongside the “opportunities” America afforded. As many immigrant groups do, they formed tight-knit communities that would come to represent the Irish American identity.
Looking at the second two maps, the situation has greatly evolved over the last century. Areas such as Boston remain dense with Irish blood, up to 30% in some areas. Yet, now, the overall communities have spread out across the entire country. Furthermore, we are no longer concerned with Irish-born immigrants, rather those Americans who claim Irish ancestry. As this identity continued to evolve throughout the 20th century, the connection to Ireland itself remained strong, and those dark-green blotches on both maps became impactful on the development and resolution of the Troubles.
