People of Irish descent form the largest ethnic group in the city of Philadelphia and its surrounding counties. The Irish have lived in Philadelphia since the pre-American Revolution period. Irishmen had participated in pro-Revolutionary activities in Philadelphia during the Revolutionary War.Clark, p. 9. Like many American cities in the 19th century, Philadelphia, which was once a Quaker stronghold, changed dramatically with the influx of European immigrants. The first major influx of Irish came in 1844 from rural areas, spurred by the Irish Famine. Because of the Quaker belief and pledge of religious tolerance, Irish Catholics and Protestants, among others, made the city incredibly diverse. Philadelphia at the time had a need for industrial labor,Poxon, p. 9. and at the time Philadelphia was becoming a major industrial center in the United States.Clark, p. 31. Irish took industrial positions. In the 1840s and 1850s, anti-Catholic sentiment grew against the Irish, and eventually led up to riots, such as the Philadelphia nativist riots and the Lombard Street riot. Eventually the Irish gained financial and social status in the latter half of the 19th century and founded institutions during the period. Many Irish Philadelphians would later move on to other major Americans cities, such as Detroit, Milwaukee, Seattle, and St. Louis.
Philadelphia's Irish population have left their mark in a number of ways. Traditionally, the Philadelphia Police Department and Philadelphia Fire Department have always had a large Irish American influence. Many neighborhoods, such as Kensington and Fishtown of Northeast Philadelphia, and Pennsport of South Philadelphia are still heavily Irish. One of the most prominent Irish Philadelphians was Grace Kelly, an acclaimed actress who became Princess of Monaco. Prominent local politicians past and present, such as James Logan, would have an impact as well. The Irish were also responsible for establishing many Catholic institutions, such as St. Joseph's University, La Salle University, and Villanova University.
History
Pre- and early America The Irish had a major impact on the city even prior to its inception. William Penn, founder of Philadelphia and the Province of Pennsylvania, had notable ties to Ireland.Clark, p. 7. Penn converted to Quakerism as a result of a sermon preached in Cork.
The Irish Catholics were a recognizable part in the city in the pre-Revolutionary War years.Clark, p. 8. Philadelphia had a large presence of Irish bars and taverns, such as "Isabella Barry's Faithful Irishman", and "The Jolly Irishman". Patriotism became a well known characteristic of Irish in Philadelphia during the Revolution.Clark, p. 10.
The Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick was founded in 1771.
The first St. Patrick's Day parade in Philadelphia was in 1771.St. Patrick’s Day Parade: Philadelphia’s long-standing celebration of everything Irish, VisitPhilly.com, Philadelphia, PA: Visit Philadelphia, March 10, 2013, Retrieved March 15, 2014. Prior to the first parade, the Irish were already celebrating St. Patrick's Day in Philadelphia. Before the American republic was founded, Irishmen came together in 1771 to pay honor to Ireland's patron as founding members of the Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick for the relief of Emigrants from Ireland. George Washington, who has encouraged the many Irish soldiers under his command during the American Revolution to fete St. Patrick's Day, was an honorary member of this society. The designation of March 17 as a day of special observance was a very early Philadelphia custom. Philadelphia's Saint Patrick's Day parade is the second oldest in the United States.
Many Irish fought in the Battle of White Marsh during the Philadelphia campaign in the Revolutionary War.McGuire, p. 232. Most notably, Loyalist dragoons were raised by Richard Hovenden in Philadelphia County and Jacob James in Chester County, and a Bucks County regiment raised by Thomas Sandford. Perhaps no Irishman would have a bigger impact during the Revolutionary War than John Barry. He came to be widely credited as "The Father of the American Navy" (and shares that moniker with John Paul Jones) and was appointed a captain in the Continental Navy on December 7, 1775.Williams, 2008, p. 5. He was the first captain placed in command of a US warship commissioned for service under the Continental flag.Meany, 1911, p. 1. After the war, he became America's first commissioned naval officer, at the rank of commodore, receiving his commission from President George Washington in 1797.
19th century
Several Irish associations were formed in the 19th century. The first mutual aid groups to support individual counties were those for County Donegal and County Mayo, and others were subsequently formed. The Total Abstinence Brotherhood was founded to promote Catholic-based morality and an abstinence from alcohol. The Clan na Gael and the Fenian Brotherhood were formed to support Ireland-based nationalist groups. Some groups had Philadelphia-based chapters with their own meeting halls. They included the Ancient Order of the Hibernians, The Irish Catholic Benevolent Union, and the Irish League.Poxon, p. 9-10.
Duffy's Cut Duffy's Cut is the name given to a stretch of railroad tracks about 30 miles west of Philadelphia, originally built for the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad in the summer and fall of 1832. The line later became part of the Pennsylvania Railroad's Main Line. Railroad contractor Philip Duffy hired 57 Irish immigrants to lay this line through the area's densely wooded hills and ravines. The workers came to Philadelphia from the Ulster counties of Donegal, Tyrone and Londonderry to work in Pennsylvania's nascent railroad industry. Less than two months after their arrival, all 57 died during the second cholera pandemic. While most died of the disease, forensic evidence suggests that some may have been murdered, perhaps due to fear of contagion, as the pandemic spanned several continents and many years.
The site is located near Malvern, Pennsylvania, in East Whiteland Township near the intersection of King Road and Sugartown Road, where a Pennsylvania state historical marker has been placed.Barry, Dan (March 25, 2013) "With Shovels and Science, a Grim Story Is Told" The New York Times.
The famine generation
By 1846, Philadelphia had received Irish immigrants for six generations, but it was the seventh generation that was to greatly change the city's composition and posture with respect to immigrants.Clark, p. 24. The increase of Irish immigrants in the post-famine years introduced a ghetto system. During the famine, the Society of Friends in Philadelphia distinguished itself by its dedication to the relief of the suffering in Ireland. The Philadelphia Society of Friends Famine Relief Committee took charge of soliciting donations from Quakers across the United States and forwarding them to Ireland.Strum, Harvey. Pennsylvania and Irish Famine Relief, 1846–1847. Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies, vol. 81, no. 3, 2014. https://journals.psu.edu/phj/article/download/62361/61656/69606 Although Quaker families had found hospitality and refuge in Ireland in the seventeenth century, they also found hostility. It is a mark of the high principles of these families that many of the descendants of the earlier Quaker emigrants contributed heavily in the 1840s to the Irish.
Nativist and Lombard street riots The Lombard Street riot was a three-day race riot in 1842.Gregory, Kia. Philadelphia Weekly. Monumental Achievement , December 7, 2005; accessed April 30, 2008.Newlin, Heather. "The Calm After the Storm" , phillyhistory.org; accessed April 30, 2008. The riot was the last in a 13-year period marked by frequent racial attacks in the city.DuBois, W.E.B. The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1996.Independence Hall Association. "Philadelphia Timeline, 1842", ushistory.org; accessed April 30, 2008. It started on Lombard Street, between Fifth and Eighth streets. During the years immediately before the riots, there were periodic outbreaks of racial, ethnic and religious violence among Irish Catholics, German Protestants, African Americans and even pacifist Quakers. These were the result of social and economic competition, especially between Irish Catholics and African Americans, who were generally at the bottom of the social hierarchy. Many Irish refused to work on labor teams with African Americans.
Irish Catholics, often competitors for the lowest-paying, unskilled and menial jobs, perceived the city's more successful African-American residents as flaunting their success, setting the stage for blacks to become targets for the immigrants' frustrations and jealous rage.Runcie, John. Pennsylvania History, April 1972, Penn State University Press. "'Hunting the Nigs' in Philadelphia: The Race Riot of August 1834". 39.2, pp 187–218.Hopper, Matthew S., Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia, "From Refuge to Strength: The Rise of the African American Church in Philadelphia, 1787-1949" , preservationalliance.com; accessed December 30, 2012.
On the morning of August 1, 1842, a parade was held by over 1,000 members of the black Young Men's Vigilant Association on Philadelphia's Lombard Street between Fifth and Eighth Streets in commemoration of the eighth anniversary of the end of slavery in the British West Indies. As the paraders neared Mother Bethel Church, they were attacked by an Irish Catholic mob.Contosta, Nicole. University City Review, "The Lombard Street Riot: an often-ignored chapter in Philadelphia's history", yudu.com, July 11, 2012; accessed December 28, 2012.The Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia, YEARS OF GROWTH AND CHALLENGE, 1830-1880 (archived copy available here), preservationalliance.com; accessed 30 December 2012. The rioters moved west, setting fires and attacking firefighters and police as they went, heading for the home of African-American leader Robert Purvis. Purvis and his home were reportedly saved from the Irish mob solely by a Catholic priest's intervention.Historical Society of Pennsylvania, "Lombard Street Riots", philaplace.org; accessed August 15, 2012.
Requests to the mayor and police for protection initially led to the arrest of several of the victims and none of the rioters. Over three days of attacks, the Second African American Presbyterian Church (on St. Mary's Street near 6th Street), the abolitionist Smith's Hall, and numerous homes and public buildings were looted, burned and mostly destroyed. The mayor had credible evidence of a plan to burn several local churches, which he ignored. Eventually, as the rioting began to subside, the local militia was brought in to restore order.