1001 Things Everyone Should Know About Irish American History

A precise selection of 1,001 entries concerning U.S. history.

When it comes to Irish America, certain names spring to mind—Kennedy, O’Neill, and Curley testify to the proverbial “footsteps of the Gael” in Boston. However, few people know of Sister Mary Anthony O’Connell, whose medical prowess carried her from the convent to the Civil War battlefields, earning her the nickname “the Boston Irish Florence Nightingale,” or of Barney McGinniskin, Boston’s first Irish cop, who proudly roared at every roll call, “McGinniskin from the bogs of Ireland—present!” Along with acclaim or notoriety, many forgotten Irish Americans garnered numerous historical firsts. In Hidden History of the Boston Irish, Peter F. Stevens offers an entertaining and compelling portrait of the Irish immigrant saga and pays homage to the overlooked, yet significant, episodes of the Boston Irish experience.

"A good read even for those who have not the least ancestral or national bias—for those who desire civilized entertainment along with brilliant narrative." —Seattle Times In thirty-five years and dozens of return trips to Ireland, Thomas Lynch has found a template for the larger world inside the small one, the planet in the local parish. Part memoir, part cultural study, Booking Passage is a brilliant, often comedic guidebook for those "fellow travelers, fellow pilgrims" making their way through the complexities of their own lives and times.

The book investigates English and Slovene onomastic phraseological units (PUs), and is based on two databases containing English and Slovene PUs with anthroponyms, toponyms and their derivatives. These databases were created using monolingual English and Slovene phraseological dictionaries. The volume provides in-depth, cross-linguistic and cross-cultural research into this segment of phraseology, and represents the most extensive treatment of any contrastive topic involving Slovene and a foreign language. As such, it will serve to be a useful source of information for scholars of Slavonic and other languages, as well as anyone interested in phraseology, cultural specificity, etymology, translation equivalence, and the stereotypical use of ethnonyms.

When it comes to the Boston Irish, names such as Bulger and Curley have long shaped the local turf. But most people are probably unaware of some of the most amazing and forgotten Irish men and women who helped mold this city. There was Patrick Gilmore, America's first famed bandleader. Louis Sullivan was the "Father of the Skyscraper." Other colorful characters included Patsy Donovan, the man who discovered Babe Ruth, and Ann "Goody" Glover, whose horrifying ordeal launched the Salem Witch Trials. Although each played a noteworthy role in his or her era, all have been unjustly forgotten. Local author Peter Stevens uncovers the missing pieces of the Irish experience in Boston.

Without proper documentation, living in the United States is a heavy burden, so why do immigrants choose to remain, in the face of scorn and endless risks? And what of the political debates? There are those in America who would have “illegal” immigrants deported without delay, while others argue they should pay a fine and stay. The argument rages on, and headway seems to be slow in coming. LIVING IN AMERICA AS AN UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANT tells the true, first-hand account of M.J., an undocumented alien who lived in the United States for ten years without proper documentation. M.J. has been a careful student of the immigration debate, and his account gives substantial discussion to the issues, key players, and longterm effects immigration reform could have on America and its citizens. M.J. lived his life in the U.S. in fear of being discovered as an undocumented immigrant, but through this experience he learned much of the human condition and why we view immigrants as we do. His story is one of life and work for an alien in a foreign place, but he does not intend to point the finger. He intends to educate, inform, and enlighten. The immigration debate does rage on, but one man’s mind has always been made up.

When American sportswriter Andy Mendlowitz took a summer vacation to Ireland, his itinerary included visiting medieval castles and drinking dark beer. He soon discovered a world where big-time sports aren't yet a business, but still a game. Ireland's rough-and-tumble pastimes of hurling and Gaelic football attract crowds of up to 80,000 fans a contest. The high-profile players, though, are amateurs. They train as professionals but must work fulltime jobs to pay the bills. The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) also lacks free agency or trades-you simply play for your hometown team, even if you move away. Amazed by this concept, and burned out at work, Mendlowitz quit his job and moved to Ireland for eight months His aim was to get excited again by understanding what drives these athletes. Along the way, he met interesting characters and learned how the sports intersect with the ancient Irish language, burgeoning economy and the Troubles in Northern Ireland. From big cities like Belfast, Dublin and Cork to tiny rural parishes, Mendlowitz paints a vivid picture of Ireland and the joy of competing.