Politics Culture And The Irish American Press

From the Revolutionary War forward, Irish immigrants have contributed significantly to the construction of the American Republic. Scholars have documented their experiences and explored their social, political, and cultural lives in countless books. Offering a fresh perspective, this volume traces the rich history of the Irish American diaspora press, uncovering the ways in which a lively print culture forged significant cultural, political, and even economic bonds between the Irish living in America and the Irish living in Ireland. As the only mass medium prior to the advent of radio, newspapers served to foster a sense of identity and a means of acculturation for those seeking to establish themselves in the land of opportunity. Irish American newspapers provided information about what was happening back home in Ireland as well as news about the events that were occurring within the local migrant community. They framed national events through Irish American eyes and explained the significance of what was happening to newly arrived immigrants who were unfamiliar with American history or culture. They also played a central role in the social life of Irish migrants and provided the comfort that came from knowing that, though they may have been far from home, they were not alone. Taking a long view through the prism of individual newspapers, editors, and journalists, the authors in this volume examine the emergence of the Irish American diaspora press and its profound contribution to the lives of Irish Americans over the course of the last two centuries.

This work is a distinctive, multidisciplinary encyclopedia covering the cultural, political, economic, musical, and literary impact that Ireland and the nations of the Americas have had on one another since the time of Brendan the Navigator. Ireland and the Americas: Culture, Politics, and History aims to broaden the traditional notion of 'Irish-American' beyond Boston, New York, and Chicago. In additional to full coverage of Irish culture in those settings, it reveals the pervasive Irish influence in everything from the settling of the American West, to the spread of Christianity throughout the hemisphere, to Irish involvement in revolutionary movements from the American colonies to Mexico to South America. In addition, the encyclopedia shows the profound impact of Irish Americans on their homeland, in everything from art and literature informed by the emigrant experience, to efforts by Irish Americans to influence Irish politics. Ranging from colonial times to the present, and informed by the surge of academic interest in the past 30 years, Ireland and the Americas is the definitive resource on the profound ties that bind the cultures of Ireland, the United States, Canada, and Latin America.

This volume explores the ways in which the complicated revolution in British newspapers, the New Journalism, influenced Irish politics, culture, and newspaper practices. The essays here further illuminate the central role of the press in the evolution of Irish nationalism and modernism in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Between the years 1778 and 1784, groups that had previously been excluded from the Irish political sphere—women, Catholics, lower-class Protestants, farmers, shopkeepers, and other members of the laboring and agrarian classes—began to imagine themselves as civil subjects with a stake in matters of the state. This politicization of non-elites was largely driven by the Volunteers, a local militia force that emerged in Ireland as British troops were called away to the American War of Independence. With remarkable speed, the Volunteers challenged central features of British imperial rule over Ireland and helped citizens express a new Irish national identity. In A Nation of Politicians, Padhraig Higgins argues that the development of Volunteer-initiated activities—associating, petitioning, subscribing, shopping, and attending celebrations—expanded the scope of political participation. Using a wide range of literary, archival, and visual sources, Higgins examines how ubiquitous forms of communication—sermons, songs and ballads, handbills, toasts, graffiti, theater, rumors, and gossip—encouraged ordinary Irish citizens to engage in the politics of a more inclusive society and consider the broader questions of civil liberties and the British Empire. A Nation of Politicians presents a fascinating tale of the beginnings of Ireland’s richly vocal political tradition at this important intersection of cultural, intellectual, social, and public history. Winner of the Donald Murphy Prize for Distinguished First Book, American Conference for Irish Studies

This volume gathers over 40 world-class scholars to explore the dynamics that have shaped the Irish experience in America from the seventeenth to the twenty-first centuries. From the early 1600s to the present, over 10 million Irish people emigrated to various points around the globe. Of them, more than six million settled in what we now call the United States of America. Some were emigrants, some were exiles, and some were refugees—but they all brought with them habits, ideas, and beliefs from Ireland, which played a role in shaping their new home. Organized chronologically, the chapters in this volume offer a cogent blend of historical perspectives from the pens of some of the world’s leading scholars. Each section explores multiple themes including gender, race, identity, class, work, religion, and politics. This book also offers essays that examine the literary and/or artistic production of each era. These studies investigate not only how Irish America saw itself or, in turn, was seen, but also how the historical moment influenced cultural representation. It demonstrates the ways in which Irish Americans have connected with other groups, such as African Americans and Native Americans, and sets “Irish America” in the context of the global Irish diaspora. This book will be of value to undergraduate and graduate students, as well as instructors and scholars interested in American History, Immigration History, Irish Studies, and Ethnic Studies more broadly.

This book is a special issue of Modern Language Quarterly.

"Here is a new Clay Sanskrit Library publication of the middle book of Valmiki's Ramayana, the source revered throughout South Asia as the original account of the career of Rama, the ideal man and the incarnation of the great god Vishnu." "After losing first his kingship and then his wife, Sita, Rama goes to the monkey capital of Kishkindha to seek help in finding her, and meets Hanuman, the greatest of the monkey heroes. The brothers Valin and Sugriva are both claimants for the monkey throne; in exchange for the assistance of monkey troops in discovering where Sita is held captive, Rama has to help Sugriva win the throne. The monkey hordes set out in every direction to scour the world, but they have no success until an old vulture tells them Sita is in Lanka. The book concludes with Hanuman's preparation to leap over the ocean to Lanka to pursue the search." "The tragic rivalry between the two monkey brothers is in sharp contrast to Rama's affectionate relationship with his own brothers, and forms a self-contained episode within the larger story of Rama's adventures. Rama's intervention in the struggle between Sugriva and Valin is the chief moral focus of the book." --Book Jacket.

In The Tribe, Caitríona Perry is on familiar ground, returning to Washington and the green strongholds of the United States. Irish Americans were once considered kingmakers in local and national elections, but generations of assimilation and rising numbers of newer immigrants have diluted that power. Many even argue that the concept of an Irish vote is dead. But through exclusive interviews with powerful Irish American insiders, including President Bill Clinton, President Donald Trump's former Press Secretary Sean Spicer, Trump's Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, Congressman Joe Kennedy III, legendary Boston mayor Ray Flynn and many more, a clear sense that the Irish are still wielding valuable soft power at the highest levels of US politics emerges. Here, Caitríona Perry gets to the heart of the source and effectiveness of Irish power and influence in America and how it could, or should, evolve in a post-Brexit world, offering a fascinating insight into the inner workings of US politics. Perspectives on Irish America from some of the interviewees in The Tribe 'I knew getting involved in Northern Ireland was a controversial thing to do, but I knew that America had an unusual impact or potential impact on the situation. I just thought we had the largest Irish diaspora in the world, and we ought to get involved.' Former US President Bill Clinton 'Often times we work on Irish issues together across the aisle because of the cultural connection. Is that a voting bloc? No. Does that mean the Irish punch way above their weight? Yes, it absolutely does.' Chief of Staff to President Trump, Mick Mulvaney 'The thing that is truly unique in America is that there is not another country that gets the attention that Ireland does. So our entire country stops and celebrates St Patrick's Day in a way that we don't celebrate any other culture or country.' Former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer 'The commitment that our countries have made to each other, regardless of party, regardless of who's in power back in Ireland or here at home, is something to be nurtured and respected and it would be a shame for anybody to do any damage to that.' Democratic Congressman Joe Kennedy III 'The relationship between Ireland and the US is not a political tie. It's a tie at a cellular level.' Kevin O'Malley, former US Ambassador to Ireland