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History of the Irish in Saint Paul

Irish in Saint Paul, Minnesota have played an integral part in the founding and the growth of the city. The first Irish to settle in Saint Paul were three demobilised soldiers from Fort Snelling who were natives of Ireland. They became the first settlers in the area of downtown Saint Paul. Helped by Archbishop John Ireland, thousands of Irish emigrated from Ireland and Eastern cities in the United States to Minnesota; and especially large number settled in Saint Paul.

Note the relatively large density of Irish around Saint Paul.

Despite being outnumbered by the German American community, the Irish, like in other American big cities, led the Democratic Party political machine that ran St. Paul.[1] Many mayors of Saint Paul have been Irish, including a stretch of nine out of ten from 1932 to 1972. The last two mayors of Saint Paul, Randy Kelly and Chris Coleman, have been Irish. The dominance has been attributed to the control of the business, labor unions, and politics of the city.[2]

History edit

 
The Seventh Street Improvement Arches separated Swede Hollow from Connemara Patch. The north side (foreground) of the photograph is Swede Hollow; the area partially visible beyond the arches is the former site of Connemara Patch.

The first Irish to come in Minnesota were immigrants who served as soldiers at nearby Fort Snelling. These soldiers would later be some of Saint Paul's first settlers.[3][4] In July 1838, three soldiers filed claims for land in what is now Saint Paul. Edward Phelan, John Hays and William Evans were all natives of Ireland and had been discharged from Fort Snelling. Evans settled on Dayton's Bluff, with Phelan and Hays becoming the first people to live on what is now Downtown Saint Paul.[5] Hays later became the first person to be murdered in Saint Paul, dying in September 1839. Phelan was accused but was then released due to lack of evidence. He settled near the creek that runs through the East Side neighborhood, later named Phalen Creek. The creek runs from Lake Phalen through Swede Hollow to the Mississippi River and was later used by Hamm's Brewery. In 1850 after he was accused of perjury, Phelan fled to California.[6]

A number of strong fraternal organizations had chapters in Saint Paul including the Benevolent Society of Erin and Shields Guards, a militia named for James Shields.[7][8] Saint Paul's branch of the Fenian Brotherhood even led the Pembina Raid in conjunction with other attacks of the Fenian Raids.[9][10]

One of the most direct connections to Ireland that still exists is Connemara Patch. In 1880, Archbishop Ireland attempted to settle the area around Graceville, Minnesota with Irish emigrants from Connemara, County Galway. The colony failed after one of the harshest winters on record. The immigrants spoke only the Irish language and established Connemara Patch, a community just downstream from Swede Hollow.[9][11][12] Ireland managed to find jobs for most of Connemaras with the railroads.[13]

In 1850 more than half of the Irish were unskilled laborers.[7] A large portion of the Saint Paul Police Department have been Irish since the 1850s.[7] The Irish in Saint Paul, like those in the Eastern United States participated heavily in politics. Many sought government jobs such as policemen, due to the job security. As a result, the Irish's particularly visible role prompted complaints and allegations from other ethnic groups such as the Germans who wanted more representation.[14]

Politics edit

Nine of the ten men who served as mayors of Saint Paul between 1932 and 1972 were Irish.[15] Domination of the Democratic Party dates back to 1850s. Around the turn of the 20th century, Irish politicians allied themselves with businessmen and controlled city politics.[16] A study in 1957 concluded that being Catholic was "almost essential for political success in Saint Paul".[17] Led by the influential Archbishop John Ireland, the Catholic Church was heavily influenced by the Irish. Other ethnic groups complained of Irish Catholic ways being imposed on their parishes.[9]

The O'Connor System was created by the Chief of Police, John J. O'Connor and his brother Richard. The system allowed known criminals to live in the city as long as they obeyed the law in Saint Paul. As a result, criminals such as Machine Gun Kelly, John Dillinger and Baby Face Nelson lived in Saint Paul. After the O'Connor brothers retired from politics and a series of high-profile kidnappings occurred, the system fell apart.[18]

Population edit

The city had a sizable Irish population working as household servants and dock laborers in 1851. In the 1857 census only 17% of Saint Paul's 9,973 residents were born in the United States. The largest foreign-born group were the Germans, with the Irish being the next largest.[19] Immigration from Ireland peaked in 1890.[20] In 1880, Irish immigrants made up 10% of Saint Paul's work force; 10 years later they made up 6%.[21] In 1895, Irish-born residents made up between three and five percent of Saint Paul residents.[22]

Culture edit

Irish Fair of Minnesota edit

The grounds of Harriet Island in St. Paul, is the location for the annual Irish culture festival, known as the Irish Fair of Minnesota. It is held in August of every year. Visitors can choose from the many activities the festival has to offer, like listening to music on one of the three stages, having a bit of Irish food and drink, learning about the many engaging aspects of Irish culture, taking part in a workshop on how to play the Irish bodhran, watching the incredible Irish dancers, and perusing through the Irish marketplace. The Irish Fair is free, no admission charge to the festival.

Saint Patrick's Day edit

Saint Paul held Minnesota's first St Patrick's Day parade in 1851. The celebration was an impromptu event, with 300 participants partaking in flag-raising, speeches and a fired salute.[7] When the parades first started, temperance was an integral theme. The Irish Catholic Temperance Society led many of the first parades, and in 1856 the Benevolent Society of Erin hosted a dinner complete with toasts of cold water. Festivities grew more elaborate during the Civil War.[23] The celebration reached a zenith in 1901, when the city's chapter of the Ancient Order of Hibernians arranged special railroad rates in conjunction with James J. Hill, and as a result 4,000 people took part in the parade. The following year no activities took place, with the Irish celebrating "very quietly and religiously". Archbishop Ireland called to a halt celebrations that had turned into what he termed "midnight orgies". Around a half of a century later, the parade was revived by downtown businessmen in 1967.[24] The parade has since grown to be an organized affair with 100,000 attending the downtown parade in 2007.[25][26] In addition to a parade, the Irish Music and Dance Association hosts dancing, live music, and vendors in the nearby Landmark Center.[27]

Notables edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ Kunz, Saint Paul: The First One Hundred and Fifty Years, 32
  2. ^ Regan, Irish in Minnesota, 29
  3. ^ Kunz, Saint Paul: The First One Hundred and Fifty Years, 10
  4. ^ Regan, Irish In Minnesota, 7
  5. ^ Kunz, Saint Paul: The First One Hundred and Fifty Years, 12
  6. ^ Kunz, Saint Paul: The First One Hundred and Fifty Years, 15-16
  7. ^ a b c d Kunz, Saint Paul: The First One Hundred and Fifty Years, 33
  8. ^ Regan, Irish In Minnesota, 31
  9. ^ a b c Kunz, Saint Paul: The First One Hundred and Fifty Years, 57
  10. ^ Regan, Irish In Minnesota, 44-45
  11. ^ Regan, Irish In Minnesota, 22-23
  12. ^ Binchy, Brewer's dictionary of Irish phrase & fable, 393
  13. ^ Johnston, Minnesota's Irish, 43-46
  14. ^ Kunz, Saint Paul: The First One Hundred and Fifty Years, 56-57
  15. ^ Kunz, Saint Paul: The First One Hundred and Fifty Years, 79
  16. ^ Kunz, Saint Paul: The First One Hundred and Fifty Years, 79-80
  17. ^ Johnston, Minnesota's Irish, 16
  18. ^ Kunz, Saint Paul: The First One Hundred and Fifty Years, 79-81
  19. ^ Kunz, Saint Paul: The First One Hundred and Fifty Years, 35
  20. ^ News Tribune, (March 17, 2007), "EH?", Duluth News Tribune
  21. ^ Regan, Irish in Minnesota, 35
  22. ^ Regan, Irish in Minnesota, 32
  23. ^ Johnston, Minnesota's Irish, pp.82-84
  24. ^ Johnston, Minnesota's Irish, pp.82-86
  25. ^ Vezner, Tad (March 18, 2007), "Painting The Town Green - Warm Weather, WCHA Hockey Draw 100,000 Downtown For St. Patrick's Day Parade", Saint Paul Pioneer Press
  26. ^ Holste, Glenda (March 17, 2006), "Take A Lesson From The Irish-Americans", Saint Paul Pioneer Press
  27. ^ Saint Patrick's Day Irish Music and Dance Association
  28. ^ Crosby, Jackie (March 17, 2006), "For Mayor Coleman, it's easy being green - The St. Paul mayor brings a strong Irish heritage as he celebrates St. Patrick's Day and leads the city's annual parade.", Star Tribune

References edit

  • Johnston, Patricia Condon (1984). Minnesota's Irish. Afton, Minnesota: Johnston Pub. Inc. ISBN 0-942934-07-5.
  • Don Boxmeyer; Donald Empson. The Street Where You Live: A Guide to the Place Names of St. Paul. University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 0-8166-4729-1.
  • Regan, Ann (2002). Irish in Minnesota. St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Historical Society Press. ISBN 0-87351-419-X.
  • Kunz, Virginia Brainard. Saint Paul: The First One Hundred and Fifty Years. Bookmen. ISBN 0-9630690-0-4.
  • Binchy, Maeve; O'Donoghue, Jo (2004). Brewer's dictionary of Irish phrase & fable. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 0-304-36334-0.
  • Wingerd, Mary Lethert (2001). Claiming the city: politics, faith, and the power of place in St. Paul. Ithaca, N.Y: Cornell University Press. ISBN 0-8014-8885-0.

External links edit

  • Irish Fair of Minnesota
  • Irish Music and Dance Association

history, irish, saint, paul, irish, saint, paul, minnesota, have, played, integral, part, founding, growth, city, first, irish, settle, saint, paul, were, three, demobilised, soldiers, from, fort, snelling, were, natives, ireland, they, became, first, settlers. Irish in Saint Paul Minnesota have played an integral part in the founding and the growth of the city The first Irish to settle in Saint Paul were three demobilised soldiers from Fort Snelling who were natives of Ireland They became the first settlers in the area of downtown Saint Paul Helped by Archbishop John Ireland thousands of Irish emigrated from Ireland and Eastern cities in the United States to Minnesota and especially large number settled in Saint Paul Note the relatively large density of Irish around Saint Paul Despite being outnumbered by the German American community the Irish like in other American big cities led the Democratic Party political machine that ran St Paul 1 Many mayors of Saint Paul have been Irish including a stretch of nine out of ten from 1932 to 1972 The last two mayors of Saint Paul Randy Kelly and Chris Coleman have been Irish The dominance has been attributed to the control of the business labor unions and politics of the city 2 Contents 1 History 2 Politics 3 Population 4 Culture 4 1 Irish Fair of Minnesota 4 2 Saint Patrick s Day 5 Notables 6 Notes 7 References 8 External linksHistory edit nbsp The Seventh Street Improvement Arches separated Swede Hollow from Connemara Patch The north side foreground of the photograph is Swede Hollow the area partially visible beyond the arches is the former site of Connemara Patch The first Irish to come in Minnesota were immigrants who served as soldiers at nearby Fort Snelling These soldiers would later be some of Saint Paul s first settlers 3 4 In July 1838 three soldiers filed claims for land in what is now Saint Paul Edward Phelan John Hays and William Evans were all natives of Ireland and had been discharged from Fort Snelling Evans settled on Dayton s Bluff with Phelan and Hays becoming the first people to live on what is now Downtown Saint Paul 5 Hays later became the first person to be murdered in Saint Paul dying in September 1839 Phelan was accused but was then released due to lack of evidence He settled near the creek that runs through the East Side neighborhood later named Phalen Creek The creek runs from Lake Phalen through Swede Hollow to the Mississippi River and was later used by Hamm s Brewery In 1850 after he was accused of perjury Phelan fled to California 6 A number of strong fraternal organizations had chapters in Saint Paul including the Benevolent Society of Erin and Shields Guards a militia named for James Shields 7 8 Saint Paul s branch of the Fenian Brotherhood even led the Pembina Raid in conjunction with other attacks of the Fenian Raids 9 10 One of the most direct connections to Ireland that still exists is Connemara Patch In 1880 Archbishop Ireland attempted to settle the area around Graceville Minnesota with Irish emigrants from Connemara County Galway The colony failed after one of the harshest winters on record The immigrants spoke only the Irish language and established Connemara Patch a community just downstream from Swede Hollow 9 11 12 Ireland managed to find jobs for most of Connemaras with the railroads 13 In 1850 more than half of the Irish were unskilled laborers 7 A large portion of the Saint Paul Police Department have been Irish since the 1850s 7 The Irish in Saint Paul like those in the Eastern United States participated heavily in politics Many sought government jobs such as policemen due to the job security As a result the Irish s particularly visible role prompted complaints and allegations from other ethnic groups such as the Germans who wanted more representation 14 Politics editNine of the ten men who served as mayors of Saint Paul between 1932 and 1972 were Irish 15 Domination of the Democratic Party dates back to 1850s Around the turn of the 20th century Irish politicians allied themselves with businessmen and controlled city politics 16 A study in 1957 concluded that being Catholic was almost essential for political success in Saint Paul 17 Led by the influential Archbishop John Ireland the Catholic Church was heavily influenced by the Irish Other ethnic groups complained of Irish Catholic ways being imposed on their parishes 9 The O Connor System was created by the Chief of Police John J O Connor and his brother Richard The system allowed known criminals to live in the city as long as they obeyed the law in Saint Paul As a result criminals such as Machine Gun Kelly John Dillinger and Baby Face Nelson lived in Saint Paul After the O Connor brothers retired from politics and a series of high profile kidnappings occurred the system fell apart 18 Population editThe city had a sizable Irish population working as household servants and dock laborers in 1851 In the 1857 census only 17 of Saint Paul s 9 973 residents were born in the United States The largest foreign born group were the Germans with the Irish being the next largest 19 Immigration from Ireland peaked in 1890 20 In 1880 Irish immigrants made up 10 of Saint Paul s work force 10 years later they made up 6 21 In 1895 Irish born residents made up between three and five percent of Saint Paul residents 22 Culture editIrish Fair of Minnesota edit The grounds of Harriet Island in St Paul is the location for the annual Irish culture festival known as the Irish Fair of Minnesota It is held in August of every year Visitors can choose from the many activities the festival has to offer like listening to music on one of the three stages having a bit of Irish food and drink learning about the many engaging aspects of Irish culture taking part in a workshop on how to play the Irish bodhran watching the incredible Irish dancers and perusing through the Irish marketplace The Irish Fair is free no admission charge to the festival Saint Patrick s Day edit Saint Paul held Minnesota s first St Patrick s Day parade in 1851 The celebration was an impromptu event with 300 participants partaking in flag raising speeches and a fired salute 7 When the parades first started temperance was an integral theme The Irish Catholic Temperance Society led many of the first parades and in 1856 the Benevolent Society of Erin hosted a dinner complete with toasts of cold water Festivities grew more elaborate during the Civil War 23 The celebration reached a zenith in 1901 when the city s chapter of the Ancient Order of Hibernians arranged special railroad rates in conjunction with James J Hill and as a result 4 000 people took part in the parade The following year no activities took place with the Irish celebrating very quietly and religiously Archbishop Ireland called to a halt celebrations that had turned into what he termed midnight orgies Around a half of a century later the parade was revived by downtown businessmen in 1967 24 The parade has since grown to be an organized affair with 100 000 attending the downtown parade in 2007 25 26 In addition to a parade the Irish Music and Dance Association hosts dancing live music and vendors in the nearby Landmark Center 27 Notables editArchbishop John Ireland James J Hill F Scott Fitzgerald Danny Hogan Randy Kelly Chris Coleman 28 Eamon a BurcNotes edit Kunz Saint Paul The First One Hundred and Fifty Years 32 Regan Irish in Minnesota 29 Kunz Saint Paul The First One Hundred and Fifty Years 10 Regan Irish In Minnesota 7 Kunz Saint Paul The First One Hundred and Fifty Years 12 Kunz Saint Paul The First One Hundred and Fifty Years 15 16 a b c d Kunz Saint Paul The First One Hundred and Fifty Years 33 Regan Irish In Minnesota 31 a b c Kunz Saint Paul The First One Hundred and Fifty Years 57 Regan Irish In Minnesota 44 45 Regan Irish In Minnesota 22 23 Binchy Brewer s dictionary of Irish phrase amp fable 393 Johnston Minnesota s Irish 43 46 Kunz Saint Paul The First One Hundred and Fifty Years 56 57 Kunz Saint Paul The First One Hundred and Fifty Years 79 Kunz Saint Paul The First One Hundred and Fifty Years 79 80 Johnston Minnesota s Irish 16 Kunz Saint Paul The First One Hundred and Fifty Years 79 81 Kunz Saint Paul The First One Hundred and Fifty Years 35 News Tribune March 17 2007 EH Duluth News Tribune Regan Irish in Minnesota 35 Regan Irish in Minnesota 32 Johnston Minnesota s Irish pp 82 84 Johnston Minnesota s Irish pp 82 86 Vezner Tad March 18 2007 Painting The Town Green Warm Weather WCHA Hockey Draw 100 000 Downtown For St Patrick s Day Parade Saint Paul Pioneer Press Holste Glenda March 17 2006 Take A Lesson From The Irish Americans Saint Paul Pioneer Press Saint Patrick s Day Irish Music and Dance Association Crosby Jackie March 17 2006 For Mayor Coleman it s easy being green The St Paul mayor brings a strong Irish heritage as he celebrates St Patrick s Day and leads the city s annual parade Star TribuneReferences editJohnston Patricia Condon 1984 Minnesota s Irish Afton Minnesota Johnston Pub Inc ISBN 0 942934 07 5 Don Boxmeyer Donald Empson The Street Where You Live A Guide to the Place Names of St Paul University of Minnesota Press ISBN 0 8166 4729 1 Regan Ann 2002 Irish in Minnesota St Paul MN Minnesota Historical Society Press ISBN 0 87351 419 X Kunz Virginia Brainard Saint Paul The First One Hundred and Fifty Years Bookmen ISBN 0 9630690 0 4 Binchy Maeve O Donoghue Jo 2004 Brewer s dictionary of Irish phrase amp fable London Weidenfeld amp Nicolson ISBN 0 304 36334 0 Wingerd Mary Lethert 2001 Claiming the city politics faith and the power of place in St Paul Ithaca N Y Cornell University Press ISBN 0 8014 8885 0 External links editIrish Fair of Minnesota Irish Music and Dance Association Irish Dancing in St Paul Minnesota Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title History of the Irish in Saint Paul amp oldid 1209501850, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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