These are three cartoons out of hundreds printed by Puck in the 19th century at a time when the Irish held colossal power in American politics. There’s been a recent trend on social media telling Irish Americans they’re “not Irish”, and it’s driven by pure ignorance.

Ignorance of the fact that religion and ethnicity have always played a gigantic role in that country and will do for some time. Ignorance of the fact that the overwhelming majority of Irish Americans are not claiming to be as Irish as someone born and raised in Cork or Galway or Belfast. Ignorance of the fact that there’s little or no comparison to be made between how ethnicity operates in America and in Europe.

Puck portrayed Irish Catholics as violent thugs set on polluting America. Agents of the Vatican trying to overthrow “decent Protestant values”. In much of modern Europe these cartoons would be classed as criminally racist acts.

The second image needs explaining and demonstrates the extent of the paranoia which persisted well into the 20th century. It was printed during a period of expanding Catholic education when the Church in America (almost entirely run by Irish bishops, very many of them born in Ireland) was dealing with profound educational exclusion and attacks on religious freedoms. The priest is portrayed as using his armed thugs to cut open the Democratic Party to get more money to build schools and churches.

By 1900 Irish dominance of the Democratic Party was sealed, and yet even by the 1960 election of Kennedy his race and religion were openly used against him to cripple his election chances. He won by one of the slimmest electoral margins in US history. He specifically had to go on radio and TV to give a response that he would not be campaigning on behalf of the Vatican and that he did not intend to enforce the Church’s teaching. Just let that sink in a second….this was 1960. Not 1860.

As someone with a huge family of cousins in the US that I love and admire I think it’s worth remembering what the Irish in America endured, and the exceptionally important role they played in the 1916 Uprising- both through funding, arms, political pressure, and (dare I remind people) providing New York-born Éamon de Valera…

Irish Catholics continue to be by far the most over-represented ethnic group in US politics, dominating entire states and major cities as congressmen and senators. Barack Obama, for example, has mentioned many times that his Irish ancestry didn’t hurt him when he was trying to get elected in Chicago where they dye the river green.

by Dave-1066

12 comments

  2. Yeah, the bigotry was widespread though once the Irish eventually became accepted as part of the dominant white majority, some of them became fierce racists themselves. Irish America also poured huge sums into supporting the activities of the IRA, so it’s a mixed bag.

  5. This doesn’t change the fact that Americans claiming to be Irish are in fact not Irish. Sure they could all be calling themselves English etc. then as well with that logic if they’re talking about where ancestors are from. These images portray Irish people not Irish Americans so I’m pretty sure that lot is safe now anyway. You can’t start saying “Irish” Americans are persecuted for their ancestors in this day and age now come off it😂

  6. All of the deadbeats in the rhythm steal all the purchase from the rest.

  7. What consistently baffles me most about Irish Americans is how they have become so right wing, do these people not understand their own history?

  8. >Ignorance of the fact that there’s little or no comparison to be made between how ethnicity operates in America and in Europe.

    It’s more distaste for the continued American focus on ethnicity, than ignorance of it. Ethnicity is an unsavoury basis for categorizing people, because it has almost uniformly led to bigotry, oppression, and ethnic cleansing here in Europe. But somehow, in the USA, the view persists that it’s a perfectly fine basis for culture and national identity.

  9. Lots of tossers from Boston swear theyre Irish. It’s pathetic.

  10. These illustrations are by that ballbag thomas nast. The fact they wanted to honour him a few years ago shows how little esteem the Irish are still held in the US

  11. This is why the Americans came up with terms like “Irish twins,” they were having a dig at Catholic Irish immigrants and their descendants having large families

  12. The modern aversion to the whole claim of ancestry linked to European nations by Americans is not necessarily linked to the period of time you are speaking about. Americans and Irish alike have very little knowledge of this I’d wager.

    A general hatred or dislike of immigrants is nothing strange when they arrive en masse in any country. Particularly one when, at the time, religion played such a huge part in society and politics.

    The aversion mostly today is because of how Americans position themselves and how they behave regarding the most tenuous of genealogical links when speaking about “the old country.”

    It’s a form of class snobbery in modern times in America. Its one of the first subjects for discussion when they meet Europeans or are debating amongst themselves. Creating shaky pathways that generations previous in their family had some nobility, prowess in battle, or came over on The Mayflower.

    There is something about Ireland and Scotland in particular that Americans seem to act in a rather odd way. They attach mysticism, lore, and machismo to their claims around just who they are directly related.

    Ireland and Scotland realised a very long time ago that “the yanks” always had money and were happy for them to spend it in Ireland. So there is a complicity in perpetuating the myths for these people. Coach loads of them are seen in their thousands all throughout the summer.

    Personally, I found your post interesting as I like old magazine renderings about political history.

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