Irish Catholic Research Paper

     Irish-American. To some, this term merely designates one of the many ethnic groups which can be found in the United States; but to those who are Irish-American, it represents a people who faced a disaster of mammoth proportions and who managed to survive at great cost. The Great Hunger of 1845 changed, or more often, destroyed the lives of millions of Irish, causing them to seek refuge from poverty and starvation in other, more prosperous countries. However, not all countries would accept these victims of the Potato Famine. After an immense burst of Irish immigration to Great Britain, the British Parliament began to

The Irish experience in the U.S. was harsh. They fled Ireland due to the Potato Famine, and arrived here for opportunity, and even more importantly, a better life. They were also exceedingly poor, so that being

     One may question, what did the Irish have against the English? The answer one will find is, plenty! In Ireland, the landlords and agents and in American there were bosses and mine owners. The landlords in Ireland lived on large estates in the Irish countryside and charged

While America was known at the time as a place for accepting immigrants, this was not the case for most Irish immigrants. Irish Catholics were targeted on the grounds that Catholics could not be trusted to remain loyal to anyone but the Pope, if another war were to arise. However, the Irish remained strong willed and assimilated into American society by working as farmers and building machines.

The book, “The Irish Way” by James R. Barrett is a masterpiece written to describe the life of Irish immigrants who went to start new lives in America after conditions at home became un-accommodative. Widespread insecurity, callous English colonizers and the ghost of great famine still lingering on and on in their lives, made this ethnic group be convinced that home was longer a home anymore. They descended in United States of America in large numbers. James R. Barrett in his book notes that these people were the first group of immigrants to settle in America. According to him, there were a number of several ethnic groups that have arrived in America. It was, however, the mass exodus of Irish people during and after the great

In Joel Spring’s book, Deculturalization and the Struggle for Equality (2016) he explains the many discrimination actions towards different cultures. The first chapter in the book talks about the superiority of the Anglo-American. These Europeans that came to America saw the world in four different ways, between Protestants and Catholics and then the civilized and uncivilized. During this time, Protestants were considered superior to Catholics, “political freedom was only intended for protestants. Virginia banned Catholics from public offices in the 1640s; Massachusetts expelled Catholic priests in 1647; and after 1689 New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Maryland refused to grant citizenship to immigrant Catholics,” (Spring, 2016, p. 6).

The life of Irish immigrants in Boston was one of poverty and discrimination. The religiously centered culture of the Irish has along with their importance on family has allowed the Irish to prosper and persevere through times of injustice. Boston's Irish immigrant population amounted to a tenth of its population. Many after arriving could not find suitable jobs and ended up living where earlier generations had resided. This attributed to the 'invisibility' of the Irish.

Irish had often lived in unhealthy and unclean tenements. Then when they arrived in America they too had faced discrimination. They had many organizations conspired against them to ensure the immigrants could not vote, or hold office (Baker 262). “In 1844 controversy arose in Philadelphia over whether Catholic children in public schools could be allowed to read from the Catholic version of the Bible rather than the King James version and other issues”(Baker 262). This caused a violent reaction of the people who were against the Irish and Catholics (Baker 262). “Catholic churches and priests were the most frequent nativist targets” (Baker 262). The Americans had thought that the Irish Catholics had used the U.S voting system to elect followers of the pope so the pope could have some power in the United States. The nativist did not just have conspiracies about the Irish but many other immigrants too (Baker 262).

Amid the early developmental years of the free American country, most new outsiders came from Western Europe. A few nationalities were viewed as faulty with respect to how well they would have the capacity to absorb into American culture. For instance, Germans were viewed as faulty in light of their diverse dialect and distinctive culture, while English-speaking Irish Protestants were by and large adequate. Be that as it may, Irish Roman Catholics were viewed as sketchy due to their religion and as a result of the longstanding hostility amongst Ireland and England. In the end, outsiders from both Germany and Ireland constituted a huge piece of the new Anglo-conformity country. According to the lyrics of the song Paddy on the Canal “I often

Do you know how many of your County neighbors are barely making ends meet—often not earning enough to cover just one unexpected expense? A recent survey revealed that about 46% of Americans don’t feel they have enough money to cover a $400 emergency expense. Rather than paying it outright, these individuals and families have to put the expense on a credit card or simply cannot cover it.

Well I grew up in a Catholic family with a grandmother who was very spiritual, and even had her own room with hundreds of saints, and she would pray to them for different requests. I never really understood church or many of the Bible stories. The church services were so discipline to me, and felt like a punishment because of the standing and kneeling all through out the service. I moved away with my mother and siblings and we ended up staying at this homeless shelter that was ran by a non denominational church, so part of our agreement to stay was to attend this church. I found this church to be open to anyone and everyone, and during our time their I got baptized. I enjoyed this church. From that time I never really considered myself Catholic, because I could never

By the 18th century, Irish Catholics were denied suffrage, education, and the opportunity to serve in the military.

The English were making the Irish poor to force them into the protestant church. Under the Penal Laws the Irish Catholics were deprived them of any right to be represented in local government, to vote, or to even own land. Under these harsh conditions it is no wonder woman and children of the time bumbled around town just to find some way to survive as a catholic while protestantism is being shoved down one 's thought.

The Irish Republican Army (IRA) will remain a threat to the regional stability of Ireland and England. Ireland’s significance to the United States can be seen through Irish immigration, the role of Irish Americans in politics, and their military contributions throughout the history of the country. Additionally, the conflict in Ireland is of great concern to England. England is a key ally of the United States with strong economic and military ties. According to the United States Census Bureau, 36.9 million Americans claimed Irish ancestry in 2009 (Bureau, 2011). This has the potential to have the American public sympathize with the IRA which could lead to friction between both the United States and Great Britain.

The main reason for this was that Ireland was distrusted in the other parts of the United Kingdom. Catholic Ireland was an awkward fit for the predominantly Protestant Britain - Anglicanism in England, Methodism in Wales and Presbyterianism in Scotland. Ireland remained a religious outlier on Europe’s western off shore islands. Most of its population never subscribed to the Reformation and, despite centuries of persecution and discrimination, continued to remain faithful to Roman Catholicism. Protestant distrust of Catholicism in Britain had been manifested in the Gordon Riots of 1780, and continued to be an issue for much of the nineteenth century. It showed itself in distrust of Maynooth College (ironically, the recipient of government money