What Foods did the Irish Eat in Old New Orleans?

Red Beans and Rice with Andouille and Ham
with a French Bread Pistolette
Photo by Adrian McGrath

By Adrian McGrath

What foods did the Irish eat in New Orleans after they emigrated to that major port city on the Mississippi River? The Irish had been coming to New Orleans, Louisiana from the city's earliest days since the 1700s. But they came sporadically, and the early immigrants had some means in that city which was originally controlled by France. They were not poor and uneducated. 

The French city changed hands, going to Spain and then back to France. Napoleon Bonaparte gave it to the United States under the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 when Thomas Jefferson was president.

Unlike the rest of the American South which was mainly Anglo-Saxon and Protestant, New Orleans was Catholic -- as was south Louisiana in the French Cajun country. As a major port New Orleans attracted people from around the world. French, Spanish, African (most held as enslaved persons, although there were some Freemen-of-Color and Freewomen-of-Color), Native American Choctaws, Germans, Italians, all made up the multi-cultural gumbo that was New Orleans. 

But there was another group of immigrants who came en masse. The Irish, and mainly Irish Catholics, came again to New Orleans in the 1830s through the 1850s. These Irish were different from the few Irish who had arrived earlier. These Irish were mainly poor and uneducated. They came in the 1830s seeking political freedom from oppression in their homeland which was occupied by Britain, and they came for work to survive. 

These Irish were typically discriminated against in work with signs like "No Irish Need Apply" -- a common thing in the major cities on the US East coast.

Some of these Irish found employment, albeit very difficult and dangerous, digging the New Basin Canal from the shores of Lake Ponchartrain, north of the city, to the business district of New Orleans. Thousands of these Irish immigrants died from diseases and exploitation while digging this canal through hot, humid swamps infested with wild animals and mosquitoes which carried deadly yellow fever.  (See more about this at my article on the New Basin Canal.)

Monument for the Irish who died digging the
New Basin Canal of New Orleans in the 1830s
Photo by A. McGrath

The living conditions for these Irish workers was atrocious. They had no medical care to speak of and very poor food as they were several miles from the central city. The only supplies they got were from the company store which took advantage of them and had inadequate cooking facilities.

Another wave of Irish immigrants came during the Great Hunger or Potato Famine from 1845 to about 1850. (Read more about this at my article on Coffin Ships.)  A million Irish people starved to death when the potato blighted, despite the fact that there were other types of food in Ireland besides potatoes. But all the food and the lands were controlled by the British who let the Irish starve to death or flee Ireland, mainly for America, in dangerous and disease-filled Coffin Ships. 

We should be thankful always for the food we have today when we consider how our ancestors suffered horribly and died by the thousands upon thousands in those horrible days.

These Famine Irish immigrants were not discriminated against because of religion, as New Orleans was a Catholic city historically; but they were nevertheless considered outcasts by both the old established Creoles (descendants of the French and the Spanish) and the newer Anglo-Americans who came after the Louisiana Purchase.

By the time of the 1850s, a notorious group of bigots called the Know Nothings actively discriminated against the Irish and were involved in political movements to suppress Irish immigration.

The Union Fleet captures New Orleans
during the American Civil War, 1862
Photo from Wikipedia

With the American Civil War, Irish immigration to the city reduced and more and more Irish arrived in Northern ports like New York, Philadelphia, and Boston. 

Eventually, however, the Irish made a home in New Orleans and began to assimilate. Because of their outstanding service as soldiers in the American Civil War, they gained respectability and advance up the social ladder becoming policemen, firemen, businessmen, journalists, lawyers, and politicians. (See my article on the Irish in the American Civil War, for more.)

Yes, all of this history is quite interesting; but since we are talking about New Orleans, a city where food is practically a religious experience, the question remains: What did the Irish eat? What foods did they cook at home?

I looked far and wide; and much to my surprise, I found the answer in a book written under the auspices of Franklin D. Roosevelt's Works Progress Administration (WPA) created during the Great Depression in the 1930s. It was part of a special writers' program of the WPA, Louisiana Writers' Project. (More on this book in a moment, let me finish the historical setting first.)

Most of the early Irish in New Orleans lived in a neighborhood near the Mississippi River called The Irish Channel a few miles up the river from the Vieux Carre or French Quarter which was the heart of the city. Originally, it was outside of the city limits and was a poor neighborhood or a working class neighborhood. 

No one really knows how it got its name. Some suggested when it rained, the poor drainage made the steets there resemble water channels. Others said the Irish were "channelled" into that area -- new Irish simply followed where earlier Irish immigrants stayed. Still another explanation was that as immigrants arrived by river boat on the Mississippi, they went down a side waterway, or channel, into that neighborhood. But, no one really knows.

It had shotgun houses (a unique style of small houses in New Orleans which were long and thin) and a number of rough-house bars -- one was called the "Bucket of Blood." (You get the idea.) Yes, on the waterfront, with lots a bars, drinking, and a few fist fights. Like something right out of a play by Eugene O'Neill.

The neighborhood was mainly Irish then but had people from other ethnic groups living there too. They did not always get along. Today the neighborhood is no longer mainly Irish, but is African-American and Hispanic. But the history of the Irish is remembered very well by, among other things, a popular St. Patrick's Day parade which still goes down Magazine Street.

St. Alphonsus Church, the Irish
Church in the Irish Channel
of New Orleans
Photo from Wikimedia and Nolabob

But the Irish Channel also had a very fine Catholic church called St. Alphonsus, which is still there. The Irish went to it. The German immigrants went to St. Mary's Church which was across the street (and still is), and the French went to Notre Dame church which was down the block a bit (but is no longer there).

The book I mentioned above is called "Gumbo Ya Ya: Folktales of Louisiana," complied by Lyle Saxon, et al. The name is a reference to a French Louisiana term for a type of "coffee klatch" (Kaffeeklatsch) where people get together socially, have coffee and nice conversation and everybody talks at the same time. 

There on page 61, I discovered my long-sought answer which discussed the Irish Channel neighborhood in the old days. The chapter on the Irish Channel said the Irish had large families and ate healthy but simple food. The book said that Irish in the Channel, as it is often called for short, ate "... stews, corned beef and cabbage, potato pancakes, red beans and rice ... during most of the week." The book went on to say that on Sundays, people -- if they had the money -- would eat roast chicken or turkey.  

Some pretentious people would sometimes put a turkey near the home's front window so the neighbors would notice the bird and be impressed. Other poorer people would pretend that they had enough money to buy turkey by sticking turkey feathers -- which they may have found in a garbage can or acquired somehow -- halfway into a shopping bag so that the neighbors could see the feathers as they carried the bag home (which actually contained no turkey). They had to keep up appearances.

Now as to the foods. I have earlier written about most of these. You can find my article on Irish Stew here. 

A bowl of Irish Stew
(Photo by Adrian McGrath)

You can find my article on Corned Beef and Cabbage here.  

Corned Beef and Cabbage (Photo by Adrian McGrath)

And you can find my article on Irish Potato Cakes here.
They are sort of like potato pancakes.

Irish Potato Cakes
Photo by Adrian McGrath

And, by the way, I earlier wrote about the Irishman, Lafcadio Hearn, who wrote the very first New Orleans Creole Cookbook that was ever published in the English language. The others were in French. In his book he gave recipes for Irish Stew and Stewed Irish Potatoes, which he said was a breakfast dish.

Lafcadio Hearn, 1889
Photo Wikipedia

His Irish Stew mainly consists simply of mutton or beef, potatoes, onions, stewed down with water and served with rice. (Rice is to New Orleans what potatoes are to Ireland.) See Hearn's book, La Cuisine Creole.

This leave us with just one last stone to turn over. What is traditional New Orleans Creole Red Beans and Rice?

Ah, this is the sacred cow of New Orleans food. Although the Crescent City is famous for many wonderful dishes like jambalaya, gumbo, muffulettas, fried shrimp po-boys, Crawfish Etouffee, fried catfish, Shrimp Creole, Stuffed Artichoke, and on and on ... the most essential New Orleans dish is Red Beans and Rice.

Red Beans and Rice with French Bread
Photo by Adrian McGrath

It is eaten by the wealthy, the poor, and everybody in between. There are as many ways to make it as there are cooks in New Orleans. But mainly it consists of red kidney beans; white rice; "The Trinity," which in New Orleans is green pepper, onion, and celery; garlic (of course!), and unless vegetarian, some type of meat, such as sausage, ham, or pickle meat (a type of Creole seasoned pork).

I never give precise recipes because I think people should concoct their own based on their own likes and needs, but I do give a general idea.

Here is my general idea on my version of New Orleans Red Beans and Rice, which would have been and still is a popular meal in the homes of all people from New Orleans including the Irish.

Uncooked, red kidney beans
Photo A. McGrath

Get some dry red beans and sort them, removing any foreign debris, then soak them in a bowl of water for about an hour or more, even over night if desired. This removes some of the gas. Then drain and toss out the old water.

Put the beans in a pot on the stove (or use a slow cooker) and add chopped up Trinity -- green pepper, also called bell pepper, onions, and celery. Add enough fresh water to cover this, usually about six to eight cups of water per pound of beans. Add Creole spice. If you do not have this, try mixing salt, black pepper, a little bit of cayenne (not much because it is hot), garlic powder, onion powder, parsley flakes, and paprika.

You may add some butter optionally. Then add, precooked, the meat you wish. I use chunks of ham and sliced Andouille sausage, a type of Creole French sausage. Can you add Irish sausage and Irish bacon? Yes, of course, why not? It is your recipe.

Bring it all to a boil, then set the fire on low. Cover the pot and cook for about two hours or more on low. Smash up some of the red beans with a spoon on the inside of the pot to thicken the juice. Add water as needed. Be sure to stir now and then to prevent sticking.

Serve it with chopped green onions on top in individual bowls. Have French bread on the side or corn bread. Or Irish Soda Bread. See my article on that here.

And there you have it. That is what the Irish ate in New Orleans, and they still do the same today. I eat these things on a regular basis.

Bon Appetit.


Sources and Further Reading:

Wikipedia article on Irish Channel, New Orleans;  La Cuisine Creole by Lafcadio Hearn, Pelican Publishing Co. 1967; Gumbo Ya Ya: Folktales of Louisiana by Lyle Saxon, Robert Tallant, et al. 1945, 1987. Pelican Publishing.

Halloween: A Holiday of Irish Origins

A Halloween party from the 1800s, from
an original illustration for Robert Burns'
poem named Halloween, 1841 and
Wikimedia Common

By Adrian McGrath

We all know what Halloween is ... or we think we do. It is a fun time for children to go around the neighborhood at early night on October 31, ring the neighbor's doorbell, say "Trick or Treat," and get some candy. Maybe the adults will join in and have a party with various Autumn foods like pumpkin pie and a perhaps a lively drink. People might watch a scary movie on television or visit a nearby "Haunted House."

But Halloween has its origins way back in time and far away from the United States, across the Atlantic Ocean to what was once Celtic Europe and specifically to ancient Ireland.

October 31 to us is Halloween, but in olden days it was the Celtic New Year. The Celtic people possibly originated in Eastern Europe or maybe farther East. Centuries before the time of Christ, they traveled to the west and settled in Central Europe and eventually to the Iberian Peninsula (Spain) and to parts of France (Brittany), Britain, and Ireland. Many came to America as their descendants emigrated to the USA and Canada many centuries later.

Before St. Patrick and the Christian monks and missionaries went to Ireland, paganism or Druidism was the main religion there. The people observed certain days of the year as being especially significant as they related to the four seasons. Seasons were important because people's lives depended on the seasonal weather for the health of crops, animals, and humans. 

There were Celtic or Gaelic festivals for those days -- Imbolg (the start of Spring), Bealtaine (Summer), Lughnasadh or Lunasa (Autumn or Fall), and Samhain (Winter).

A witch and her cauldron.
In pagan times in Europe and Ireland,
witches were not "evil" but simply
followed a belief in Nature and
used the cauldron for cooking and
herbal medicine.
Photo from Wikimedia Commons 
and John William Waterhouse, 1886
called The Magic Circle

Samhain (pronounced as SOW win) began at night time on October 31 and went to night time on November 1. It was (and still is) the the start of the darkest, coldest days of the year and the Celtic New Year. It marked the day when the warm weather would leave and a more dangerous time of year would come. Food could be scarce, animals might die from the cold, and human life might be in peril.

Jack-O-lanterns from pumpkins today, originally
were made in Ireland from carved turnips and rutabagas.
Some claim they represent the poor souls in
purgatory. Photo from Wikimedia Commons  
and Mansour de Toth (Laszloen).

Samhain, therefore, became a day of great significance to the ancient Celts and Irish. It was an end and a beginning. And by its nature, with the winter chill approaching, it was a time of darkness, awe, and even fear.

On that night of Samhain bonfires were lit, and it was believed that the spirits of those people who died in the past year would once again walk the Earth. 

Jack-o-lanterns were eventually made as part of this festival day, but they were actually made at first out of turnips or rutabagas. The tradition spread to America by using the pumpkins, of course; they were plentiful in America and much larger. 

As part of the festival day, mummers became popular. Mummers were people who wore fanciful masks or costumes and roamed about town, some singing or playing musical instruments. 

In the pagan beliefs, in olden days, there were witches; but they were not scary, evil sorceresses. They were simply people, usually women, who respected Nature and the powers of the Earth. They may have understood herbs and herbal medicine. They cooked and created healing potions in big cauldrons. 

Contrary to what some people later falsely believed, the witches did not worship the Devil. The Devil, in fact, is a creature from the Christian religion and did not exist at all in the ancient Celtic pagan Old Religion. Yes, there was a belief in magic; but it was not for destructive purposes as many modern, popular movies might depict. 

Over centuries Christianity came to Europe and Ireland. Tragically, the peaceful, Nature-worshiping witches were persecuted brutally in Christian Europe during a period called The Burning Times. People -- mainly women but not always women but men and children too -- were falsely accused of witchcraft and of consorting with the Devil. Many, many innocent lives were destroyed by pseudo-religious fanatics who literally went on witch hunts. 

Witches were hunted down and burned at the stake. In early America, as in the Salem witch trials, they were hanged by the neck until dead. Some were crushed to death under heavy rocks.

A melodramatic depiction of a witch trial
A lithograph by Joseph Baker from 1892
From Wikimedia Commons
See my article on an Irish Catholic woman named
Goody Glover, falsely accused of witchcraft.

In pagan times in Europe, the Catholic Church decided that it was too difficult to suppress Samhain and many other pagan beliefs, and found it easier to simply replace pagan days of observation with Christian ones. 

This method of substituting a Christian holy day for a pagan holiday is how Halloween began. The word "Halloween" was possibly first used in the mid 18th century. "All Hallow's Eve" may have appeared in the mid 1500s. Broken down, the word "Halloween" means "Hallow" (or holy) and "Eve" (the day before). So, this meant the eve or day before a Holy Day. The Holy Day the Church set up was All Saints Day, November 1, followed by All Souls Day, November 2. So, Halloween evolved at that time on the calendar to replace Samhain.

All Saints Day was originally in May and was a day for remembering saints and martyrs. But in 835 AD, Pope Gregory IV moved the holy day to November 1, placing it on top of Samhain.

The traditions of Halloween and Samhain evolved over time and spread from Ireland to the United States as the Irish and other Celtic peoples left Europe for the USA. 

Over a million Irish left Ireland during the Great Famine (Potato Famine) from 1845 to 1850. And a million or more died of starvation and related diseases in Ireland.  They died not because of bad potatoes alone but because of centuries of political and religious oppression at the hands of Great Britain.

The Irish who came to America brought their customs and culture with them. Today in the USA almost 40 million people are of at least part Irish descent. This is many times more than the number of Irish today in Ireland itself.

Naturally, in the USA the Halloween holiday has become commercialized.  Almost everyone buys bags of candy, costumes, and food for parties. Halloween has become a very popular holiday for commerce and money-making, right behind Christmas and Thanksgiving. Today it is mainly great fun.

A black cat, today the symbol of Halloween,
was seen as a servant of the witch.
This particular image of the black cat was actually
used by a political group, Anarchists for The
Industrial Workers of the World, circa 1961. Anarchists
(and Anarcho-Syndicalists, organized labor groups)
used the color black; and the black cat represented
sabotage against an oppressive capitalist or employer.
Photo Wikimedia Commons

But ...

Before we conclude, however, let me take a moment ... to discuss cats. 

(Pardon me, I am a cat person more than a dog person. So, this is something that matters to me.) 

The insanity of the Burning Times, when witches were burned to death, was horrible not only for people accused of witchcraft but also for cats, specifically black cats. Some ignorant and hateful people foolishly believed black cats could shape shift and turn into bad people. 

Some people even believed that a black cat would do the witch's bidding and become a spy or scout for the witch upon command. (Really? Just try telling your cat to do something and see what happens.) 

Sadly, black cats were often killed as a result throughout Europe. This lunacy even occurred in America where the Puritans -- who conducted the infamous Salem witch trials -- persecuted black cats and people who had them as pets. (I am not sure what was the fate of black cats in Ireland. Perhaps someone living in Ireland today can let me know? Also, see more about the persecution of an Irish Catholic woman falsely accused of witchcraft in old Massachusetts at my article on Goody Glover, here.)  

So, if you or your children go trick-or-treating this year, remember the holiday has ancient origins. Some of the history is fascinating and some is brutal. 

Halloween is a unique and popular American holiday filled with spirits and scary stories; but it has very ancient origins thanks to the Celts and to the Irish.

The Writers

James Joyce, 1915
Photo from Wikimedia
Commons, original from
Alex Ehrenzweig

By Adrian McGrath

The Irish have a way with words. They have always had a way with words. Some of the most famous and applauded authors in the world have been, and still are, Irish or of Irish descent. And the most famous Irish writers wrote in a language which was historically foreign to Ireland -- English.

The older Irish wrote in the Irish Gaelic language, but over time the newer ones wrote in English. For about 1,500 years until the 19th century, the Irish language was the main language of the people. Over time, however, English became the dominant language.

Centuries of oppression by British occupation and even British laws which suppressed the Irish language and culture made the Irish speak and write in English. Eventually, some of the Irish would become the masters of the English language.

From ancient times the Irish loved a good story. They held the bard, or the story teller, called a shanachie or seanchai, in the highest esteem. He was usually second only to the ancient Irish king in importance. Not only did he tell stories, which the Irish loved, but he recorded the history of the Irish people in verse and legend.

One of the first old Gaelic bards was a man named Amergin. He was a poet and historian for the Milesians, some of the early inhabitants of Ireland who migrated from the East.

A very old poem is attributed to him called the Song of Amergin:

"I am the wind on the sea; I am the wave of the sea; I am the bull
of seven battles; I am the eagle on the rock; I am a flash from the sun ... I am the head of the spear in battle; I am the god that puts fire in the head ... Who can tell the ages of the Moon? Who can tell the place where the sun sets?"

The Milesians are said to be the first Gaelic people to arrive in ancient Ireland, going there possibly from Eastern Europe or Spain. They were Celtic or Gaelic people.

No one knows for sure, but the Celts probably first came to Ireland during the Iron Age which started around 500 BC.

Milesian Celts coming to ancient Ireland
Photo from Wikimedia Commons,
originally Myth and Legends, 1910

In ancient times the Irish did not have a true alphabet (before the Romanized alphabet was used). The Old Irish language used the Latin language alphabet starting in the 8th century AD. Catholic monks and scholars -- who were usually literate in Latin and Greek -- took ancient Irish words and applied the scholarly Latin alphabet to them. Before the 8th century, however, a very basic non-phonetic alphabet was used.

The pagan Irish priestly class, called Druids, had a very primitive "alphabet" consisting of marks, dashes, and lines called Ogham. The Ogham alphabet was first seen in the 4th century AD, although some scholars believe it may have appeared some centuries earlier.

These marks were often made on the sides of ancient stone obelisks for religious messages. The Irish language (called Gaeilge) was the common language in Ireland then.

Today the Irish language is still used and studied in Ireland, along with English, and is often heard on the west coast region called the Gaeltacht.

A page from an old Irish book called
"The Book of Ballymote" from 1390 AD. The
book was assembled by scribes who wrote about
the history, religion, and culture of old Ireland.
The Ballymote page explains the functions
of the Ogham writing. Photo from
Wikimedia Commons.

From these ancient times, more modern Irish writers emerged. An entire body of literature was in the Irish Gaelic language, eventually giving way to English.  But the manner and the message remained always Irish.

From this ancient history, with a culture and a language evolving, great Irish writers emerged.

Here is a brief look at just a few of the most renowned Irish writers. There are many more.










Jonathan Swift, 1667-1745

Jonathan Swift
Photo from WikimediaCommons

Jonathan Swift was born in Dublin and was Anglo-Irish. He is most remembered for his essays and satires. He was greatly concerned about Irish politics, and he often made his points in clever ways by using symbolism and satirical devices. He wrote Gulliver's Travels and perhaps the greatest satire ever written in the English language called A Modest Proposal. Its full title is actually: "A modest proposal for preventing the children of poor people from being a Burthen [sic] to their parents or country, and for making them beneficial to the Publick [sic]."

What Swift proposed, modestly, was that Irish children of poor Irish parents could be cooked, sold, and served as meals for wealthy ladies and gentlemen to eat. This would reduce the burden of taking care of poor Irish children, give some revenue to the poor Irish parents, and make a nice and tasty meal for rich people, typically from the Ascendant Protestant class or the English. Of course, this satire was extreme and devastating, to say the least. Swift used such devices to ridicule and condemn the ruling class.

Jonathan Swift was a champion of social justice, and he used his intellect and writing skills to indict the British government for its often unjust policies.


2. William Butler Yeats

Portrait of W.B. Yeats in 1900
Photo from Wikimedia Commons

William Butler Yeats lived from 1865 to 1939. Born in Dublin, he became an acclaimed poet and playwright; he was one of the creators of the Abbey Theater, which is the National Theater of Ireland. Famous plays over the years have been performed at The Abbey. Yeats received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1923.

Some of his greatest works include a powerful and moving poem about the Irish Rebellion of 1916 (The Easter Rising). The poem is called "Easter, 1916." In this poem Yeats uses a phrase which has become famous as it represents both the positive and negative aspects of the cause for Irish independence from Britain -- "A terrible beauty."  Yeats wrote, "Now and in time to be, Wherever green is worn, Are changed, changed utterly: A terrible beauty is born."

Another renowned poem he wrote is called "Lake Isle of Innisfree." "I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree, And a small cabin build there ..."  Yeats beautifully paints a picture with words describing this tranquil place called Innisfree in County Sligo, Ireland.

Yet another great poem by W.B. Yeats is "Down By the Sally Gardens." This story of lost love has been turned into a popular Irish song as well. "Down by the Sally Gardens, my love and I did meet ... She bid me take life easy, as the grass grows on the weirs; But I was young and foolish, and now am full of tears."



3. James Joyce

James Joyce, 1915
One of the most acclaimed writers
in world literature, of all times
Photo from Wikimedia Commons

James Joyce was born in Dublin in 1882 and died in 1941. He wrote novels, short stories, and poems. His writing style was considered modernist, and he had a great impact on world literature in the 20th century.

One modern device Joyce used, famously, was called the "stream of consciousness" wherein the writer states a multitude of thoughts all at once, simulating the thinking process a person might have in real life with many thoughts occurring simultaneously.

He is famous for several works including Dubliners, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, and Finnegan's Wake. Joyce was taught by the Christian Brothers and the Jesuits; and he studied at University College Dublin.

His writings became famous and were extremely progressive in a literary sense. Joyce usually focused on life in Dublin; but he spent much of his life abroad, especially in Paris, France and Zurich, Switzerland. His writings, though brilliant, were often controversial and were denounced by some conservative authorities.

His great work called Ulysses, written in the early 1920s, was not published in the USA until the 1930s because a controversy arose resulting in charges of obscenity. The book was banned in some places, and it was first published in its entirety in English by a bookstore on the Left Bank of Paris in 1922, at Shakespeare and Company. The novel focuses on the adventures of a character named Leopold Bloom who ventures around Dublin city on what has come to be called "Bloomsday," June 16, 1904.

Today Ulysses is seen as one of the most significant novels in the history of the world. James Joyce is seen as one of the greatest writers of all times.


4. Eugene O'Neill

Eugene O'Neill
Photo from Wikimedia Commons
and US Library of Congress

Only one American has ever received the Nobel Prize for Literature as a playwright, and it was the Irish-American writer Eugene O'Neill.

O'Neill changed the face of drama and theater in America and worldwide by using the concept of realism. O'Neill's characters were often tragic and sometimes suffered from terrible emotional troubles and personal conflicts. (The concept of realism had it origins in plays by the Russian writer Anton Chekhov.)

Born in New York City, O'Neill was well aware of his Irish heritage and the impact it had on him personally and on his work.
He once commented in 1946: "The one thing that explains more than anything about me is the fact that I'm Irish. And, strangely enough, it is something that all the writers who have attempted to explain me and my work have overlooked."

Some of Eugene O'Neill's plays are among the most famous in world literature: The Iceman Cometh, A Moon for the Misbegotten, and Mourning Becomes Electra -- to name a few.

But his greatest work, which was actually not first performed publicly until after his death, is Long Day's Journey Into Night. In many ways, the play is autobiographical.

(See more about Eugene O'Neill at my earlier article on him.)


5. Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde, 1882
Photo from Wikimedia Commons

If you look up the word "wit" in the dictionary, you will probably find the name of Oscar Wilde next to it. Wilde was one of the most clever writers ever with the use of satirical phrases and witty statements (called epigrams), which came to him seemingly with ease.

He wrote poems, plays, and even a novel.  Born in 1854 in Dublin, Ireland, he died in 1900. His life, filled with wit and even comedy, was eventually one of great literary success, infamous scandal, high drama, and finally tragedy.

Some of his best known works are The Picture of Dorian Grey, The Importance of Being Earnest, and The Ballad of Reading Gaol.

Oscar Wilde did not plan on being an LGBT rights activist, but his life made him that by default. Wilde was involved in a complex legal action against the Marquess of Queensberry for criminal libel (a form of defamation). During the legal process, evidence emerged that Wilde allegedly had a consensual gay affair with the son of the Marquess.

Gay relationships were illegal at that time, and Wilde was brought to trial for "gross indecency." (The famous expression "the love that dare not speak its name" came from this legal process involving Oscar Wilde and the son of the Marquess, Alfred Douglas.)

After much legal maneuvering, Wilde was convicted and sentenced to two years of hard labor. After he did his time in jail, Wilde in effect went into exile to France, where he eventually died impoverished. It was the tragic end to a once brilliant literary carrier. It was also a terrible injustice.

No doubt from the hardships he faced in public disgrace and hard labor in jail, Oscar Wilde died in Paris at the young age of only 46.


 The authors above are just five of the Irish writers who have greatly influenced the world of literature. There are many more. Bram Stoker, who wrote the great horror story Dracula, was Irish. The creator of the Sherlock Holmes stories, Arthur Conan Doyle, was Irish -- though born in Scotland, both of Doyle's parents were Irish Catholic. Even the great American writer and poet Edgar Allen Poe was partly of Irish descent.

The list could go on and on. And probably there will be many more famous Irish writers in the future too ... because the Irish have a way with words.

What Were the Penal Laws?

An English court dispensing
"justice" in the 19th century?
Photo from Wikimedia Commons

By Adrian McGrath

Who remembers? Were you taught about this in school? If you live in Ireland, perhaps someone told you about this. But if you live in the United States, where most people who are of Irish descent live today, you probably did not learn this in school, unless you deliberately took a special course in Irish history. 

The Penal Laws were blatantly brutal and discriminatory laws which targeted primarily Irish Catholics. To some extent the laws also persecuted non-Anglican Protestants like Scots Irish Presbyterians (also called Dissenters) and members of other religions such as Judaism. 

The Anglican Church was officially sanctioned and supported by the British government and included the Church of England and the related Church of Ireland. But Roman Catholics were deprived of all fundamental human rights under the Penal Laws. In this sense the Penal Laws were comparable to the Apartheid laws in South Africa or the anti-Semitic Nuremberg Laws in Nazi Germany. The focus of oppression, however, was on religion not race.

All people who are interested in the cause of justice, whether Irish or not, should want to learn about these prejudicial Penal Laws which existed in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries in British-controlled Ireland. Yes, people should want to learn about them for the sake of learning history. But they should also want to learn about the evils of the Penal Laws so that such a persecution of a select group never happens again -- to anyone, anywhere. 

It is noteworthy that the United States Constitution in addition to its safeguard of freedom of religion in the First Amendment, specifically outlaws the persecution of a select group of people without due process of law under the legal term "bill of attainder." The American Founding Fathers understood what British tyranny was too. See Article I, secs. 9 and 10 of the US Constitution which forbid bills of attainder.



The Battle of the Boyne, 1690

The Battle of the Boyne, 1690.
The Protestant Dutch/English leader William of Orange
defeated the Catholic English king, James II, securing
Protestant rule in Ireland for centuries to come.
Photo from Wikimedia Commons, original
painting from 1693

The last time two rival English kings fought each other for the crown of Great Britain was at the Battle of the Boyne, a river north of Dublin in Ireland, in 1690. This battle was part of a larger power struggle over control of Britain where religion, Catholic versus Protestant, was a key factor. The Catholic English king, James II lost the battle to the Protestant English king, William of Orange, who was really Dutch and not English. William and his wife Mary would then rule over the British Isles including Ireland. 

The Treaty of Limerick which ended this so-called Williamite War was supposed to guarantee equal rights for Catholics; but as time passed, those protections disappeared.

The victorious group, eventually known as the Protestant Ascendancy, wanted to make certain that it remained in a position of power and privilege and that any opposition, mainly from Catholics, never again threatened their status. So, a series of discriminatory laws were passed by the pro-British and Protestant Irish parliament to suppress Catholics in Ireland, a land where the vast majority of the populace was in fact Catholic. 

Ever since the Reformation and the rule of Henry VIII, Great Britain feared powerful foreign countries which were predominately Catholic, such as France and Spain. Britain historically feared that foreign Catholic nations might attack British interests directly and might aid Irish Catholic rebels who resisted British rule in Ireland. 

A scene depicting Irish
peasants during the 1845
famine. The Penal Laws were
largely repealed by 1829,
but the after-effects remained.
Photo from Wikimedia Commons

When did the Penal Laws begin in Ireland, we might ask. The answer is rather complicated. There had been anti-Catholic Penal Laws prior to 1691 in the British Isles, which included Ireland then. Indeed, some discriminatory laws began from the time of Henry VIII. Certainly during the time of Oliver Cromwell, Catholics in Ireland were brutally persecuted. But the time period after the Williamite War and the Battle of the Boyne saw anti-Catholic Penal Laws which were much more inclusive, permanent, and harsh. 





The Penal Laws

Starting after 1695 and for over a century to come until Catholic Emancipation in 1829, the laws of the land persecuted Catholics and non-Anglicans. (See Roman Catholic Relief Act of 1829. )

A political cartoon from 1790 making fun of an
attempt by progressives to repeal the Test Act,
a Penal Law which required a candidate for public office be a
member of the Church of England and not a Catholic
Photo by Wikimedia Commons 

In fact, it could be argued that the discrimination against Catholics did not fully end in Ireland until the Irish won their partial independence in the 1920s, although the North (Ulster) remained under British control. 

Here are some of the things the Penal Laws did in Ireland:

Catholics could not hold public office, i.e. be elected as a member of government.
Irish Catholics could not practice their own religion.
Catholics could not be educated in schools.
Catholics could not become part of a profession, like being a doctor or a lawyer.
Catholics were limited in what trade or commerce they could engage in.
Catholics could not buy or sell land. They also could not lease land.
Catholics could not own a horse over the price of five pounds.
Catholics could not vote.
Catholics could not keep and bear arms. Catholics could not own a gun, a sword, or any type of weapon. 
Catholics could not have an annuity, and they were limited in undertaking financial matters.
A Catholic could not legally marry a Protestant. Any offspring from such a relationship had to be raised as Protestant.
Catholics could not buy land from a Protestant or receive land as a gift. Additional laws made it illegal for Catholics to buy or sell any land in any way. (So, this meant Irish Catholics, who made up over 90% or more of Ireland, could not legally own any land in their own country.)
Catholics could not inherit any land or movable property from a Protestant. (So, if a family member converted to Protestantism, he or she could not will property to a Catholic relative.)

A Catholic who might be in the process of dying could not leave his or her child into the guardianship of another Catholic. The child fell under the control of a Protestant only. (Yes, this is shockingly true. See Seamus MacManus book "The Story of the Irish Race," Devin Adair Co. New York, 1921, 1975 edition, on page 459, esp. footnote 11.)
Catholics were not allowed to educate their children by themselves or send them to another Catholic to teach them.

And there were many other restrictions. Violations of these laws could result in severe penalties including prison, torture, or death. 

As an example of an attempt to purge Ireland of Catholic leadership, a law was made in 1698 which stated, " All Popish Archbishops, Bishops, Vicars General, Deans, Jesuits, Monks, Friars, and all other Popish clergy shall depart out of this kingdom before the first of May, 1698 ..." (See MacManus p. 456. Interestingly, the law specified the Jesuits by name.)

If a Catholic clergyman attempted to return to Ireland after that date in 1698, he was subject to execution by being hanged, drawn, and quartered. (In this horrible form of execution, a person was partially hanged but not killed, then disemboweled or cut open, and then chopped into pieces with an ax.)

The Irish sometimes clandestinely broke these terrible laws by having "hedge teachers"  or "hedge school masters" who taught children while hiding behind trees or large hedgerow plants. Catholic religious services were also held in secret behind hedgerows or anywhere the British soldiers or officials could not find them. 

Catholic priest saying a Mass in secret in Ireland.
Original painting by Aloysius Kelly, 1883
"Mass in a Connemara Cabin"
Photo from Wikimedia Commons

A certain type of very small rosary called a Penal Law Rosary was devised which could be quickly hidden in case the British police came by. The Irish, thereby, attempted many ways to circumvent these unjust laws and follow their own religious faith.

The political statesman and philosopher Edmund Burke said of the Penal Laws, "... there was not a single right of nature or benefit of society which had not been either totally taken away, or considerably impaired." Edmund Burke became famous as an Anglo-Irish member of the British parliament who was overtly sympathetic to the American cause during the American Revolutionary War, supporting colonists' rights but opposing American independence. He also supported Catholic Emancipation or Catholic rights in Ireland. See Edmund Burke.

Edmund Burke, statesman
and political philosopher
who denounced the Penal Laws and supported
the rights of American colonists
Photo from Wikimedia Commons

Edmund Burke went on to say about the Penal Laws imposed on the Irish, "a machine of wise and elaborate contrivance, as well fitted for the oppression, impoverishment, and degradation of a people, and the debasement in them of human nature itself, as ever proceeded from the perverted ingenuity of man ..." 

There was a legal scholar from France named Montesquieu who lived in the early 18th century, during the time of the Penal Laws. He is noted for advancing the concept of "Separation of Powers," where no one person or part of the government has absolute power. We see this principle in the US Constitution where we have equal powers among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. It is a device to prevent tyranny, an evil with which he was gravely concerned. 

The French philosopher
Montesquieu
Photo from
Wikimedia Commons

Here is what the political philosopher Montesquieu said about the Penal Laws which tyrannized Irish Catholics in their own country: " [The Penal Laws were] conceived by demons, written in blood, and registered in Hell." (See MacManus p. 455.)


Why We Remember the Penal Laws

This then is what the Penal Laws were which sent Irish Catholics to Hell on Earth in their own country at the hands of British invaders. Indeed, one English judge, Lord Chancellor John Bowes, once remarked in an official capacity, "The law does not suppose any such person to exist as an Irish Roman Catholic." (See Mac Manus p.460.)

We should all learn more about the Penal Laws if we are interested in Irish history. They happened long ago, but they had profound affects on the people of Ireland to this day and on the Irish who sailed away to America long ago. 

The horrible story of the Penal Laws, however, is not just for a study of Irish history, but for all of human history. The story of the Penal Laws teaches us one clear lesson above all others: Persecution and tyranny anywhere and everywhere are always wrong and must always be opposed.  

(Note: This article is dedicated to the late professor of law 
Frederick Swaim of Loyola University School of Law in New Orleans. He was my teacher, my brother-in-law, and my friend.)


Sources and further reading:
The Story of the Irish Race by Seumas MacManus, 1921, 1975. Devin Adair Co. New York;  Ireland: A Terrible Beauty by Leon Uris. History of the Penal Laws, Yale University. Penal Laws (Ireland) from Wikipedia. Irish Penal Law from the University of Minnesota Law Library. Library Ireland Article on Penal Laws.

Timothy Murphy: Revolutionary War Rifleman

Monument to
Timothy Murphy in
Middleburgh, New York
Cemetery Photo, edited, from
Wikimedia Commons 

By Adrian McGrath

One of the most renowned riflemen from the American Revolutionary War (1775 to 1783) was Timothy Murphy. He served as a scout and sniper during the war and is credited with having been highly skilled as a marksman in several battles, often playing a crucial role in American victories. He was of Irish descent and is a good example of the part played for the cause of Liberty by Irish Presbyterians whose origins were in Ulster.

Sometimes called Scots Irish or Ulster Scots, these people suffered under British tyranny in Ireland under the Penal Laws and fled to colonial America for a better life.

(The Irish Catholics were most severely oppressed by the British Penal Laws dating from the 17th century; but non-Anglican Protestants, like the Ulster Presbyterians, also were discriminated against.)

Timothy's parents were both from Donegal in Ireland but immigrated to America and settled in Pennsylvania when Timothy was young. He grew up in rugged, frontier country and learned to live off the land and use a rifle both for hunting wild game for food and as a defense against Native American Indian raids. The frontier lands were disputed between European settlers and indigenous tribes, as the Europeans often encroached on Native American territory.

When the Revolutionary War broke out in 1775, Murphy and his brother joined the American forces besieging the British troops at Boston, Massachusetts. Timothy fought in the battles around New York City as the massive reinforcements of British troops almost destroyed Washington's army and quickly ended the revolution.

Murphy fought along side General Washington at the crucial battles of Trenton and Princeton in New Jersey in late 1776 and earned the designation as an expert marksman. (The term "expert marksman" meant a soldier could hit a seven inch target at a distance of 250 yards.)

A"Long Rifle," the type of weapon
Timothy Murphy may have used
Photo from Wikimedia Commons and
Walters Art Museum

Rifles in those days fired a round lead ball from a barrel which have grooves in it which made the ball spin, going straighter and farther than a ball from a musket, the typical weapon of a regular infantry soldier.

The "Brown Bess" musket,
typical smoothbore weapon
used by British soldiers
in the war.
Photo from Wikimedia
Commons and the US Army
Center for Military History

The musket could be fitted with a bayonet and because it was smooth-bore, it could be loaded faster than the grooved rifle. The rifle, however, had the advantages of greater accuracy and range -- muskets being accurate in battle only up to about 50 yards to 100 yards, while rifles could accurately hit targets at ranges of 200 to 300 yards.

Daniel Morgan, American
leader of Morgan's Riflemen,
of which Timothy Murphy was
a member Photo
from Wikimedia Commons  

As Murphy's reputation became known, he was admitted to an elite group known as Daniel Morgan's Riflemen. Dan Morgan was a tough, smart, and daring leader who specialized in troops using the long rifle. His men were deadly accurate with their weapons.

In the Autumn of 1777, Timothy Murphy was selected by Dan Morgan to be in a crack unit to join the American forces assembling for the Battle of Saratoga in New York state near Albany.  This battle proved to be the turning point of the entire war. The Americans under Horatio Gates defeated the British and their German Hessian allies in two battles -- Freeman's Farm and Bemis Heights -- which together are today known as the battle of Saratoga.

Benedict Arnold, the real
hero of the Battle of Saratoga,
who became an infamous
traitor to the American cause
Photo from Wikimedia Commons
and the US National Archives

Oddly enough, the real American hero of the battle was the man whose name later became synonymous with the word "traitor," General Benedict Arnold. At Bemis Heights, while Gates wavered, Arnold personally led a daring charge, rallying the Americans and crushing the British. Arnold was seriously wounded in the leg, but he did not get the proper credit for this victory from Gates or Congress.

British General
Simon Fraser

But there is another story too about
Bemis Heights. A highly capable British general named Simon Fraser was spotted on the battlefield by Arnold. If Fraser could be eliminated, the British troops could be seriously disrupted. Arnold told Dan Morgan to have one of his marksmen shoot him. Morgan chose Timothy Murphy who in turn climbed a tree and shot and killed Fraser at 300 yards, reportedly with a double-barreled rifle. However, some historical research says that this story is apocryphal or may or may not have happened, despite its being reported throughout history as accurate over and over again. It is possible the story is a myth. (See Myth of Murphy.)

Whatever the case, Fraser was indeed killed on the battlefield probably by a marksman, and possibly by Murphy. Murphy allegedly also shot and killed another British officer named Sir Francis Clerke at Bemis Heights, throwing the British into confusion and disarray.

With the situation seemingly hopeless after Benedict Arnold's charge and the loss of key British officers, the British leader, General "Gentleman Johnny" Burgoyne, surrendered.

British general "Gentleman Johnny" Burgoyne surrenders
to American General Horatio Gates at Saratoga, NY, 1777
Benedict Arnold was largely responsible for the
American victory, aided allegedly by the shooting
of British General Simon Fraser by Timothy Murphy
Photo from Wikimedia Commons 

Murphy was also at Valley Forge for the brutal winter where Washington's army suffered from hunger, lack of supplies, and freezing weather.

Murphy distinguished himself in skirmishes and battles against pro-British Tories and their Native American allies on the frontier in New York.

Schoharie Creek in modern times in New York state,
Photo from Wikimedia Commons, original by
Daniel Case, 2006, Creative Commons

In New York state in 1780, in the Schoharie Valley, a source of vital grain and food supplies for the Americans, at the Defense of the Middle Fort (near present-day Middleburgh, NY), Murphy used his rifleman's skill to help the Americans win. Murphy steadfastly refused to surrender the fort to the invading British over the objections of his American commander who wanted to give up. The British invaded the Schoharie region aided by Tory troops (Americans loyal to Britain), Hessians (German mercenaries), and pro-British Native American Indians. They planned to destroy the crops and food supplies in the area, while eliminating any American forces there.

The Americans had only a few troops there, mainly composed of local militia. Murphy and the other American militiamen put up such a fight that the British eventually withdrew. The commanding American officer, a regular Army officer named Woolsey who wanted to surrender, eventually relinquished command to the militia leader.

But it was Murphy's refusal to surrender that led militia to stand and fight and win. He reportedly fired rifle shots over the heads of the British truce party seeking to offer surrender terms to the Americans in the Middle Fort. Murphy's heroic stand made him a local hero to this day in that part of New York state.

Murphy later served with General Anthony Wayne and fought at the siege of Yorktown,Virginia in 1781, where Washington defeated British General Cornwallis, effectively winning the war for the Americans.

Murphy died in 1818 in New York state. A frontiersman, he never learned to read or write; but he played a key role in the history of America.

The Ancient Order of Hibernians, an Irish cultural society, memorialized Murphy with a plaque in 1913 at the site of the Battle of Saratoga.

The state of New York in 1929 also put up a memorial to Murphy at the Saratoga battlefield. The man who was then governor of New York state made a speech on that occasion. Some of his words were as follows: "This country has been made by Timothy Murphys, the men in the ranks ... Our histories should tell us more of the men in the ranks, for it was to them, more than the generals, that we were indebted to our military victories."

The governor of New York state who
honored Timothy Murphy in a speech
and who later became President of the
United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt
Photo from Wikimedia Commons and
the Library of Congress

The governor of New York who made that speech was Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who would later become president of the United States.

Timothy Murphy, a descendant of the Irish, was an American hero.


Sources and further reading:

"Timothy Murphy: Frontier Rifleman: New York State Military museum; Murphy at wikitree; photo of Murphy monument; Murphy at Irishcentral; Wikipedia article on Timothy Murphy. AOH article on Murphy.