Literary Collections

Peter F. Stevens offers an entertaining and compelling portrait of the Irish immigrant saga and pays homage to the overlooked episodes of the Boston Irish experience.

When it comes to Irish America, certain names spring to mind - Kennedy, O'Neill, and Curley testify to the proverbial footsteps of the Gael in Boston. However, few people know of Sister Mary Anthony O'Connell, whose medical prowess carried her from the convent to the Civil War battlefields, earning her the nickname the Boston Irish Florence Nightingale, or of Barney McGinniskin, Boston's first Irish cop, who proudly roared at every roll call, McGinniskin from the bogs of Ireland - present! Along with acclaim or notoriety, many forgotten Irish Americans garnered numerous historical firsts.

The first comprehensive photographic record of Boston's most conspicuous immigrant group - the Irish.

A Journey through Boston Irish Historyis the fruit of years of tireless research by prize-winning author Dennis P. Ryan. Within these pages are rare and handsome images unearthed from innumerable local libraries, historical societies and museums, parish rectories and Catholic charitable institutions, the archives of religious congregations, major Boston and diocesan newspapers, private family collections, and the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Beginning with the horrifying famine of the 1840s in Ireland and concluding four generations later with the election of John F. Kennedy as president, A Journey through Boston Irish Historyis a sweeping, poignant portrait of the children of the Gael and the city they transformed politically, socially, and culturally.

Ryan takes us through the corridors and wards of hospitals and orphanages that were established by the Irish to care for their own. Powerful images supplied by the Mathew Brady Collection at the Library of Congress recount the exploits of the celebrated Massachusetts Ninth Irish Regiment during the American Civil War. Within these pages, we are also invited to discover the vibrant personalities of pugilist John L. Sullivan, William Henry Cardinal O'Connell, as well as the irrepressible Mayor James Michael Curley.

African Americans of Martha's Vineyard have an epic history. From the days when slaves toiled away in the fresh New England air, through abolition and Reconstruction and continuing into recent years, African Americans have fought arduously to preserve a vibrant culture here. Discover how the Vineyard became a sanctuary for slaves during the Civil War and how many blacks first came to the island as indentured servants. Read tales of the Shearer Cottage, a popular vacation destination for prominent blacks from Harry T. Burleigh to Scott Joplin, and how Martin Luther King Jr. vacationed here as well. Venture through the Vineyard with local tour guide Thomas Dresser and learn about people such as Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates and President Barack Obama, who return to the Vineyard for respite from a demanding world.

Irish immigrants streamed into the mills of Lowell, Massachusetts, at the start of the Industrial Revolution, fleeing poverty and later the Great Hunger. Irish families established a neighborhood called the Acre, and some rose to roles as successful business owners who shaped the history of their new home. Hugh Cummiskey emigrated from Northern Ireland to become a powerful work gang leader and businessman who in turn hired newly arrived immigrants. The first recorded celebrations of St. Patrick's Day began in 1833, as new residents celebrated their Irish roots and American future with traditional music and parades. Today, the community still honors its Irish history. From tales of politicians and entrepreneurs to the everyday struggles of the average immigrant, author David McKean traces the history of the pioneer members who established Lowell as an industrial powerhouse.

Irish immigration to Haverhill, Massachusetts, was a constant from the days of the Great Famine to the present. The immigrants, their children, and their grandchildren have become an integral part of the fabric of the city's history. Some were teachers, politicians, police officers, and business owners, while others spent their lives as city laborers and factory workers. Whether these new residents were wealthy or poor, well known or little known, their experiences in America could not eliminate their common ties to the Emerald Isle. They collectively share a place in this "family album" of those Irish citizens who called Haverhill their new home. This volume is the sequel to the The Irish in Haverhill,
Massachusetts, which was published in 1998. The response to that book was so enthusiastic that the author was overwhelmed with offers of additional photographs for a second volume.

James Maroney from Clare. "Capt." Nicholas Costello from Kilkenny. The Lucey and Hodnett sisters from Cork. The many Linnehans from Limerick. Bridget McGovern from Cavan. These were some of Haverhill's Irish. Some came by sailing ship during the years of the Great Famine. Others came by steamship at the end of the century. The immigrants hailed from every part of Ireland, but especially from the province of Munster. They were drawn to Haverhill, Massachusetts, to work in its shoe shops, to cook and clean in its "big houses," and to be laborers for the city. The Irish immigrants settled in every part of Haverhill and put their imprint on the old Yankee town. They built their own churches and schools, joined together in fraternal and religious organizations, elected their fellow Irish to the city government, opened stores, and saw their children become lawyers, doctors, priests, and nuns, as well as professional baseball players. They were a visible presence, and we can view them through this wonderful collection of photographs lovingly preserved by their descendants.