Irish American Heritage Month follows African American History Month on the American history calendar. African American history celebrated in February is entwined in some ways with the history of Irish immigrants seeking new lives in America.
Following the potato famine of 1845-52, Irish immigrants by the thousands flocked to the United Stated in search of new futures. Irish Americans, though, have been involved in the development of American culture since the founding of our country. Eight of the original signers of the Declaration of Independence — three of which were Ireland-born — were of Irish decent. However, it was the years leading up to and following the American Civil War that cemented Irish culture into the American fabric.
With the majority of Irish fighting on the Union side — an estimated 150,000 — in what many of the Irish immigrants saw as a rich man’s war and a poor man’s fight, the stage was set for civil and even some military unrest.
In 1863 Congress created the Enrollment Act, which required married men up to age 35 and single men age 20 to 45 to register for the draft. Two significant riots involving Irish immigrants occurred in association with this act — one labelled a race riot in my birthplace of Detroit and the other in New York City. The Detroit riot occurred on March 6, 1863. The New York riot, which occurred July 13-16, 1863, was known as a draft riot. They both were centered on the notion that the mostly working-class Irish were required to fight in the war while newly freed slaves were not.
In an odd turn of events where many blacks were slain at the hands of Irish immigrants, the attacks and unrest brought into question the racist attitudes of the day. Through their protests the Irish immigrants, who as Catholics often found themselves not only competing with but replacing newly freed slaves at the bottom of the social order, brought the question of equality to the forefront of American awareness.
Adding additional fuel to the fire was the fear that newly freed slaves from the South would compete for jobs once they reached the North, further affecting the Irish ability to gain decent and prosperous employment. Many historians see this period as the creation of a caste system that remains relevant to current social issues.
In all, the new Americans of Irish decent became inculcated into American society — in some ways adding to America’s woes but mostly elevating it and by some means freeing it from its former European masters. The initial celebration of Irish heritage we currently associate with St. Patrick’s Day came in the form of a military parade. Irish service members who fought under the British during the American French and Indian War came together to parade in honor of their service.
In the American Civil War the first two recorded Union Army deaths (Daniel Hough and Edward Galloway) on April 16, 1861, at Fort Sumter, South Carolina, were of Irish decent.
During World War II, Ireland declared its neutrality; there were only 7,500 soldiers in its army and its navy and air corps was negligible as well.
Ultimately, an estimated 12,000 Irish citizens fought under the British in WWII. Much like the soldiers in America returning from the Vietnam War, Irish soldiers returning after fighting under the British in WWII were often met with open hostility having been seen as anti-national for volunteering to fight. However, stories have been told of Irish soldiers like John Kelly who left Kilkenny to fight during the war.
Kelly fought during the liberation of Tunis, the capital of Tunisia, in North Africa. As the story goes, he was in a bar having a drink celebrating the liberation of the city with some American soldiers close by. When they heard his heavy Irish accent, they questioned him asking about the neutrality of Ireland, to which he reportedly proclaimed that he was a volunteer. This led to one of the American soldiers to question his sanity asking, “Are you mad?!”
Another proud Irish American, Patrick Gallagher, was a U.S. Marine in 1966. A rifleman with 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, Gallagher fought in Vietnam near Cam Lo. He is one of only 30 known Irish-born citizens to have died in the Vietnam War. Gallagher was awarded the Navy Cross for twice saving the lives of fellow Marines during separate grenade attacks.
In honor of his selfless service the Navy’s newest guided-missile destroyer, the USS Gallagher, is scheduled to be put into service this summer.
Irish Americans have served in all branches of the U.S. military during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. U.S. Marine Staff Sgt. Liam Flynn, a native of Clane, Ireland, deployed a total of four times to Iraq and Afghanistan. As an enlisted member in the Marines in 2006 he served as an infantry squad leader with 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines. He earned several medals for valor, including a Bronze Star. Underscoring the potential dangers even of military training, Flynn was killed in a training accident in 2015 off the coast of Florida.
Irish American heritage in association with military service can be traced back to the very beginning of our country. As an African American the involvement of early Irish Americans in my American heritage cannot be denied. While it has beeb turbulent at times, I can say without a doubt that America is a better place today due to the sacrifice and endeavors of the Irish here in this country.
Some might say I’m a bit biased, having married a lass with the maiden name of Donovan. But as the saying goes: “Here’s to a long life and a merry one. A quick death and an easy one. A pretty girl and an honest one. A cold pint and another one!”
To a prosperous Irish American Heritage Month!
(Arthur G. Austin Jr., a resident of Cuba, is a retired U.S. Army brigadier general. He is heavily involved as an advocate for veterans in the Twin Tier region.)
