Irish America's changing face: 'There isn't a definitive version'

BBC News

17-03-2025

"There is no such thing as one, definitive, version of Irish America."This phrase, or a variation of it, comes up time and time again when speaking to people who broadly fit under the umbrella of being 'Irish-American'.Some come from the Republic of Ireland, some from Northern Ireland, others have families who emigrated more than 150 years ago, some have been in the United States for less than 12 months.They all say the vision of Irish America that is still common in the popular imagination - of corner bars in Boston, Cork-accented cops in Chicago, the Kennedys, Catholicism, work on the railroads - is just one part of a patchwork of identities across the US.
Josh Taggart from Ballymoney in County Antrim is one of the newer generation, although he follows in the footsteps of the Ulster-Scots emigrants who provided so many early US presidents.Studying for a masters degree at Georgetown University and interning on Capitol Hill at a major Congressional committee, the 28-year-old was drawn to the US by the familiar lure of better opportunities.'My girlfriend and I were doing this cost/benefit analysis, looking at the state of the UK and public services, cost of childcare, cost of housing, salaries,' he says.'If I did the same job I was doing in London but I did it in Washington DC where would I be five years from now? "She's a nurse and it's just night and day with the salaries. That kind of made the decision for us.'But he feels unlike previous generations who perhaps felt they had no choice to leave a weaker economy behind, he made a more proactive decision.'Part of what made it so easy is that our generation is a global generation, we're not afraid of jumping on a flight or living in another country for a couple of years and that is the way we've grown up,' he says.
Roisin Comerford is also a first-generation immigrant and spent time in Portland, Oregon, before putting down roots in Washington DC.She is the chairperson of Irish Network DC, one of a number of affiliated groups across the US which provide cultural and social networking opportunities for their members, whether they are Irish or just have an interest in Irish culture.She says a lot of Irish in DC are drawn to the universities or work in international relations, healthcare and politics.'It is too difficult to sum Irish America up as one group - you could probably divide it into three or four," she says.'I know a lot of people my age who moved over here for opportunities, who are happy to live here and have a life here and they have one view of Ireland. 'Then there are people who moved in the 80s and they would have a different view of it and then there are more old school Irish-Americans who have another view, people whose parents or grandparents emigrated from Ireland. 'They are generally very proud to be Irish and very interested in Irish culture.'
In the 2020 census 38.6m people in the US claimed full or partial Irish ancestry - 11.6% of the population.But levels of immigration have fallen as the US has strengthened entry requirements at the same time that the Republic of Ireland's economy has dramatically improved and Northern Ireland's society has become more peaceful following the end of the Troubles.The 1930 US census recorded 923,600 residents who were born on the island of Ireland.By the turn of the century that had fallen to 169,600.There was a time when Irish immigration was not universally seen as a positive thing, with job adverts routinely stating 'Irish need not apply'.Roisin says she feels privileged to be an Irish immigrant in a country that today feels very welcoming to people of her background.
It is a sentiment shared by Kevin Tobin, who moved to the US from County Tipperary 14 years ago.He ended up in Baltimore in Maryland - a city with a long-standing Irish community - where he is chairman of Baltimore GAA club.On a chilly Saturday morning where the misty weather is a visible reminder of home, he organises two dozen players as they play hurling and football in an urban park.'The Irish accent would travel very well in America, it's a very welcome thing. People are very fond of it and it certainly doesn't do you any harm when, for example, you turn up for a job interview,' the father-of-two says.'We're not necessarily protective of Irishness, we don't need to defend it, it defends itself.'Therefore your version of Irishness and my version of Irishness, whether they're different or not doesn't really matter. 'People are very proud to be Irish but we don't have to act a particular way or spend time with a particular person or eat a particular type of food to be Irish. "It's not necessarily an identity on an ID card, it's a way of life, a way of carrying yourself, a way of being warm and being welcoming.'There is no one definitive Irish America.'
Of the 80 or so members at the club, a handful were born in Ireland, about a third consider themselves Irish-American and the rest simply fancied giving Gaelic games a try.One of the handful is Ciarán Quinn from Belfast, who is taking part in the session wearing his Antrim county jersey.'We moved here and we didn't know a single person, but GAA is a community,' he says.'Having that community and people who can help you with jobs, help you with whatever, it has been very helpful and great to meet the locals because lots of them play too.'
Joyce Eierman on the other hand has Irish roots which go back much further than just a few years.Three sets of her great-grandparents moved to the US in the mid-19th Century and she is part of Baltimore's historic Irish community.Four generations of her family worked on the railroads, including her son who is an engineer.She is secretary of the Friendly Daughters of St Patrick Maryland - the only surviving Friendly Daughters group in the US.It is a social and charitable organisation for women of Irish heritage, and Joyce stresses that it is open to those of all religions and none.'The men were breadwinners for a long time in the Irish community but the women held everything together and we carry that forward because we want to help others, that is the most important thing about what we do," she says.'Having fun is good and we want to use that to raise money for those in need, especially women and children.'For the most part the people I know from the Irish community they learned from their grandparents and their own parents, and it is our job to pass that pride in our heritage on to that generation."