Details

Abstract / Summary

Many modern Irish Pittsburghers can trace their roots to immigrants fleeing an Ireland devastated by the Great Potato Famine of the mid-1800s. They migrated to Pittsburgh, a booming industrial town, and worked in the iron and steel mills, the mines, and the railroads. Irish women became domestic servants in such large numbers that “Bridget the Maid” was a stock character on stage and later in films. The immigrants settled in neighborhoods such as the Point, the Hill District, Homewood, and the North Side. Fighting anti-Irish and anti-Catholic sentiments, they paved the way for their children, who would dominate municipal politics and the Catholic Church and rise to surprising heights in sports, entertainment, and business. Gov. David L. Lawrence, dancer Gene Kelly, and boxing champion Billy Conn were three of these Irish Pittsburgh groundbreakers. Their success echoed the smaller, but equally significant, success of ordinary Pittsburghers who rose from poverty to middle class, from shantytown to “lace curtain” respectability in the neighborhoods and later in the suburbs of the city.

Field of Interest

American History

Copyright Message

Copyright © 2013 by Patricia McElligott

Content Type

Book

Duration

0 sec

Format

Text

URL

http://www.arcadiapublishing.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=9780738597911

Page Count

128

Publisher

Arcadia Publishing

Place Published / Released

Charleston, SC

Subject

American History, History, American Studies, Reconstruction (1866-1876), The Gilded Age & Progressive Era (1876-1913), World War I & Jazz Age (1914-1928), Depression & World War II (1929-1945), Post-war Era (1945-1960), The Sixties (1960-1974), Late Twentieth Century (1975-2000), Twenty-First Century (2001-), Restauración (1866-1876), Recontrução (1866-1876), A Gilded Age e a Reconstrução (1876-1913), La Edad Dorada y la Época Progresista (1876-1913), Primera Guerra Mundial y Época de Jazz (1914-1928), Primeira Guerra Mundial e a Era do Jazz (1914-1928), Depressão e Segudna Guerra Mundial (1929-1945), Gran Depresión y Segunda Guerra Mundial (1929-1945), O Pós-Guerra (1945-1960), Época de Posguerra (1945-1960), Los Años Sesenta (1960-1974), Os Anos Sessenta (1960-1974), Finales del Siglo Veinte (1975-2000), Final do Século XX (1975-2000), Século XXI (2001-), Siglo Veintiuno (2001-), Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, PA

Series / Program

Images of America

Keywords and Translated Subjects

Restauración (1866-1876), Recontrução (1866-1876), A Gilded Age e a Reconstrução (1876-1913), La Edad Dorada y la Época Progresista (1876-1913), Primera Guerra Mundial y Época de Jazz (1914-1928), Primeira Guerra Mundial e a Era do Jazz (1914-1928), Depressão e Segudna Guerra Mundial (1929-1945), Gran Depresión y Segunda Guerra Mundial (1929-1945), O Pós-Guerra (1945-1960), Época de Posguerra (1945-1960), Los Años Sesenta (1960-1974), Os Anos Sessenta (1960-1974), Finales del Siglo Veinte (1975-2000), Final do Século XX (1975-2000), Século XXI (2001-), Siglo Veintiuno (2001-)