Historic Highlights: Irish in Illinois cut a path to history

In Illinois on St. Patrick’s Day, there is green in abundance. And plenty of Irish eyes are smiling.

As one of the state’s leading ethnic groups, Irish-Americans in the Land of Lincoln have left their mark across the state in the last 175 years. Their influence extends well beyond the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Chicago, one of the largest in the nation.

Some 600,000 Irish immigrated to America between 1820-1840, many landing in Illinois. Others came after the potato famines of 1846-48 that decimated their homeland. The number of Irish in Illinois rose from 27,800 in 1850 to 87,600 a decade later, second only to Germans as the state’s largest immigrant group.

Most Irish came to their new home with nothing and had to work from the ground up. They found work in the mines of northwestern Illinois, as well as on the Illinois Central Railroad.

Irish also played an integral role in the construction of the Illinois and Michigan Canal. There, they benefitted from a severe labor shortage that induced organizers to recruit the poor of Ireland to leave their country for jobs.

Some Irish canal workers used their scrip to buy land along the canal as well as in Peoria. In 1850, an estimated one-third of Irish were engaged in agriculture in Illinois, despite their recent failures back home.

Irish also flocked to Chicago in large numbers, comprising 20% of the city’s population in 1850 and 31% of foreign-born Chicagoans overall. In 1860, Chicago was the fourth-largest Irish city in the United States.

In the big city, some Irish men found work in the stockyards, steel mills and lumber operations. Irish women worked menial jobs like cleaning and laundry, though there were uneasy relations with other immigrants. Many Irish also viewed free Blacks, who were relegated to similarly low social standing, as economic threats.

In the Civil War, some 12,000 Irish fought for Illinois, including the 90th Illinois Volunteer Infantry, 70% of whose men were born in Ireland. Not surprisingly, the 90th was nicknamed the “Irish Legion” and carried a distinctive green flag displaying an Irish harp and shamrocks. Also in the field was the 23rd Illinois Infantry, one of several Civil War units to call themselves the “Irish Brigade.”

Nineteen years prior to the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln nearly engaged in a celebrated duel with James Shields, an Irish immigrant and political foe. Shields later became the only man to serve as United States Senator from three separate states – Illinois, Missouri and Minnesota. He was hardly the only Irishman to oppose Lincoln, as the Irish tended to vote Democratic.

By 1890, Illinois had the fourth-highest percentage of Irish immigrants of any state. Some were doing quite well for themselves, including William Scully, an Irishman who had amassed 211,000 acres of land by the 1880s. Edward Dunne, one of several Chicago mayors of Irish descent, was elected governor of Illinois in 1912.

On the other side was the hapless Catherine O’Leary, a resident of south Chicago whose cow allegedly kicked over a lantern that sparked the devastating Chicago Fire of 1871.

Years later, a Chicago Tribune reporter admitted that he made up the story. Mrs. O’Leary may have been a convenient scapegoat, based on the prevailing low opinion of Irish immigrants.

At the turn of the century, some 73,912 Irish were living in Chicago and were enjoying higher social status. Police and fire departments were routinely dotted with Irish, while others were rising in city government. Many hospitals and schools also felt the influence of the Irish.

Many Irish Americans in Illinois, as elsewhere, longed for Irish independence from Great Britain and periodically protested English rule, particularly when Ireland remained under British control after World War I.

Ireland finally achieved independence in 1922, a celebrated event in the Illinois Irish community. During Prohibition, Irish-controlled syndicates sought to keep illegal liquor flowing in Chicago and elsewhere.

According to 2007 Census figures, some 201,836 people of Irish ancestry reside in Chicago, the city’s largest European ethnic group. The Mount Greenwood neighborhood on the city’s southwest side is over 40% Irish.

Today, Illinois residents of Irish ancestry, as well as those who wish they were, have made St. Patrick’s Day one of the most economically viable holidays on the calendar, celebrating statewide with various festivals, parades and parties.

Nationwide, over 34 million Americans report Irish ancestry, which is seven times greater than the population of Ireland itself.

• Tom Emery is a freelance writer and historical researcher from Carlinville, Illinois. He may be reached at 217-710-8392 or ilcivilwar@yahoo.com.