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My aunts, uncles, mom, and grandparents are first and second-generation Irish Americans.

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My community is greatly influenced by health, religion, and the economy.

The social change experienced with the economy was immigration and labor movements.

Religion has created social change in the way of education and culture and how much pride an Irish American has in their faith.

Health in Irish American communities has a deep history in mental health and addiction. Most Irish American families have experienced this in one way or another.

Depending on where an Irish American's family came from, they may be Protestant. It is also more common now for Irish American families to be well-off and not have to work blue-collar jobs. If they are well-off, they also may be able to afford healthcare treatment and may not struggle from as many mental health issues.

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Image belongs to PatricksMercy on Flickr

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Catholicism is an integral part of Irish American culture, so it's only natural that they would also have it in schools. In fact, in Ireland, Catholic schools make up 82% of schools (Kowalski et al., 2020). My aunts and uncles went to Catholic school, and if it weren't so expensive, my mom would have sent me to Catholic school, too.

In Catholic schools, it used to be that the teachers also had to practice the faith. But with the rise of social movements such as access to birth control or LGBTQIA+ rights, more people have strayed from Catholicism, making it harder to hire Catholic teachers (Kowalski et al., 2020).

Works Cited

Kowalski, M. J., Tiernan, J., & McGraw, S. D. (2020). Catholic education in Ireland and the United States: Teachers’ comparative perspectives. Research in Comparative and International Education, 15(2), 171–185. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745499920930570

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When the Irish came over from Ireland, they took any job they could get, even if it was a dangerous one. They were some of the first to join unions and were leaders of almost half of the labor unions when they were first created (The Irish Role in the American Labor Movement, 2017) . Labor Day was actually created by an Irish American, PJ Mcguire (The Irish Role in the American Labor Movement, 2017).

Works Cited

The Irish Role in the American Labor Movement. (2017, September 1). Irish America. https://www.irishamerica.com/2017/09/weekly-comment-remembering-the-irish-of-labor-history/

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My great aunt (far right), before taking her vow as a nun.

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Ireland is a very religious country with an ongoing feud between the Catholics and the Protestants. Most Irish Americans are catholic. My family, in particular, is very spiritual. My grandfather studied to become a priest, but never followed through. My great aunt studied to become a nun, but didn't follow through, and so did my mom. My family was very involved in the Catholic church; my aunt and my mom both worked for the San Jose Diocese. My mom even worked for the exorcist that the movie The Rite was based on. So naturally, when my siblings and I were born, my grandparents insisted we get baptized. Growing up, I never understood why religion was so important to my grandparents. Turns out, Catholic Irish Americans had to "prove" themselves because America was predominantly Protestant (Doorley & Shepherd, 2023). Catholic Irish Americans fought in wars up to WW1 to prove they were just as patriotic as Protestants (Doorley & Shepherd, 2023). As recently as 1928, presidential candidate Alfred Smith lost the election because he was Catholic (Doorley & Shepherd, 2023). When John F. Kennedy won, that was a massive win for Irish Americans.

Works Cited

Doorley, M., & Shepherd, J. (2023, March 14). Adaptation and Assimilation: The Irish Catholic Experience in America. Adaptation and Assimilation: The Irish Catholic Experience in America. https://www.open.edu/openlearn/openlearn-ireland/ireland---places-culture-heritage/adaptation-and-assimilation-the-irish-catholic-experience-america

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Vintage Guinness Ad, found on pinterest. Original source no longer traceable.

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Let's be honest, the first thing most people think of when they think of Irish people, they think of drunk people crawling out of bars. I think of my family, but those two things are not mutually exclusive. You can laugh, it's ok.

Alcoholism is a real problem that the Irish and Irish Americans deal with. It's stigmatized. It's a lighthearted joke at the family dinner when your aunt has had one too many glasses of wine. It's the "funny" wild stories of your uncles getting kicked out of bars.

In reality, it's your older sister dragging your mom out of a bar when she was 15. It's your uncle wrapping his car around a tree and never coming home. It's watching your cousins and siblings follow the same patterns.

It's divorce, abuse, isolation, and death.

The family institution failed Irish Americans by stigmatizing a mental illness instead of dealing with the problem head-on. Many stories from Irish Americans look a lot like mine.

Here you can read the (lengthy) history of alcoholism in Ireland, and an Irishman's personal count of alcoholism in his family. "Breaking the Code of Silence: The Irish and Drink" by Dr. Garrett O'Connor, a leading Irish psychiatrist in addiction treatment.

https://www.irishamerica.com/2012/01/breaking-the-code-of-silence-the-irish-and-drink/

Dr. O'Connor goes on to tell the story of addiction in his family, how it was kept under wraps, and his own struggle with addiction.

When it comes to treatment and prevention for alcoholism, the government is not much better at handling the situation. Less than 10% of alcoholics receive treatment due to several different reasons, such as access to care, affordability, and stigma (Estrellado, 2024).

To see real change, we need to have a conversation.

Works Cited

Estrellado, N. (2024, July 30). Statistics on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism in the US - Addiction Group. Addiction Group. https://www.addictiongroup.org/resources/alcoholism-us-statistics/

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Irish Americans working as domestic servants, image from The Irish Times

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When the Irish came over in the 1840s during the Great Famine, they were at the bottom of the economic food chain. They often took dangerous blue collar jobs or worked as domestic servants. Irish Americans had a bad reputation as violent alcoholics. This prejudice made it a lot harder for them to find jobs, with help wanted ads specifying they did not want Irish workers. Things turned around when programs were implemented in order to aid and educate Irish Americans. Now in modern day economics Irish Americans are either average or above average when it comes to completing education or owning a home.

Works Cited

Riley, Jason L. “Lessons from the Rise of America’s Irish.” Wall Street Journal, 13 Mar. 2018.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/lessons-from-the-rise-of-americas-irish-1520982717.

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Irish immigration during potato famine, image from Miranda_16 at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-k9FNxXn7s

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During the potato famine in 1846-1855, many Irish people came to America to escape starvation. The British government refused to help the Irish; instead, they exported food from Ireland to other countries to make a profit. The globalization of food exports by the British to other countries killed as many as 1.5 million people, and 2 million Irish immigrants came to America.

Works Cited

The Potato Famine and Irish Immigration to America. (2025). Teach Democracy. https://teachdemocracy.org/online-lesson/the-potato-famine-and-irish-immigration-to-america/

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The Gold Rush drew many Irish immigrants to the West. But, there was another ore that brought many Irish Immigrants out west. Shortly after the Gold Rush, Peter O'Reilly and Patrick McLaughlin discovered a silver mine in Virginia City, Nevada that brought in many Irish immigrants to the area (Rota, 2024).

Works Cited

The Comstock Lode: Nevada’s. (n.d.). Western Mining History. https://westernmininghistory.com/6126/comstock-lode-photos/

Rota, K. (2024, September 2). The contribution of Irish labor in the US following the Great Famine. IrishCentral.com; IrishCentral. https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/irish-labor-great-famine

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Irish Americans have a very rich and deep culture that goes beyond stereotypes. From Irish soda bread and corned beef and cabbage to wearing a claddagh ring, there are many traditions we hold dear. One tradition I find interesting is that corned beef and cabbage is an Irish American tradition (USDA, 2013). Beef was very expensive in Ireland, so the Irish traditionally ate a lot of pork (USDA, 2013). When they came to America, beef was a lot cheaper than it was a lot cheaper, so they switched from corned pork and cabbage to corned beef and cabbage (USDA, 2013)

Works Cited

How Corned Beef and Cabbage Became a Holiday Staple. (2025, February 8). Usda.gov. https://www.usda.gov/about-usda/news/blog/how-corned-beef-and-cabbage-became-holiday-staple

Bronson, S. (2018). Corned Beef and Cabbage. Taste of Home. https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/favorite-corned-beef-and-cabbage/

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Irish Americans were often demonized and discriminated against, mostly by the British. In this picture, the Irish American is pictured as some sort of terrorist beast with a "bomb" around his waist. Some British people believed that Irish extremism started in the United States (Kenny, 2019).

Works Cited

Kenny, K. (2019). Picturing US History - Irish Immigrant Stereotypes and American Racism. Cuny.edu. https://picturinghistory.gc.cuny.edu/irish-immigrant-stereotypes-and-american-racism/