History of the Irish in Louisville

The history of the Irish in Louisville is a long one as involvement of Irish in Louisville, Kentucky dates to the founding of the city. The two major waves of Irish influence on Louisville were first the Scots-Irish in the late 1700s, and those who escaped from the Irish Potato Famine of the 1830s. [Kleber, John E. "Encyclopedia of Louisville". (University Press of Kentucky). pg.420.]

1700s

Louisville was born from the original settlement by George Rogers Clark of Corn Island. Among the first settlers were the Irish families of Coomes, Doherty, McManus, and Hart. The original surveys of the land that would become Louisville were done by the Irishmen John Campbell and John Connolly. William Croghan, who was the brother-in-law of Clark, would have a tremendous influence, best represented by Historic Locust Grove, which was built by Croghan and is now a National Historic Landmark. A stockade on the outer reaches of Louisville was built by Irishman James Sullivan in 1780 [Kleber 420, 421]

1800s

In 1805, several Irish natives were living on Fifth Street by the Ohio River, but due to exogamous marriages and removals to new residences this was the last concentration of the Scots-Irish/Ulster Scots in Louisville. Irish from beyond the borders of Ulster would not arrive in Louisville until after the War of 1812. [Kleber 421]

The new wave of Irish began in 1812 when James Anderson immigrated to Louisville,. He started a successful wholesale dry good store and also directed the Louisville branch of the Bank of the United States and joined the Louisville Commons Council. By 1825 many new Irish had come to Louisville, starting jobs such as candlemaking, groceries, and boardinghouses. [Kleber 421]

With all the Irish coming to Louisville, many of the jobs that would normally be served by chattel slaves were instead being performed by the Irish, causing a major decrease in the number of slaves in Louisville prior to 1860. [Kleber 421] However, the influx of Irish brought with it different tensions, as it increased the number of Catholics in the city. This culminated in 1855's Bloody Monday riots. [Kleber 421]

By the late 1860s, Irish residents of Portland moved to the Limerick district of Louisville, in order to be closer to their jobs with the Louisville & Nashville Railroad. It would be the predominant Irish neighborhood in Louisville until 1905. [ [http://www.courier-journal.com/reweb/community/placetime/city-limerick.html "Louisville Courier-Journall"] ; Kleber 421]

Twentieth century

The "Kentucky Irish American" was a newspaper printed for the Irish in Louisville. Founded in 1896 in Limerick, it existed until 1968. However, Limerick as an Irish stronghold ended after the Louisville and Nashville Railroad in 1902 chose to move its shop to Louisville's Highland Park district, causing most of its Irish workforce to move with it. By 1920 Limerick had lost its Irish character; the last St. Patrick's Day Parade in Limerick was in 1918; Louisville would not see another until the 1970s. [ [http://www.courier-journal.com/reweb/community/placetime/city-limerick.html "Louisville Courier-Journall"] ; Kleber 421]

The Irish decline continued for decades. The Ancient Order of Hibernians once had seven chapters in Louisville, but the last one folded in 1944. The 1960s saw a renewed interest in Irish culture in Louisville, and the Hibernians returned in Louisville in 1966; the National Convention met in Louisville in 1994 at the Galt House. Other groups interested in Irish culture would form in Louisville. Mayor Harvey Sloane brought back the Saint Patrick's Day parades during his administration. Outside of Chicago, no Midwestern city has had more Irish music bands than Louisville. [Kleber 421]

Today

Louisville today has several businesses with strong Irish ties. Recently an "Irish Pub District" has been diagnosed, centered around Baxter Avenue, featuring Dublin's Cellar, Flanagan's, Molly Malone's, and O'Shea's. The Irish Rover is also a favorite restaurant. [http://www.courier-journal.com/blogs/vel12/2007/12/louisvilles-irish-pub-district.html "Louisville Courier-Journal"] The Celtic Centre has sold Irish goods to local Irish for over twenty-five years. [ [http://celticcentre.com/index.php?main_page=page&id=18&chapter=0 Celtic Centre] ]

On April 14, 2008, Louisville became a sister city of Bushmills, Northern Ireland. There was a vote that took place, where voters could decide if Louisville, Boston, Massachusetts, or Portland, Maine will twin with Bushmills. [ [http://www.bushmills.com/en-row/home/Bushmills_home.htm CommonGateway ] ]

ee also

*History of Louisville
*Irish Hill, Louisville

References