- Irish in Omaha, Nebraska
The Irish in
Omaha, Nebraska have constituted a majorethnic group throughout the history of the city, and continue to serve as important religious and political leaders. They compose a large percentage of the local population.In 2000 62,349 of the city's 390,112 residents claimed Irish roots on the U.S. Census. [ [http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFIteratedFacts?_event=&geo_id=16000US3137000&_geoContext=01000US%7C04000US31%7C16000US3137000&_street=&_county=Omaha&_cityTown=Omaha&_state=04000US31&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=geoSelect&_useEV=&pctxt=fph&pgsl=160&_submenuId=factsheet_2&ds_name=DEC_2000_SAFF&_ci_nbr=541&qr_name=DEC_2000_SAFF_A1160®=DEC_2000_SAFF_A1160%3A541&_keyword=&_industry= "Census 2000 Demographic Profile Highlights: Selected Population Group: Irish (050, 081)"] , United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 5/7/08.] The Irish were the third largest
ethnic group inSouth Omaha in 1900, with 1,073 out of 26,001 residents claiming Irish ancestry. [Dillingham, W.P. (1911) "Reports of the Immigration Commission." TheDillingham Commission of the61st United States Congress . p 343.] By 1909 that area of the city claimed 2,250 out of their 30,000 residents were of Irish descent. [Dillingham, W.P. (1911) p 344.]19th century
"The first church of any denomination in Nebraska was a Catholic church built in Omaha by Irish immigrants in 1856." [Hickey, D.R., Wunder, S.A. and Wunder, J.R. (2007) "Nebraska Moments."
University of Nebraska Press . p 117.] Around this time a community of Irish settlers inhabited an area known as Gophertown, located north of the town of Saratoga and south of the town of Florence. The area was named for the dugout homes the immigrants had made in the wide-open plains of present-dayNorth Omaha . [Barstow, D. (2002) "A Dirty Town". Caxton Press. p 44.]The Irish have comprised a major component of Omaha's immigrant community since the 1860s. [Larsen and Cotrell. (1997) "The Gate City: A history of Omaha."
University of Nebraska Press . p 160.] Coming to the city in large numbers to build theUnion Pacific Railroad starting in 1864, many Irish immigrants stayed to work in the railroads and took jobs as laborers in the wholesaling district. As many as 10,000 Irish laborers worked out of Omaha along the Union Pacific lines as they sprawled across theWestern United States . [Lamb, B. (2001) "Booknotes: Stories from American History." PublicAffairs. p 142.] Few had come directly fromIreland , instead arriving in Omaha viaNew York City ,Boston , and other cities in theEastern United States . During the twelfth and final meeting of theNebraska Territory Legislature a group of 31 Irish leaders in the community promotedGeorge Francis Train becoming a Senator for the new state because he had, "advocated so long the cause of Irish nationality." [Morton, J.S., Watkins, A., Miller, G.L.. (1918) "History of Nebraska." Western Publishing and Engraving Company. p 374.] In 1863 Edward andMary Creighton donated land to the local Catholic bishop, the Right Rev. James O'Gorman, to build aconvent on the banks of theMissouri River . TheSisters of Mercy opened an academy and schools soon afterwards. The Creightons also donated land for a cathedral which was dedicated toSt. Philomena . [Shea, J.G. (1892) "History of the Catholic Church in the United States." p 655.] O'Gorman, also Irish, died and was buried in Omaha at theCalvary Catholic Cemetery in 1874. [ [http://www.usgennet.org/usa/topic/cemetery/nebraska/cemeteries/cemeterypics/calvarycatholic/ogormanjames.htm "Calvary Catholic Cemetery Omaha"] , Retrieved 5/11/08.]In the 1870s and 1880s a major neighborhood for the local Irish community was the Near North Side. Josie McCullough, who grew up there during that period, wrote about the neighborhood saying, "In that neighborhood Swedish, Bohemian, Italian, Irish and Negro children all contributed to the process of
Americanization ." [Larsen, Cotrell, Dalstrom and Dalstrom. (2007) "The Upstream Metropolis: ". University of Nebraska Press. p. 163.] They also lived in an "uninviting floodplain" south of downtown which was later known as Little Italy. [Larsen, Cotrell, Dalstrom and Dalstrom. (2007) p. 206.]James E. Boyd was an Irish-born politician in Omaha who served two terms as mayor in the 1880s, and wasNebraska Governor in the 1890s. In 1885 James O'Connor became the first Roman Catholic Archbishop of theDiocese of Omaha . Born inQueenstown, Ireland , he died in Omaha in 1890. When theOmaha Stockyards were established in 1887, the first employees were foreign-born Irish who moved directly toSouth Omaha . [Dillingham, W.P. (1911) p 341.] That year at theNebraska Republican Party 's annual convention in Lincoln, the delegates created a statement showing "the usual approval of the struggle for Irish home rule". TheNebraska Democratic Party presented a similar statement in its platform, too. [Morton, J.S., Watkins, A., Thomas, A.O. (1918) "History of Nebraska." p 611.] Emmet Street in theKountze Place neighborhood was probably named forRobert Emmet during this period. [ [http://www.omahahistory.org/Education_StreetNames4.htm "Omaha street names"] ,Douglas County Historical Society . Retrieved 5/11/08.]In the 1890s the
American Protective Association singled out Omaha's and targeted them in a campaign to drive immigrants out of theMidwestern United States and the Irish out of public office. [Larsen, Cotrell, Dalstrom and Dalstrom. (2007) p 209.] By then Irish Americans lived throughout the city, and hadassimilate d to a large extent. They held an annualSt. Patrick's Day celebration, and they moved into all levels of Omaha society, including politics and city government. Their acceptance in society benefited theRoman Catholic Church greatly. [Larsen and Cotrell. (1997) "The Gate City: A history of Omaha."University of Nebraska Press . p 161.]20th century
Starting in the late 19th century, Omaha's Irish
crime lord andpolitical boss Tom Dennison gathered power in the early 1900s. His powerfulpolitical machine controlled all gambling, liquor and prostitution schemes in Omaha for almost 50 years, including having "Cowboy Jim" Dahlman elected mayor twelve times.In 1906
Irish language scholarDouglas Hyde visited Omaha, raising a great deal of money forGaelic League . [Dunleavy, G.W. (1974) "Douglas Hyde." Bucknell University Press. p 50.] While there he found the Rev. Dr.Richard Scannell , thebishop of theRoman Catholic Archdiocese of Omaha was a native ofCounty Cork and spoke perfect Irish, as did many more residents of the city. After learning that more than one-sixth of the city's residents claimed Irish heritage, Hyde urged them to take steps to preserve their language and history. [Dunleavy, J.E. and Dunleavy, G.W. (1991) "Douglas Hyde: A Maker of Modern Ireland." University of California Press. p 275.]In 1909 an Irish policeman named Edward Lowery was murdered trying to arrest a Greek immigrant in South Omaha who was accused of having sex with a young "white" woman. A mob was gathered by Joseph Murphy, an Irish leader in the community, and the ensuing Greek Town Riot destroyed South Omaha's Greek community, and the neighborhood was never rebuilt. [Larsen, Cotrell, Dalstrom and Dalstrom. (2007) p. 213.] In 1913
Harry Haywood 's father was beaten by a gang of Irish youth in South Omaha, leading the family to move toMinneapolis where Haywood later rose to leadership in theCommunist Party USA [Larsen, Cotrell, Dalstrom and Dalstrom. (2007) p. 216.]On route to an assignment in rural Nebraska in 1912, Irish-born Father
Edward J. Flanagan became concerned about the welfare oforphan s in the Omaha. In 1917 he founded the world-famous Boys Town. He has since become a symbol of great pride for the Irish community in Omaha. [Larsen, Cotrell, Dalstrom and Dalstrom. (2007) p. 374.]In the 1920s the Irish Self-Determination Club of Omaha supported Ireland and its right to independence from the British government. The Club made a loan to the Elected Government of the
Republic of Ireland in 1919, and made requests to the United States federal government to provide financial support to Ireland. [ [http://www.nebraskahistory.org/lib-arch/research/manuscripts/organize/irish-club.htm "Irish Self-Determination Club of Omaha"] , Nebraska State Historical Society. Retrieved 5/11/08.]Tom Dennison's reign as Omaha's political boss ended in the early 1930s when he was brought to trial for
conspiracy . In 1932 he suffered several debilitating strokes. He died in 1934.Present
Today there is a strong ethnic Irish presence in Omaha. Several social organizations, including the
Ancient Order of Hibernians , the Omaha Area Emerald Society, and theIrish American Cultural Institute have chapters in the city. There are also several organizations promotingIrish culture , including as Brighid St. Brighid Theatre, the Omaha Irish Dancers, and Craoi na Tire Studio of Irish Dance, as well as an annual St. Patrick's Day parade. [ [http://www.irishomaha.com/ IrishOmaha.com. Retrieved 5/11/08.]ee also
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History of Omaha References
External links
* [http://www.irishomaha.com IrishOmaha.com]
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