[Az Joe]

The refugees seeking haven in America were poor and disease-ridden. They threatened to take jobs away from Americans and strain welfare budgets. They practiced an alien religion and pledged allegiance to a foreign leader. They were bringing with them crime. They were accused of being rapists. And, worst of all, these undesirables were Irish.

[HereInTheHeartland]

Did they learn English when they got here?

[BenLurkin]

They were undesirable because they were poor and disease-ridden, bringing with them crime, taking jobs away from Americans, practicing an alien religion, and pledged allegiance to a foreign leader.

[farming pharmer]

The Irish were no allies in WWII. Screw them.

[Lurker]

Blazing Saddles.....

L

[Trumpet 1]

Were those the Catholic Irish in the north eastern USA. Or are they talking about the Protestant Scotts-Irish who were the rulers of the South-East?

[RushIsMyTeddyBear]

They weren’t planning to kill “the infidels”.

[foreverfree]

Bump

[Gay State Conservative]

The last of my foreign ancestors,all Irish,arrived here in 1882.My Dad's older brother,born in Boston in 1905,would tell stories of discrimination...including signs at factory gates and in store windows stating "No Irish Need Apply".Uncle Joe absolutely *hated* the British (and their supporters).

My ancestors...distant and recent...worked for a living,obeyed the law,served in the Armed Forces,paid their taxes,spoke English,and didn't demand charity of any sort.

I'm an American,through and through.I'm proud of my brave,hard working Irish ancestors but I see the Ireland of today as just another foreign country...and just another European cesspool at that.

Contrast that to today's moslems and Mexicans despoiling ours shores.Assimilate? "RACIST!...NATIVIST!"

[sparklite2]

I was grown before finding out I am Irish through both my parents. St Patrick’s Day was just another day in year. That’s assimilation with a hard nose. My family must have experienced some of this silliness first hand for it to preserver a century.

[blueunicorn6]

Oh, for crying out loud.

They were shooting Americans of German Descent in Montana during WWI.

The federal government supplied court space for vigilante courts against Americans of German Descent.

[minnesota_bound]

The Simpsons - St. Patrick's day

[ASOC]

"Bog Irish" was not a term of endearment! The second image shows this feeling was not Universal with all Americans of the time.

Worse, the Irish were mostly (gasp) Catholic. Keep in mind the Catholics and local Kings/ et al in the Eu zone had a very long history of political war-fighting.

Also, this anti-Catholic is a long running meme - remember how JFK was pilloried for being (not much of a ) Catholic?

Crap like "The Pope will run America" and so on was floated in the mass media at the time.

As the second cartoon shows, not all immigrants were unwelcome.

however, it wasn't until the 1960 and the God of the Dems (JFK) and the Dem party opened up immigration into the US. (https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5391395)

Maybe time for "Everything old is new again?"

[bitt]

PING to the Irish!

[golux]

As a hook-nosed, Red Sea Pedestrian third generation American NAVY (I hear we use ships now, not sandals and sticks, to project power to foreign aggressors) I don't really have a dog in this fight, but may I recommend a movie? Gangs of New York. It is very, very, very good. On par with any of the great American films - right at the top. Right on this topic.

[Bratch]

Any of them come into the country illegally?

If so, they should have been sent back.

[Wallace T.]

Next to the blacks, Irish Americans, at least the liberal ones, are the worst whiners in this country. Numerous other immigrant groups: Germans, Italians, Poles, Jews, Greeks, etc., had their share of problems, but none constantly complain about the past than those of Irish descent. The Jews received horrible treatment in Russia, Poland, etc., yet they left their grudges against the Tsars and pogroms when they arrived here. Ditto for the southern Italian peasants, who were under the thumbs of the landowning aristocracy and the Mafia.

[hout8475]

[RayChuang88]

A HUGE problem with the Irish immigrants that came to the USA after the Potato Famine of the 1840's was:

1. They were of Catholic faith (not exactly viewed highly back then).
2. They will illiterate and spoke very little to no English (being native Irish Gaelic speakers).

As such, it essentially took two generations later from these original immigrants to finally integrate into American society. It was only in the 1890's that they were considered members of mainstream American society.

[nutmeg]

bookmark

[WMarshal]

When did we stop hating the Irish?

Austin Powers: There are only two things in this world that scare me and one is nuclear war.
Basil: What’s the other?
Austin Powers: Huh?
Basil: What’s the other thing that scares you?
Austin Powers: Carnies The Irish. Circus folk. Nomads, you know. Smell like cabbage. Small hands.