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Irish History Podcast

Forgotten: The Irish in the American West

Irish History Podcast

Fin Dwyer

History, Interviews, War Of Independence, Ireland, Norman Invasion, Vikings, Great Famine, Great Hunger, Irish History

4.71.8K Ratings

🗓️ 13 December 2023

⏱️ 33 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

New York, Boston, and Chicago dominate the history of Irish migration to the United States. However by 1900 one of the most Irish cities in the US was Butte Montana. Situated high in the Rocky mountains, Butte was just one of hundreds of Irish communities dotted across the American West. 


Beginning back in the California Goldrush of the 1850s, tens of thousands of Irish immigrants ventured into the American West. Seeking opportunity, they were often greeted with racism and distrust. This podcast tells the stories of the men and women who forged vibrant Irish communities in the face of adversity. 


My guest is historian Alan Noonan the author of 'Mining Irish-American Lives Western Communities from 1849 to 1920'. Alan shares the fascinating history of the Irish in the American West. He details the personal stories of larger-than-life figures, such as Mother Jones and Marcus Daly, who shaped the Irish story in the American West.


You can get Alan's book 'Mining Irish-American Lives Western Communities from 1849 to 1920' here https://upcolorado.com/university-press-of-colorado/item/6201-mining-irish-american-lives. Check out Alan's website at noonanhistory.com


What did you think?

I would love to hear what you made of the episode. I will be starting a discussion on Friday with a few of my own reflections on an episode I thoroughly enjoyed making. You can find this discussion at https://patreon.com/irishpodcast




Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcript

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0:00.0

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0:20.5

Logically as journalists we have to go to the place of bombing to see what happened to interview people but honestly it is very risky.

0:28.0

Hello I'm David Knowles, host of Battle Lines, an original telegraph podcast.

0:32.6

Join me and our foreign correspondence on the ground

0:35.0

for the latest analysis on the Israel Hamas war.

0:37.6

We're in a new phase of fighting now in Gaza

0:39.7

before the Israeli military was targeting the Norse,

0:42.3

then they were moving south now it's everywhere

0:44.7

listen to battle lines every Friday on apple Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts

0:59.9

the The story of Irish immigrants to the US in the 19th century is dominated by the image of starving immigrants arriving in New York or Boston.

1:04.0

While this is central to the Irish American story, it's not the full picture.

1:09.0

Tens of thousands of Irish people would travel far into the west, establishing communities

1:15.8

in places like California, Colorado, Idaho and Montana.

1:20.3

Indeed, by the late 19th century, one of the most Irish cities in the United States was in fact Bute, Montana.

1:28.0

It was just one of hundreds of thriving Irish communities across the American West.

1:34.0

This podcast explores why the Irish ventured West.

1:38.0

It's a story of grueling work in vast mining operations,

1:42.0

and all too often racism and hostility towards the Irish

1:46.8

when they arrived. And forgotten as this part of Irish history may be, it was in the west of the United States, where aspects of Irish-American

1:56.0

identity as we know it today was forged.

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