History of the Irish in Saint Paul
Encyclopedia
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...
have played an integral part in the founding and the growth of the city. The first Irish
Irish American
Irish Americans are citizens of the United States who can trace their ancestry to Ireland. A total of 36,278,332 Americans—estimated at 11.9% of the total population—reported Irish ancestry in the 2008 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau...
to settle in Saint Paul were three soldiers from Fort Snelling who were natives of Ireland. They became the first settlers in the area of downtown Saint Paul. Helped by Archbishop John Ireland, thousands of Irish emigrated from Ireland and Eastern cities in the United States to Minnesota; the majority settled in Saint Paul.
Despite being outnumbered by the early German
German American
German Americans are citizens of the United States of German ancestry and comprise about 51 million people, or 17% of the U.S. population, the country's largest self-reported ancestral group...
population, the Irish dominated local politics. Many mayors of Saint Paul have been Irish, including a stretch of nine out of ten from 1932-1972. The last two mayors of Saint Paul, Randy Kelly
Randy Kelly
Randy Cameron Kelly is an American politician and the former mayor of Saint Paul, Minnesota. He is a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party ....
and Chris Coleman
Chris Coleman (politician)
Christopher "Chris" B. Coleman is a Minnesota politician and the mayor of St. Paul. He defeated incumbent mayor Randy Kelly in 2005 and took office on January 3, 2006.- Family and early career :...
, have been Irish. The dominance has been attributed to the control of the business, labor and politics of the city.
History
Dayton's Bluff
Dayton's Bluff is a neighborhood located on the east side of the Mississippi in the southeast part of the city of Saint Paul, Minnesota, which has a large residential district on the plateau extending backward from its top. The name of the bluff commemorates Lyman Dayton, for whom a village and a...
, with Phelan and Hays becoming the first people to live on what is now Downtown Saint Paul. Hays later became the first person to be murdered in Saint Paul, dying in September 1839. Phelan was accused but was then released due to lack of evidence. He settled near the creek that runs through the East Side neighborhood, later named Phalen Creek. The creek runs from Lake Phalen
Lake Phalen
Lake Phalen is an urban lake located in Saint Paul, Minnesota and in its suburb of Maplewood. It is one of the largest lakes in Saint Paul and is the centerpiece of the Phalen Regional Park System. The lake drains into the Mississippi River after traveling through Phalen Creek...
through Swede Hollow
Swede Hollow
Swede Hollow was a neighborhood of Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was one of a large group of neighborhoods collectively known as the East Side, lying just to the east of the near-downtown Railroad Island neighborhood, and at the northwestern base of Dayton's Bluff...
to the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
and was later used by Hamm's Brewery
Hamm's Brewery
Hamm's is the name of a former American brewery in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Hamm's breweries were also found in other cities, such as San Francisco.-History:...
. In 1850 after he was accused of perjury, Phelan fled to California.
A number of strong fraternal organizations had chapters in Saint Paul including the Benevolent Society of Erin and Shields Guards, a militia named for James Shields
James Shields
James Shields was an American politician and United States Army officer who was born in Altmore, County Tyrone, Ireland. Shields, a Democrat, is the only person in United States history to serve as a U.S. Senator for three different states...
. Saint Paul's branch of the Fenian Brotherhood
Fenian Brotherhood
The Fenian Brotherhood was an Irish republican organization founded in the United States in 1858 by John O'Mahony and Michael Doheny. It was a precursor to Clan na Gael, a sister organization to the Irish Republican Brotherhood. Members were commonly known as "Fenians"...
even led the Pembina Raid in conjunction with other attacks of the Fenian Raids
Fenian raids
Between 1866 and 1871, the Fenian raids of the Fenian Brotherhood who were based in the United States; on British army forts, customs posts and other targets in Canada, were fought to bring pressure on Britain to withdraw from Ireland. They divided many Catholic Irish-Canadians, many of whom were...
.
One of the most direct connections to Ireland that still exists is Connemara Patch. In 1880, Archbishop Ireland attempted to settle the area around Graceville, Minnesota
Graceville, Minnesota
At the 2000 census, there were 605 people, 257 households and 149 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,007.7 per square mile . There were 283 housing units at an average density of 471.4 per square mile . The racial makeup of the city was 99.50% White, 0.17% Native...
with Irish emigrants from Connemara
Connemara
Connemara is a district in the west of Ireland consisting of a broad peninsula between Killary Harbour and Kilkieran Bay in the west of County Galway.-Overview:...
, County Galway
County Galway
County Galway is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the city of Galway. Galway County Council is the local authority for the county. There are several strongly Irish-speaking areas in the west of the county...
. The colony failed after one of the harshest winters on record. The immigrants spoke only the Irish language
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
and established Connemara Patch, a community just downstream from Swede Hollow
Swede Hollow
Swede Hollow was a neighborhood of Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was one of a large group of neighborhoods collectively known as the East Side, lying just to the east of the near-downtown Railroad Island neighborhood, and at the northwestern base of Dayton's Bluff...
. Ireland managed to find jobs for most of Connemaras with the railroads.
In 1850 more than half of the Irish were unskilled laborers. A large portion of the Saint Paul Police Department have been Irish since the 1850s. The Irish in Saint Paul, like those in the Eastern United States participated heavily in politics. Many sought government jobs such as policemen, due to the job security. As a result the Irish's particularly visible role prompted complaints and allegations of from other ethnic groups such as the Germans who wanted more representation.
Politics
Nine of the ten men who served as mayors of Saint Paul between 1932-1972 were Irish. Domination of the Democratic PartyMinnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party
The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party is a major political party in the state of Minnesota and the state affiliate of the Democratic Party. It was created on April 15, 1944, with the merger of the Minnesota Democratic Party and the Farmer–Labor Party...
dates back to 1850s. Around the turn of the 20th century, Irish politicians allied themselves with businessmen and controlled city politics. A study in 1957 concluded that being Catholic was "almost essential for political success in Saint Paul". Led by the influential Archbishop John Ireland, the Catholic Church was heavily influenced by the Irish. Other ethnic groups complained of Irish Catholic ways being imposed on their parishes.
The O'Connor System was created by the Chief of Police, John J. O'Connor and his brother Richard. The system allowed known criminals to live in the city as long as they obeyed the law in Saint Paul. As a result, criminals such as Machine Gun Kelly
Machine Gun Kelly
George Kelley Barnes , better known as "Machine Gun Kelly", was an American gangster during the prohibition era. His nickname came from his favorite weapon, a Thompson submachine gun. His most famous crime was the kidnapping of oil tycoon & businessman Charles Urschel in July 1933 for which he,...
, John Dillinger
John Dillinger
John Herbert Dillinger, Jr. was an American bank robber in Depression-era United States. He was charged with, but never convicted of, the murder of an East Chicago, Indiana police officer during a shoot-out. This was his only alleged homicide. His gang robbed two dozen banks and four police stations...
and Baby Face Nelson
Baby Face Nelson
Lester Joseph Gillis , known under the pseudonym George Nelson, was a bank robber and murderer in the 1930s. Gillis was known as Baby Face Nelson, a name given to him due to his youthful appearance and small stature...
lived in Saint Paul. After the O'Connor brothers retired from politics and a series of high-profile kidnappings occurred, the system fell apart.
Population
The city had a sizable Irish population working as household servants and dock laborers in 1851. In the 1857 census only 17% of Saint Paul's 9,973 residents were born in the United States. The largest foreign-born group were the Germans, with the Irish being the next largest. Immigration from the Ireland peaked in 1890. In 1880, Irish immigrants made up 10% of Saint Paul's work force; 10 years later they made up 6%. In 1895, Irish-born residents made up between three and five percent of Saint Paul residents.Irish Fair of Minnesota
The grounds of Harriet Island in St. Paul, is the location for the annual Irish culture festival, known as the Irish Fair of Minnesota. It is held in August of every year. Visitors can choose from the many activities the festival has to offer, like listening to music on one of the three stages, having a bit of Irish food and drink, learning about the many engaging aspects of Irish culture, taking part in a workshop on how to play the Irish bodhran, watching the incredible Irish dancers, and perusing through the Irish marketplace. The Irish Fair is free, no admission charge to the festival.Saint Patrick's Day
Saint Paul held Minnesota's first St Patrick's Day parade in 1851. The celebration was an impromptu event, with 300 participants partaking in flag-raising, speeches and a fired salute.When the parades first started, temperance was an integral theme. The Irish Catholic Temperance Society led many of the first parades, and in 1856 the Benevolent Society of Erin hosted a dinner complete with toasts of cold water. Festivities grew more elaborate during the Civil War. The celebration reached a zenith in 1901, when the city's chapter of the Ancient Order of Hibernians
Ancient Order of Hibernians
The Ancient Order of Hibernians is an Irish Catholic fraternal organization. Members must be Catholic and either Irish born or of Irish descent. Its largest membership is now in the United States, where it was founded in New York City in 1836...
arranged special railroad rates in conjunction with James J. Hill
James J. Hill
James Jerome Hill , was a Canadian-American railroad executive. He was the chief executive officer of a family of lines headed by the Great Northern Railway, which served a substantial area of the Upper Midwest, the northern Great Plains, and Pacific Northwest...
, and as a result 4,000 people took part in the parade. The following year no activities took place, with the Irish celebrating "very quietly and religiously". Archbishop Ireland called to a halt celebrations that had turned into what he termed "midnight orgies". Around a half of a century later, the parade was revived by downtown businessmen in 1967. The parade has since grown to be an organized affair with 100,000 attending the downtown parade in 2007. In addition to a parade, the Irish Music and Dance Association hosts dancing, live music, and vendors in the nearby Landmark Center
Landmark Center (St. Paul)
St. Paul’s historic Landmark Center, completed in 1902, originally served as the United States Post Office, Court House, and Custom House for the state of Minnesota. It was designed by Willoughby J. Edbrooke, who served as Supervising Architect of the U.S. Treasury Department in 1891-92...
.
Notables
- Archbishop John Ireland
- James J. HillJames J. HillJames Jerome Hill , was a Canadian-American railroad executive. He was the chief executive officer of a family of lines headed by the Great Northern Railway, which served a substantial area of the Upper Midwest, the northern Great Plains, and Pacific Northwest...
- F. Scott FitzgeraldF. Scott FitzgeraldFrancis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are the paradigm writings of the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost...
- Danny HoganDanny Hogan"Dapper" Danny Hogan was a charismatic underworld figure and boss of Saint Paul, Minnesota's Irish Mob during Prohibition. Due to his close relationships with the officers of the deeply corrupt St...
- Randy KellyRandy KellyRandy Cameron Kelly is an American politician and the former mayor of Saint Paul, Minnesota. He is a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party ....
- Chris ColemanChris Coleman (politician)Christopher "Chris" B. Coleman is a Minnesota politician and the mayor of St. Paul. He defeated incumbent mayor Randy Kelly in 2005 and took office on January 3, 2006.- Family and early career :...
- Éamon a BúrcÉamon a BúrcÉamon a Búrc was a tailor and Irish storyteller or seanchaí.Born to an Irish-speaking family in Carna, County Galway, Ireland, Éamon a Búrc, was brought by his parents to Graceville, Minnesota in 1880. Their passage was paid for by Archbishop John Ireland, who wished to fill up the Minnesota...
- Ignatius Aloysius O'Shaughnessy