Irish immigrants brought heritage, culture, few possessions to Kansas
12 a.m. Wednesday, March 14, 2007
The Irish began to settle in Kansas during the 1850s when Kansas was just a territory, possibly before.
"They came like other immigrants, they wanted a better life," says Joy Brennan, Folk Arts Program Co-ordinator for the Kansas State Historical Society.
"And by 1870, the Irish were part of a group that numbered about half of the foreign born who were in Kansas by then," said Joy.
Some Irish came as a result of the late 1840s potato famine in Ireland. Joy's own ancestors came to Mitchell County, Kansas following the potato famine.
Notable Irish
- Judy Garland, singer /actor
- John F Kennedy, U.S. President
- Eugene O'Neill, playwright
- Nellie Bly (born Elizabeth Cochrane), reporter
- Liam Neeson, actor
Joy says the Irish came as individual families and usually did not settle as a colony.
"So we don't hear about the Irish as much as other immigrants who came in groups. Many of the Irish came to the United States and moved to cities, but a lot of them began farming. They worked for the railroads," said Joy.
When the Irish came to the United States they had to pack light because of lack of space.
"A lot of these items traveled to Kansas probably by covered wagon. They have photographs from their past because they may never see their ancestors that they were leaving in Ireland," says Joy.
Joy says the Irish influenced Kansas in many ways, including culturally through food and music. The Historical Society has a fiddle brought to Kansas during the 1850s by the Limerick family.
"Mr. Limerick would play the fiddle around the campfire for entertainment, for his family. Probably Irish music was played on it," says Joy.
Joy says Irish history is part of everyone's history, one of many cultures that has come together to help make Kansas what it is today.
Irish Cultural Gifts
One of the many cultural gifts the Irish gave to the United States was Saint Patrick's Day. St. Patrick was born in Scotland near the end of the fourth century. His given name was Maewyn Succat. Kidnapped at age 16, he was sold into slavery in Ireland and escaped after six years. He returned to Ireland as a priest, adopting the name Patrick. St. Patrick worked as a missionary, established churches and became the patron saint of Ireland. He died March 17 around 460 AD.
Saint Patrick is most known for driving the snakes from Ireland, but according to StPatricksDay.com, "It is true there are no snakes in Ireland, but there probably never have been - the island was separated from the rest of the continent at the end of the Ice Age. As in many old pagan religions, serpent symbols were common and often worshipped. Driving the snakes from Ireland was probably symbolic of putting an end to that pagan practice."
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