Few Americans are familiar with the phrase “Éirinn go Brách” or “Erin Go Bragh,” a phrase anglicized by the Los San Patricios during the Mexican-American War and still used today by groups like Sinn Féin. Literally, the phrase means “Ireland Forever” or “Ireland until the Day of Judgment,” and it is considered to be a pledge of loyalty to the Republic of Ireland. Today, there are approximately 40 million self-reported Irish-Americans, making them the second largest ethnic group within the United States (after the German-Americans), and they have had an interesting history among us.

Most Irish who came to the United States were fleeing poverty, starvation, and abuse, rather than seeking freedom and prosperity. Sadly, America was not exactly the land of opportunity for many, if not most, of these refugees. Antebellum American thought described the Irish as "low-browed, savage, groveling, bestial, lazy, wild, simian [apelike], and sensual.” Throughout the United States, the Irish were looked down upon to the degree that a black slave was considered to have more worth than an Irishman. Signs such as “No Irish Need Apply [or NINA]” or “No dogs or Irish” were common as Americans expressed their immense dislike for the ragged immigrants. Seeking to make their families American citizens, Irish boys joined the US military in both the Mexican-American War and the War Between the States. In both instances, the government did not necessarily comply by granting citizenship. Additionally, the US military, which was strongly Protestant, tended to dislike and, during the Mexican-American War, to persecute the Irish Catholics. A painful but true example of this situation is found in the film One Man’s Hero, a tale of the Los San Patricios (the Saint Patrick Battalion), which deserted the American military because of persecution and joined the Mexicans. Even after the War Between the States, distrust of the Irish continued for some time.

Today, the Irish have integrated themselves into the American culture and have even helped to shape it, particularly in the American South. Rugged individualists, the Irish have shared this trait with their new people here in America as demonstrated by the refusal of many Irish-Americans in this country to bow to political correctness out of convenience. Historically, Americans have also distrusted government authority and enjoyed the right to keep guns. The Irish have encouraged both of these stances, having fiercely wanted freedom throughout their history and having suffered under tyrannical English rule (as reflected in the song The Wearing of the Green), against which they could not adequately defend themselves (Irish patriot Erskine Childers was executed by the British in 1922 for having a handgun). Several of our presidents have been Irish or of Irish descent, including the controversial Catholic John F. Kennedy.

Although the Irish may not have had the best entry into the New World when they fled oppression and shortage, they have managed to overcome the stereotyping to become an immense positive influence on America today. Later this month, many of us will celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day, wear green, dye a river (depending on whether or not we live in Chicago), and have some beer (well, maybe not…). But we must remember that there is more than this to the Irish, and America is richer because of it.