Hidden History of the Boston Irish

by Stevens, Peter F.

• ISBN13: 9781596294509
• ISBN10: 1596294507
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-03-28
• Publisher: History Pr

Summary

When it comes to Irish America, certain names spring to mind-Kennedy, O'Neill and Curley testify to the proverbial "footsteps of the Gael" in Boston. However, few people know of Sister Mary Anthony O'Connell, whose medical prowess carried her from the convent to the Civil War battlefields, earning her the nickname "the Boston Irish Florence Nightingale," or of Barney McGinniskin, Boston's first Irish cop, who proudly roared at every roll call, "McGinniskin from the bogs of Ireland-present!" Along with acclaim or notoriety, many forgotten Irish Americans garnered numerous historical firsts. In Hidden History of the Boston Irish, Peter F. Stevens offers an entertaining and compelling portrait of the Irish immigrant saga and pays homage to the overlooked, yet significant, episodes of the Boston Irish experience.

Author Biography

Local writer Peter F. Stevens is the news and features editor of the Boston Irish Reporter and has authored two books on Irish history-The Voyage of the Catalpa: A Perilous Journey and Six Irish Rebels' Escape to Freedom, which was chosen as Read Ireland Book of the Month, and The Rogue's March: John Riley and the St. Patrick's Battalion in the Mexican-American War, 1846-48

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	p. 7
And Justice for All?
"Your Eyes Are Full of Murder": Dominic Daley and James Halligan	p. 10
"The Fires of Hate": The Burning of Charlestown's Ursuline Convent	p. 16
Sworn to Secrecy: The "Know-Nothing" Papers	p. 21
Unrepentant Rebels
A Bold Fenian Man: John Edward Kelly	p. 28
High-Seas Drama: Molly Osgood Childers and the Asgard	p. 33
De Valera: When "Ireland's Lincoln" Came to Fenway Park	p. 37
Cops, Robbers, Rioters and Rogues
Boston's First Irish Cop: Barney McGinniskin	p. 42
"Down with Them!": The Broad Street Riot of 1837	p. 46
The Art of the Double Deal: "Dapper Dan" Coakley and the "Toodles Ryan" Case	p. 51
Blueprints for Success
A Foamy Fortune: Lawrence J. Logan	p. 56
"The House that Logue Built": Fenway Park	p. 59
The Write Stuff
"The Irish Belle of Boston Letters": Louise Imogen Guiney	p. 64
"On This Rock": John Boyle O'Reilly's Paean to Plymouth Rock	p. 69
A Higher Calling
"The Boston Irish Florence Nightingale": Sister Mary Anthony	p. 76
"It Must Be True Since Mr. Keely Says It Is": Patrick Keely	p. 80
Shamrock and Sword
The Forgotten Irish Heroes of Bunker Hill	p. 86
"Clear the Streets": The Boston Irish Draft Riot	p. 91
"The Esteem of All Who Knew Him": Patrick Guiney	p. 96
"Suffragette City"
"The Grand Heckler": Maggie Foley of Meeting House Hill	p. 102
"The General Organizer": Mary Kenney O'Sullivan	p. 107
Let the Games Begin
The Boston Irish "Rocky": Jake Kilrain	p. 112
"The Wollaston Whiz": Tom McNamara	p. 117
Home for the Holidays
Celebrating in Style: The Charitable Irish Society and America's First St. Patrick's Day Gathering	p. 122
On the March: Boston's First St. Patrick's Day Parades	p. 127
"Bah, Humbug": Christmas for the Boston Irish	p. 132
All Politics Is Local
A Mayoral Milestone: Patrick Collins	p. 138
"Curley Became a Bathhouse and Gallivan a Road..."	p. 144
Sources	p. 151
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