Irish Immigrants in New York City, 1945-1995

Conclusion

In the 1940s and 1950s Irish migrants were just as likely to live in Irish neighborhoods , work for Irish bosses, and socialize in Irish pubs as the New Irish in the 1980s and 1990s. But real differences existed between the mind-sets of the two groups. The majority of New Irish lived among themselves and avoided interaction with Irish Americans and the previous generation of immigrants; they did not join the ethnic clubs and county organizations in the numbers that their predecessors did. Many New Irish resented the relatively menial work available to them. The ¤rst postwar generation of Irish left their country desperate for work and security and the opportunity to build a future. They felt lucky to ¤nd work and were willing to¤ll the positions offered them by friends and family.These immigrants also entered the country legally and did not face the same risks as the undocumented aliens of the eighties. For the most part, the earlier generation also left Ireland with the intention of staying in the United States permanently. Their “waked” departure, the expense and length of traveling between countries, and the stagnant aura that pervaded Ireland in the ¤fties offered no incentive to return. On the other hand, the New Irish were not prepared to leave Ireland as they went through school. Their expectations were focused on a future in Ireland. While emigration was not unknown to most Irish families, it was not supposed to be the road to success for the generation raised during Ireland’s years of economic expansion. When that expansion stopped and school graduates were once again looking abroad to ¤nd a future, many met the reality with resentment. Others saw emigration as a temporary hiatus until better opportunities presented themselves back home.
Conclusion While the New Irish were anxious to build a future,they were not experiencing “mere survival” at home. They were not threatened by material deprivation or cultural boredom as were their counterparts in the ¤fties. The latter’s past and future expectations in Ireland were gray; America presented them with a rainbow of opportunity that they pursued willingly, but often with a great amount of personal pain. Contact with home in the 1950s was primarily achieved by letter, which could take at least a week to cross the Atlantic. For most migrants, visits home were out of the question because of the expense and inconvenience. When an emigrant left for America in the years after World War II, the departure was considered permanent . That perspective of “no going back”necessarily affected immigrant attitudes about living and working in New York, as did the hopelessness that pervaded Irish society and economy in the ¤fties. It made it easier to break away from home and overcome the inevitable homesickness, because there was little other choice. They were more likely to integrate with the established Irish community in the United States, and to build relationships that would enable them to succeed in a strange city, albeit within a tight ethnic network. On the other hand, technological advances in overseas communication and transatlantic travel gave the New Irish such superior access to home that they did not have to make a clean break with their past. Coupled with their ambivalence about being in America, the New Irish always seemed to have one foot in America and one foot in Ireland, never committing to either. Irish migrants historically have sent wages earned in America back home to support farms and supplement family income. The Emigration Report recognized the importance of these remittances to the more equitable distribution of wealth in the country. The New Irish survey and interviews showed that the New Irish continued to send money to Ireland in the 1980s, but they deposited their cash in personal accounts, presumably in anticipation of their return. The New Irish were often accused by the Irish American community in New York of arrogance, apathy, and disregard for those who came before them and for a lack of appreciation for the country that offered them work and opportunity. The perception was as much a generational clash as a cultural one. The New Irish were not coming “right off the farm” with the inexperience and ignorance of their predecessors. While they may have encountered culture shock arriving in New York, their adjustment was that of moving from small towns to a large, complex urban environment. They were generally well informed about American pop culture , politics, and society through a secondary education and media...