The Boston Irish: A Political History

by Thomas H. O'Connor

Settling in a city founded by the Puritans, the Boston Irish evolved into one of America's most distinctive ethnic communities and eventually came to dominate local politics. This book offers a history of Boston's Irish community.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics, Ireland, Irish Literature

384 pages, Paperback

First published May 4, 1995

Reviews

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent one-stop shop political history of the Irish in Boston. Does just what it sets out to do. It is striking just how much hatred, condescension, and oppression the early waves of immigrants faced. The sheer numbers are also remarkable. Also the fact that the early elected Irish community leaders seemed to have a more accommodation / assimilation orientation, likely by necessity.

[Tresa Casaletto · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written in 1994 (or 1995) this book is an encyclopedia of Boston politics. If you want extreme details regarding the influence of the Irish in the history of Boston, this book will do it. However, I found the writing style extremely dry. I learned many details and gained an overall insight to the political scene of Boston but I can't say I really enjoyed it. Probably better for a serious political scholar than a recreational reader.

[Wayne Fitzpatrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

In his summary of the rise of the Irish in Boston politics, Thomas H. O'Connor does a good job of tracing the surge of the Irish in Boston politics. However, I do think it is lacking in some of the more "recent" events of the Irish in Boston politics. Keeping in mind the book was published in 1995, there was still a lot of information not included in the more recent era of the Irish in Boston politics particularly during Mayor Flynn's administration.

While O'Connor does a wonderful job of describing the beginnings of the Irish communities in Boston and their rise in the political system of the state, he seems to gloss over the more tumultuous times of the more recent changes in Boston. Specifically, I was a little disappointed to not see a lot about how Boston reacted to the times and deaths of John F Kennedy and Robert Kennedy. I also knew more stories about Mayor Flynn than were included in the book. He also, perhaps wisely, avoided writing about the James and Billy Bulger connections. Granted, you cannot include all of the stories and factoids of each administration. But most of the stories he recounted were heavily weighed towards the early rise of the Irish in Boston.

All that being said, I did find the stories of the rise of the Irish in Boston politics to be very interesting and insightful. O'Connor (a Boston College graduate) gives a very detailed description of Boston during the early days of the Irish in Boston. In addition to describing the obstacles and discrimination they faced he also explains how moderate Irish members of the Democratic Party were more successful, and arguably an essential group, in the rise of the Irish in Boston politics since they were able to gain acceptance and support from the Brahmins as well as the Irish which ensured solid support across parties and social groups.

I did find his rather broad sweeping descriptions of the irish to be a bit stereotypical and not very accurate. Again, the book was published over two decades ago and times have changed over this period. Also, the Irish of my generation and my locale (just south of Boston) may very well be different from the Irish in the neighborhoods of Boston. But his descriptions of the Irish seemed both outdated and simplistic.

Overall, I would say O'Connor did a good job of describing the history of the Irish in Boston politics and I would recommend the book for anyone interested in learning more about this history especially if you're interested in early Irish Boston politics.

[Noah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and readable history of the Irish experience in Boston. Paints a fairly depressing picture of a population that overcame decades of oppression only to strongly favor the continuing oppression of other groups.

The author’s bafflingly positive portrayal of urban renewal, other than the demolition of the West End, somewhat undermines the later sections of the book. He seems to largely accept the narrative offered by the “professional” mayors Hynes, Collins, and White that wholesale destruction of immense sections of the city for car-centric, too-down redevelopment were a positive intervention. In reality, Boston’s population declined precipitously during the years these technocrats were in power, and the damage to the fabric of the city is still being wrestled with to this day.

The glowing portrait of former mayor Ray Flynn is similarly odd. A reader who hadn’t heard of Flynn would come away with the impression that he was essentially an unqualified success on racial issues, which would be news to anyone who’s heard of Carol Stuart.

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reorganizing my bookcases, I realized that I'd never reviewed this book, read a few years before I joined Goodreads. What I loved is its sense of irony that Boston evolved into a place where the ethnic Irish would thrive. While every history of America's immigrants discusses prejudice, O'Connor explores the unique challenges posed by Boston, with its entrenched Yankee class ("Yankee" means something entirely different in Beantown than in the rest of the US). The book validated the stories I'd heard about NINA signs, as well as my childhood experience with Yankee hostility in the mid-20th century. O'Connor paints Boston's Irish as neither victims nor heroes, but as people with a lot of resilience and a long memory, for good and bad. The book provides an authentic sense of place and taught me a lot I didn't know about my hometown and my ethnic roots.

[John Daniell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, informative book that packs in a ton of history and makes many interesting points. The story of the Boston Irish is an unlikely one, and O’Connor does a good job of illustrating their ups and downs in Boston politics. For an academic book, it’s written in an easy-to-understand and engaging way, but it does get tedious at points. I would have liked to have seen more analysis of the racial turmoil of the 1960s and 70s, as well as more on the Irish mob and their political influence.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Masterful, engaging, page-turning account of how Irish immigrants rose from derision to lead Boston at the turn of the 20th Century. This book was written by Thomas H. O'Connor, the "dean" of Boston's history; I had the pleasure of taking 2 graduate courses with him, and meeting him for my subsequent thesis. Anyone living in Boston should enjoy this book!

[Sdugre · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little too political for my tastes, but interesting nonetheless. Some of my maternal grandparents' traits are explained, and I'll henceforth be referring to them as "two toilet Irish".

[Brendan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still reading this. It is a good history for anyone who is of Irish descent from Boston, or for someone who wants to understand the Irish of Boston.

[James O'connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book which gave me great background context to the city's people and cultural evolution.

[Robin Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

A ripping overview of the progress of the Irish into Boston society and politics.

[Mike]

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