Irish immigrants in the nineteenth century were transported to America in “coffin ships.” Some arrived in such a state that port officials had to check whether they were alive or dead as they sorted out the bodies. But, once ashore, they were accorded a status denied to African Americans. The Irish were never slaves. To posit a parallel between the experiences of Irish Americans and African Americans is to reveal either awesome ignorance or outright racism. The incorporation of the Irish into the American State helps explain the over-representation of the Irish in the repressive institutions
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