How the Emerald Isle shaped the Steel City - Pittsburgh's rich Irish history

"In Pittsburgh, one of the nation's most Irish cities, the holiday is less a performance of ethnic nostalgia than a genuine sense of homecoming for many residents. The story of how so many Irish came to call this corner of Pennsylvania their own stretches back nearly three centuries, shaped by famine and faith, hard labor and hard politics, and a tenacity that left its mark on nearly every institution the city holds dear."

"Some Scotch-Irish Protestants and Irish Catholics came to the Pittsburgh region in the 18th century, drawn by economic opportunity and the desire to escape British Anglican religious tyranny. In the first U.S. census of 1790, the population of Pittsburgh was already 19% Irish, with over 250,000 having emigrated from Ulster alone in the previous century."

"An even larger wave of Irish immigration, however, came with the Catholic exodus during the potato blight that triggered the Great Famine of 1845-51, in which an estimated 1 million people died. Irish Catholics were disproportionately affected by the blight, having been forced onto marginal land where they relied mostly on potatoes for survival."

Pittsburgh hosts one of the nation's largest St. Patrick's Day parades, reflecting the city's deep Irish heritage. Irish immigration to Pittsburgh began in the 18th century with Scotch-Irish Protestants and Catholics seeking economic opportunity and religious freedom from British Anglican persecution. The 1790 census showed Pittsburgh was already 19% Irish. A much larger wave arrived during the Great Famine of 1845-1851, when Irish Catholics, forced onto marginal lands and dependent on potatoes, faced disproportionate suffering. By 1900, more Irish lived in the United States than Ireland. Today, 11-16% of Pittsburgh residents claim Irish ancestry, with Irish influence embedded throughout the city's institutions.

Read at The Conversation