READ THIS: Irish New York By Bob Swacker and Leslie Jenkins

This is just the kind of book that Peachy Deegan would have on her Manhattan coffee table...and now it's there!  It isn't the kind that just sits there and gathers dust however; it is the kind that provokes interest in the illustrious history of the Irish in New York.    It has even inspired us to add our Countdown to St. Patrick's day just to the right column.  We LOVE LOVE LOVE being Irish and with a name like Peachy Deegan, can you blame us?  Peachy Deegan used to live in County Cork and even was on the radio there, sometimes speaking Gaelic.  This is just about the most appropriate book Whom You Know could possibly review: Whom You Know is about the Best of Manhattan written by someone that is IRISH!  Right from opening the book, you will be captured by the hand drawn map of eighteen relevant points in Manhattan punctuated by Irishness.  


In ten chapters Bob Swacker and Leslie Jenkins chronicle the history of the Irish in New York and mention the obvious highlights: Tammany Hall, the fact that New York has the oldest St. Patrick's Day Parade in the world, Immigration, and the building of St. Patrick's Cathedral.   But did you know how influential the Irish have been in public service in our city?  This book says two-thirds of one hundred firemen killed between 1865 and 1905 in New York City were of Irish descent.  This continued as of the firefighters lost in the World Trade Center attack on 9/11/01 roughly one-third were of Irish heritage.  


McSorely's Old Ale house, an old favorite, makes an appearance along with several other drinking establishments.  We do miss our old favorite that was horribly torn down: Thady Con's!  Thady Con's was our absolute favorite and we considered it to be the most authentic Irish bar, not Irish American.


As many of our readers are fashion enthusiasts, and of course Peachy just loves fashion, we think you may want to know that the first department store in the USA was here in New York and it was started by someone IRISH: A. T. Stewart of County Antrim.  Stewart's was on the east side of Broadway between Chambers and Reade streets in 1846.  He employed the largest number of Irish women in New York City prior to the Civil War.


These and many more interesting facts are contained in this book of about 100 pages.  We are not going to tell them ALL to you though....we would not want to ruin the fun of reading the book!


In fact, the only thing we don't like about this book is that Major Deegan was not mentioned.  (Nor Peachy Deegan, but then this was published pre-Whom You Know.)  Whom You Know enthusiastically recommends Irish New York by Bob Swacker and Leslie Jenkins!


Remember, there are two kinds of people in Manhattan: Those who are Irish, and those that wish they were!  67 more days until St. Patrick's Day....we hope to see Mayor O'Bloomberg marching.


Written by Bob Swacker and Leslie Jenkins
Pub Date: February 2006
Format: Hardcover
Category: Travel - United States - Northeast - Middle Atlantic (NJ, NY, PA)
US Price: $12.95
CAN Price: $15.95
ISBN: 978-0-7893-1379-9 (0-7893-1379-0)
Publisher: Universe
Trim Size: 7-1/4 x 5-1/3


Irish New York explores the streets, neighborhoods, and legends of the Irish in New York City. Each chapter is filled with photographs, paintings, quotes, and ephemera that illustrate different aspects of Irish life in New York, past and present, covering such topics as the Irish immigration, fraternal groups, the St. Patrick's Day Parade, and Irish pubs and restaurants.The book is the perfect gift book and practical guide for the legions of Irish who live in New York City as well as the thousands of Irish tourists who flock to Irish cultural institutions such as St. Patrick's Cathedral, the Irish Hunger Memorial, and McSorley's Old Ale House (which has never closed, even during Prohibition). A map is provided to help navigate the many places mentioned in the book.

About the Author

Bob Swacker is a historian who teaches Russian, Chinese, European, World and American history at Saint Ann's School in Brooklyn Heights, and Asian, Russian, and European history at Pace University. He is the author of several articles on the City and teaches a course devoted to New York City history. Leslie Jenkins is a writer with an interest in Celtic lore and mythology. She lives in New York City with her third-generation Irish-American daughter.


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For those of you in Boston, we recommend The Boston Irish: A Political History by Thomas H. O'Connor.  Peachy Deegan even took his semester-long class on this book...at Boston College, of course!  (The #1 Irish Catholic school in America.)