Irish in New Orleans

The Margaret Monument in New Orleans was dedicated to Margaret Haughery, an Irish woman who cared for hundreds of orphaned Irish children.

Library of Congress

By the mid-eighteenth century, New Orleans proved an attractive destination for enterprising Irish Catholics who loathed the British. Some received land grants from Spain or France, while others arrived through military service for the French or Spanish. Once in the "New World," the Irish married into Creole families, sometimes changing the spellings of their last names. These Irish immigrants had a different experience in New Orleans than those who arrived in the mid-nineteenth century.

After the 1845 potato blight, hundreds of thousands of starving Irish poured into the New World.Those who arrived in New Orleans found a city where every bit of dry land was already claimed; housing scarce and menial labor was done by slaves. They were hired for next to nothing and were often assigned to tasks considered too dangerous for a valuable slave. Many of the city's canals were dug by Irish immigrants. The canals were dug through mosquito infested swamps where laborers often died of yellow fever or malaria. But many survived the brutal work, yellow fever, and injustices.

Ironically, the first statue ever erected in honor of a woman in the United States was dedicated to an illiterate Irish peasant, Margaret Haughery. She is credited with caring for hundreds of Irish children orphaned after one of the yellow fever epidemics. The statue stands in a triangular park bounded by Camp, Prytania and Clio Streets. This statue of a seated woman looking down on a child simply reads, "Margaret."

Irish settled in small communities through out the city. One famous area where many settled was referred to as the Irish Channel. The area centered on Adele Street, stretching only two blocks from St. Thomas Street to Tchoupitoulas Street. The population grew up river, settling the area bounded by the river and Magazine Street, and Jackson Avenue to Felicity Street.

They lived in simple small cottages but later moved into bigger homes as the opportunity arose.The families were large and food was coarse but wholesome: corned beef and cabbage, Irish stew, potato pancakes, red beans and rice. Their neighborhood was respectable, but the saloons along the riverfront gave it a bad reputation. Today those same "saloons" draw those of Irish decent to celebrate their heritage. The bars host Irish concerts, preserve traditional dishes, and sometimes sponsor St Patrick's Day parades.