Between Raid and Rebellion: The Irish in Buffalo and Toronto, 1867-1916

by William Jenkins

Overview

Winner: Joseph Brant Award (2014), Ontario Historical Society Winner: Clio Prize (Ontario) (2014), Canadian Historical Association Winner: The James S. Donnelly Sr. Prize (2014), American Conference for Irish Studies Winner: Geographical Society of Ireland Book of the Year Award (2013-2015) In Between Raid and Rebellion, William Jenkins compares the lives and allegiances of Irish immigrants and their descendants in one American and one Canadian city between the era of the Fenian raids and the 1916 Easter Rising. Highlighting the significance of immigrants from Ulster to Toronto and from Munster to Buffalo, he distinguishes what it meant to be Irish in a loyal dominion within Britain’s empire and in a republic whose self-confidence knew no bounds. Jenkins pays close attention to the transformations that occurred within the Irish communities in these cities during this fifty-year period, from residential patterns to social mobility and political attitudes. Exploring their experiences in workplaces, homes, churches, and meeting halls, he argues that while various social, cultural, and political networks were crucial to the realization of Irish mobility and respectability in North America by the early twentieth century, place-related circumstances were linked to wider national loyalties and diasporic concerns. With the question of Irish Home Rule animating debates throughout the period, Toronto’s unionist sympathizers presented a marked contrast to Buffalo’s nationalist agitators. Although the Irish had acclimated to life in their new world cities, their sense of feeling Irish had not faded to the degree so often assumed. A groundbreaking comparative analysis, Between Raid and Rebellion draws upon perspectives from history and geography to enhance our understanding of the Irish experiences in these centres and the process by which immigrants settle into new urban environments.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780773589032
Publisher:	McGill-Queens University Press
Publication date:	02/01/2013
Series:	McGill-Queen's Studies in Ethnic History , #2
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	440
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

William Jenkins is associate professor of geography at York University.

Table of Contents

McGill-Queen's Studies in Ethnic History

Figures xi

Tables xiii

Acknowledgments xv

1 Introduction: Irish Immigrants and Questions of Place 3

Part 1 Irish Lives, Places, and Identities in Late Victorian Buffalo and Toronto

2 Nineteenth-Century Buffalo and Toronto and the Contexts of Irish Immigration 19

3 Known Groups: Patterns of Work, Residence, and Everyday Survival 55

4 Pews and Parades: Institutions, Networks, and Social Encounters 107

5 Wards and Votes: The Irish and Their Political Arenas 144

6 From Misrule to Rome Rule: Irish Diaspora Politics in the Post-Ridgeway Era 181

Part 2 Continuities and Transitions in the Early Twentieth Century

7 Channels, Niches, and Preserves: Occupations and Careers in the Early Twentieth Century 223

8 Lodges and Lace Curtains: Homes and Neighbourhoods, c. 1900-15 264

9 Prevailing Threads: Diasporic Nationalism and Unionism, c. 1893-1916 306

Conclusion: More Than Just Points on the Map 355

Appendices 365

Notes 373

Bibliography 449

Index 491

Editorial Reviews

"Jenkins has written a big book of significant insight. He joins a very select group of scholars who have attempted full-scale comparative treatments and offers an incredibly rich and deep analysis." Irish Historical Studies


“Utilizing an impressive array of documentary sources, the author demonstrates conclusively that in both urban centers, the Irish acculturated rather than assimilated, shaping their context, and in turn being shaped by it. Scholars and students of diaspora studies will find this volume insightful and informative for their discipline. Recommended.” Choice


"Jenkins’s work proves what diaspora scholars know: that ethnic identity is a complex concept shaped by many diverse elements. His comparison invites more studies of communities within the United States or the worldwide diaspora. This book should be on the shelf of every diasporic scholar as a useful reference and classroom tool." American Historical Review

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