The Unstoppable IrishSongs and Integration of the New York Irish, 1783-1883

Dan Milner

Dan Milner’s new book, The Unstoppable Irish traces the ascension of Irish Catholics in New York City through music over a full century, from post-Revolutionary War to post-Civil War. Folk songs, broadsides, songsters and sheet music form the thread for this evolution and lend insight into how the Irish were perceived and how they perceived themselves. Irish composers like Thomas Moore, Dion Boucicault and Edward Harrigan each have a role, along with music publisher Henry De Marsan, but a majority of the broadsides and street ballads Milner cites came from anonymous writers, often from working class tradesmen or soldiers. An accomplished folk scholar, teacher, collector and singer himself, Milner is an authority on Irish folk music in America and has produced several CDs that also include Civil War songs and sea songs.
University of Notre Dame Press | 294 pp / Cloth / $40 / 2019