“The drunken Irish”? A comparative analysis of Irish drinking in New York and London, 1950-1970

Steven Taylor, University College Dublin

The Irish have shaped New York’s drinking culture since the first Irish immigrants arrived in the 1820s. In the century that followed over 4.5 million Irish arrived in the city, equating to a quarter of the population. In the post-World War II decades New York City, alongside London, was the most common destination for Irish migrants. This history has resulted in there being more than 120 Irish pubs in New York today, St Patrick’s Day being the city’s biggest drinking day after New Year’s Eve, and a ubiquity of advertisements for Irish whiskey. Yet, unlike London in the post-war years, Irish drinking in New York City was never defined as problematic. Using a comparative approach to concerns about alcohol in the second half of the twentieth century, this paper explores the “drunken Irish” trope and its absence from the archival record in New York. Writing in 1976 the sociologist Richard Stivers argued that the Irish in America “cured themselves of their stereotype as drunkard by accepting it” and subsequently fulfilling the role of the happy drunk. Whereas in London, English prejudice towards Irish nationalism stressed the negative aspects of Irish drinking such as violence, lewd behaviour, and crime. While elements of Stiver’s argument are compelling, historical investigation reveals a parallel in concerns about drinking in London and New York City in the 1950s and 1960s. The former blaming the Irish for increased drunkenness and the latter completely overlooking them, despite the culture of Irish drinking across the city. This paper addresses the commonalities and disparities across the two cities and aims to develop and challenge Stiver’s ideas to present a nuanced understanding of Irish drinking in the second half of the twentieth century.

No extended abstract or paper available

 Presented in Session 148. Narrating Migrant Lives