How did Catholicism develop on America's West Coast during the 19th and 20th centuries, and how did it differ from the experience in the major Eastern cities? What role did Irish Americans Catholics, both women and men, play in the pioneering years of the Golden State's gold rush and the development of California's state capital over the century that followed? These are just some of the questions we explore in our latest episode of Transatlantic: An Irish American History Podcast, taking as our lens the Irish men and women who helped to build, develop and sustain the city of Sacramento.

We are joined to discuss this by leading historian of Catholicism in America Father Steven Avella, formerly Professor of History at Marquette University in Wisconsin. Father Avella has written a number of volumes on the history of Sacramento and Catholicism in the city, including Sacramento: Indomitable City, Sacramento and the Catholic Church: Shaping a Catholic CIty and Indomitable Sacramentans: A Social History of Catholics in the State Capital.

Father Steven M. Avella Books

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In this episode of Transatlantic: An Irish American History Podcast, we’re joined by noted historian Dr. Terry Golway to explore the story of Tammany Hall, the famed New York political machine so long associated with Irish America. In this show you will hear about Tammany's origins, how and when it became a powerful force for Irish immigrants, and how the famed machine operated through its long existence.

Today, even the word "Tammany" is seen as a byword for corruption and excess. But is there more to Tammany’s story than scandal? Terry helps us to explore this, revealing how Ireland's politics influenced the development of Tammany's operations, and exploring Tammany's often overlooked positive contributions—demonstrating how this a story that is much more than just Boss Tweed and rampant corruption.

Notes & Sources:

Terry Golway. Machine Made: Tammany Hall and the Creation of Modern American Politics.

Terry Golway Books

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In 1771 Benjamin Franklin spent more than six weeks traveling through Ireland at a moment when tensions between Britain and her colonies were rising. In this episode Damian and Fin trace his route from Dublin through the Irish countryside and explore the people he met and the conditions he witnessed. Despite being laid low with food poisoning on his first day he quickly became absorbed in what he saw. The poverty of rural Ireland the restrictions placed on Irish trade and the political frustrations of the Protestant elite all left a deep impression on him. These experiences helped shape the ideas he carried back to America and influenced his thinking in the years before the Revolution.

Further Reading

Carla Mulford, Benjamin Franklin and the Ends of Empire

James B. Nolan, Benjamin Franklin: In Scotland and Ireland 1759 and 1771

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