Irish in Illinois cut a path to history
In Illinois on St. Patrick's Day, there is green in abundance, and plenty of Irish eyes are smiling. As one of the state's leading ethnic groups, I...
In Illinois on St. Patrick's Day, there is green in abundance, and plenty of Irish eyes are smiling. As one of the state's leading ethnic groups, Irish-Americans in the Land of Lincoln have left their mark across the state in the last 175 years. Their influence extends well beyond the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Chicago, one of the largest in the nation. Some 600,000 Irish immigrated to America between 1820 and 1840, many of them landing in Illinois. Still others came after the potato famines of 1846-48 that decimated their homeland.