The time was the 1820s, when a terrible potato famine struck Ireland and the Irish population in Cleveland began to grow significantly, with many making the area surrounding the Cuyahoga River home.
By no means was the initial surge to Cleveland overwhelming, with the numbers of Irish immigrants settling at around 500 by 1826, which led to the establishment of the first Catholic priest to serve the growing Irish population. The overall push to Cleveland of Irish families because of the Great Famine back home continued into the 1840s, with overall numbers swelling to well over 8,000 by the 1930s. Many descendants of those original travelers remain in the area today and proudly represent their heritage in a variety of ways, including introducing many St. Patrick’s Day traditions over the years. The annual St. Patrick’s Day parade is an excellent example of how those traditions and influences remain today.
The History of the Irish in Cleveland, Ohio: Early Days and Traditions
The start of their time in Cleveland was not easy, or even pleasant for the most part. The Irish, although hard-working and family-oriented, were often met with cruel prejudices, just because they were viewed as a threat to the everyday way of life already established in the city.
The Irish were pretty much limited to low-paying, long-hour labors, which included the unloading of ships that were supplying the many steel mills sprouting up along the Cuyahoga and what is now the Newburgh Heights area of Cleveland. Any opportunities for the Irish to advance beyond these hard but honest labors were made even more difficult due in part to their overall lack of formal education.
Although the Irish population seemed to peak around the 1970s, with numbers as high as around 100,000 plus, actual whole neighborhoods that the tight-knit Irish community was so well-known for had disappeared. Today, their culture and traditions remain alive mainly through the West and East Side Irish American Clubs, organizations from my time as Guinness Brand Manager that I became very familiar with. More about that later.
Politically, Irish influence was not overwhelming or, for the time, intimidating, but it was a factor because the Irish political favor was achieved more strategically through the exposure of community events and traditions to the community. This did lead to the election of at least two influential Irish-American mayors in John F. Farley and Robert E. McKisson.
Most Irish were Roman Catholic, but from the beginning of their migrating to the area, there was always a smaller group of Protestants within their ranks. Interestingly enough, it was the smaller group, the Protestants, which saw that assimilating into the local ways and customs might make their transition to their new home a bit easier and even pleasant.
That does not mean the Roman Catholics who steadfastly stuck to their traditions and beliefs were stubborn; it could be better perceived as being proud of their heritage (in our humble opinion at least). It should be noted that the Roman Catholics did work very hard at striking a nice balance of also understanding that their ways and customs would have to patiently find their ways in their new American way of life.
As mentioned earlier, the Irish were and remain a very social group of people. As far back as the mid-1800s, specifically just before 1850, a group of “Irish soldiers," known as the Hibernian Guards, helped to spread this mindset through their participation in the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade and other community events and dances that remain active today. The Guards even helped to recruit Irish soldiers to volunteer on behalf of the Union during the Civil War.
The Great Guinness Toast
So, as I mentioned earlier, my time as the Guiness Brand Manager for a local distributor got me some personal cherished exposure to many of these Irish traditions.
First, I was able to coordinate the very necessary Guinness and Harp needs for St. Patrick’s Day activities at both the east and west side Irish cultural centers, as well as meeting those same beverage needs at their annual cultural festivals held each summer. Since our distributorship did it for many years, it felt very much like I had been adopted as one of their own, even though I am mostly Italian by heritage.
Second, through various brewery contacts for our distributorship, I was also able to coordinate citywide “Great Guinness Toast” events that were so successful throughout Cuyahoga County that we landed in the Guinness Book of World Records two years in a row.
Lastly, as part of those Guinness Toast events, I was also able to meet two Irish families whose children performed authentic Celtic dancing. The first year they performed for our radio toast event at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and I learned very quickly it is not pronounced Celtic with a “C” sound, but Keltic with a “K” sound.
The enthusiasm they had for performing and the robust reception they received from those in attendance, not to mention the hugs of appreciation after, remain a truly cherished career memory.
Cleveland's St. Patrick's Day Traditions
Now, on to Cleveland's other St. Patrick's Day traditions. There is, of course, the annual St. Patrick's Day parade, which is the oldest in Ohio, dating all the way back to 1842. It typically draws between 500,000 and 600,000 spectators with at least 10,000 participants, making it one of the biggest events of the year in the city.
Then, after the parade, Clevelanders fan out to find their favorite corned beef and Irish beers (Conway's Irish Ale at Great Lakes Brewing Company remains one of our favorites).
If you're looking for other St. Patrick's Day activities, make it a point to check out the morning St. Patrick's Day Mass at Holy Name Church, or stop by the Irish Cultural Garden on MLK Drive.