How New York City’s historic Irish legacy lives on today

Published

2 years ago

March 17, 2023

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Irish in New York: A history both public and personal

From bridges to buildings to pubs, New York City will always have a touch of Ireland thanks to newcomers who arrived on our shores at the turn of the last century. FOX 5 NY’s Sharon Crowley shares a piece of her history in this look at the Irish legacy in the city.

NEW YORK – Here in New York City, the Irish community is one of our largest ethnic groups. Hundreds of thousands of Irish Americans live in the city, enjoying a long history rooted in religion and culture.

To understand Irish history in New York, you need to start at Watson House. It opened in 1885 on State Street in Lower Manhattan.

"This was the first place these Irish immigrants, particularly the young women, who would consider Watson House their home," explained Rev. Brian McWeeney, the director of the Office of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs for the Archdiocese of New York. "They would see it in the 1850’s. They came here knowing they would be safe."

The boarding house offered food, shelter and job placement to tens of thousands of young, unmarried, Irish Catholic women who left their families in Ireland to travel by steamship to New York City in the late 1800’s. Image 1 of 2 ?

Watson House opened in 1885 to help Irish women who arrived in New York. The role of the church

Catholic priests often met the ships to make sure the women made it to Watson House safely.

"When they came, this was way different from where they came from," continued Rev. McWeeney. "There were some people here who were ready to take them in and help them and comfort them, but others were ready to take advantage of them."

McWeeney himself is also a first-generation Irish New Yorker. His father arrived in New York City from Galway, Ireland in 1929. Watson House, run by a Catholic priest, was part of the Mission of Our Lady of the Rosary.

"Oh, the church was very important. The mass was the center of their lives in Ireland. The priest was the well-educated man of the town. When they came here, the church took on that role of protector very easily." Starting over in a new world

It’s estimated that more than one million people left Ireland to escape the potato famine and start a new life in New York City. Married couples might end up living in a tenement on the Lower East Side like the fifth-floor walkup apartment preserved by the Tenement Museum at 97 Orchard Street.

"Hundreds of thousands of Irish immigrants landed here in New York and many, many of them stayed, so much so that, by 1860, 25% of the city’s population is Irish-born," explained David Favaloro, the director of Curatorial Affairs at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum.

"Irish immigrants arrived largely unskilled," he added. "Most Irish men who arrived in the mid-19th century found jobs on construction or doing manual labor."

Favaloro says these newcomers from Ireland literally helped shape New York City at the turn of the century – laying bricks for the new Empire State Building and the Brooklyn Bridge.

The Irish immigrants also became involved politics, leading them to municipal jobs in the fire and police departments.

"The Irish become, in some ways, the grassroots of the Democratic Party political machine," Favaloro noted. Challenges and struggles

The Tenement Museum at 97 Orchard St.

The museum recreates the 350-square-foot home of Joseph and Bridget Moore, who lived there in the 1860’s.

"This building, 97 Orchard, was built in 1863 without any indoor running water, any indoor toilets," Favaloro said.

Four of the couple’s eight children died in childhood. These newcomers also faced struggles with discrimination. Some classified ads at the time read "Irish need not apply."

Plus, most of the men coming from Ireland had lived on farms and now had to adapt to a new urban environment. A toast to the pubs

McSorleys Old Ale House opened in 1854.

Irish pubs are also a central figure in Irish history here in New York City. Because Irish families had large families living in tight quarters, the pub for men functioned as a living room. It was a place to gather to network for jobs, socialize or just reminisce about home in Ireland.

McSorley’s Old Ale House is one of the oldest Irish pubs in Manhattan. It was opened in 1854 by Irish immigrant John McSorley. It’s still operating today.

"The history of McSorley’s has always been light and dark ale and no women," explained current owner Teresa Maher de la Haba.

A court battle in 1969 forced the bar to allow women. Now one owns it. Teresa Maher de la Haba inherited the pub from her father.

"Nothing really changes here unless we have to, unless it’s forced upon us," she said.

Teresa Maher de la Haba explains her pub’s history.

The bar is still home to those who are new to this country. Bartender Shane Buggy left Ireland right after college to come work. He’s been here more than 15 years.

"It’s basically walking into a country pub back home," he offered. "No music, no TV's; everyone comes in here to share tables, to get to know everyone beside 'em. Very little social media here at McSorley’s. You get to sit beside somebody random and learn something new about a complete stranger."

Hosting the famous and the infamous, it’s still a favorite watering hold for the military, cops, firefighters and anyone with a thirst for nostalgia.

"It’s the most historic bar you’ll ever walk into, from what we have on the walls to what we represent," Buggy added. "It’s a privilege to live here and work for a family, another great Irish family who moved over and have a great success story out of Ireland." A personal note

FOX 5’s Sharon Crowley outside the brownstone where her grandmother lived.

Another family with roots in Ireland that has lived here in New York City for generations is my own. On West 95th Street is a brownstone where my grandmother lived as a little girl.

Her father, Dr. Albert Scully, left his family’s farm in Ireland in the late 1800’s to practice medicine here in New York City. I am told he wrote a letter home to his family once he settled here in New York indicating he wouldn’t be returning to the farm in Ireland – he liked it just fine here in New York City.

Business

Trump trade war escalation sparks global market sell-off

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2 hours ago

April 3, 2025

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Trump trade war escalation sparks global market sell-off

Donald Trump’s trade war escalation has sparked a global sell-off, with US stock markets seeing the biggest declines in a hit to values estimated above $2trn.

Tech and retail shares were among those worst hit when Wall Street opened for business, following on from a flight from risk across both Asia and Europe earlier in the day.

Analysis by the investment platform AJ Bell put the value of the peak losses among major indices at $2.2trn (£1.7trn).

The tech-focused Nasdaq Composite was down 5.8%, the S&P 500 by 4.3% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average by just under 4% at the height of the declines. It left all three on course for their worst one-day losses since at least September 2022 though the sell-off later eased back slightly.

Trump latest: UK considers tariff retaliation

Analysts said the focus in the US was largely on the impact that the expanded tariff regime will have on the domestic economy but also effects on global sales given widespread anger abroad among the more than 180 nations and territories hit by reciprocal tariffs on Mr Trump‘s self-styled “liberation day”.

They are set to take effect next week, with tariffs on all car, steel and aluminium imports already in effect.

Price rises are a certainty in the world’s largest economy as the president’s additional tariffs kick in, with those charges expected to be passed on down supply chains to the end user.

The White House believes its tariffs regime will force employers to build factories and hire workers in the US to escape the charges.

Economists warn the additional costs will add upward pressure to US inflation and potentially choke demand and hiring, ricking a slide towards recession.

Apple was among the biggest losers in cash terms in Thursday’s trading as its shares fell by almost 9%, leaving it on track for its worst daily performance since the start of the COVID pandemic.

Concerns among shareholders were said to include the prospects for US price hikes when its products are shipped to the US from Asia.

Other losers included Tesla, down by almost 6% and Nvidia down by more than 6%.

Many retail stocks including those for Target and Footlocker lost more than 10% of their respective market values.

The European Union is expected to retaliate in a bid to put pressure on the US to back down.

The prospect of a tit-for-tat trade war saw the CAC 40 in France and German DAX fall by more than 3.4% and 3% respectively.

The FTSE 100, which is internationally focused, was 1.6% lower by the close – a three-month low.

Financial stocks were worst hit with Asia-focused Standard Chartered bank enduring the worst fall in percentage terms of 13%, followed closely by its larger rival HSBC.

Among the stocks seeing big declines were those for big energy as oil Brent crude costs fell back by 6% to $70 due to expectations a trade war will hurt demand.

The more domestically relevant FTSE 250 was 2.2% lower.

A weakening dollar saw the pound briefly hit a six-month high against the US currency at $1.32.

There was a rush for safe haven gold earlier in the day as a new record high was struck though it was later trading down.

Sean Sun, portfolio manager at Thornburg Investment Management, said of the state of play: “Markets may actually be underreacting, especially if these rates turn out to be final, given the potential knock-on effects to global consumption and trade.”

He warned there was a big risk of escalation ahead through countermeasures against the US.

Sandra Ebner, senior economist at Union Investment, said: “We assume that the tariffs will not remain in place in the
announced range, but will instead be a starting point for further negotiations.

“Trump has set a maximum demand from which the level of tariffs should decrease”.

She added: “Since the measures would not affect all regions and sectors equally, there will be winners and losers as in 2018 – although the losers are more likely to be in the EU than in North America.

“To protect companies in Europe from the effects of tariffs, the EU should not respond with high counter-tariffs. In any case, their impact in the US is not likely to be significant. It would be more efficient to provide targeted support to EU companies in the form of investment and stimulus.”

Business

British businesses issue warning over ‘deeply troubling’ Trump tariffs

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2 hours ago

April 3, 2025

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British businesses issue warning over 'deeply troubling' Trump tariffs

British companies and business groups have expressed alarm over President Donald Trump’s 10% tariff on UK goods entering the US – but cautioned against retaliatory measures.

It comes as Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds launched a consultation with firms on taxes the UK could implement in response to the new levies.

Money blog: Pension top-up deadline days away

A 400-page list of 8,000 US goods that could be targeted by UK tariffs has been published, including items like whiskey and jeans.

On so-called “Liberation Day”, Mr Trump announced UK goods entering the US will be subject to a 10% tax while cars will be slapped with a 25% levy.

The government’s handling of tariff negotiations with the US to date has been praised by representative and industry bodies as being “cool” and “calm” – and they urged ministers to continue that approach by not retaliating.

Business lobby group the CBI (Confederation of British Industry) said: “Retaliation will only add to supply chain disruption, slow down investment, and stoke volatility in prices”.

Industry body the British Retail Consortium (BRC) also cautioned: “Retaliatory tariffs should only be a last resort”.

‘Deeply troubling’

While a major category of exports, in the form of services – like finance and information technology (IT) – has been exempted from the tariffs, the impact on UK business is expected to be significant.

Mr Trump’s announcement was described as “deeply troubling for businesses” by the CBI’s chief executive Rain Newton-Smith.

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) also said the tariffs were “a major blow” to small and medium companies (SMEs), as 59% of small UK exporters sell to the US. It called for emergency government aid to help those affected.

“Tariffs will cause untold damage to small businesses trying to trade their way into profit while the domestic economy remains flat,” the FSB’s policy chair Tina McKenzie said. “The fallout will stifle growth” and “hurt opportunities”, she added.

Companies will need to adapt and overcome, the British Export Association said, but added: “Unfortunately adaptation will come at a cost that not all businesses will be able to bear.”

Watch dealer and component seller Darren Townend told Sky News the 10% hit would be “painful” as “people will buy less”.

“I am a fan of Trump, but this is nuts,” he said. “I expect some bad months ahead.”

Industry body Make UK said the 25% tariffs on cars, steel and aluminium would in particular be devastating for UK manufacturing.

Cars hard hit

Carmakers are among the biggest losers from the world trade order reshuffle.

Auto industry body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said the taxes were “deeply disappointing and potentially damaging measure”.

“These tariff costs cannot be absorbed by manufacturers”, SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said. “UK producers may have to review output in the face of constrained demand”.

The new taxes on cars took effect on Thursday morning, while the measures impacting car parts are due to come in on 3 May.

Business

Trump trade war: The blunt calculation that should have spared UK from reciprocal tariffs

Published

2 hours ago

April 3, 2025

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Trump trade war: The blunt calculation that should have spared UK from reciprocal tariffs

Economists immediately started scratching their heads when Donald Trump raised his tariffs placard in the Rose Garden on Wednesday.

On that list he detailed the rate the US believes it is being charged by each country, along with its response: A reciprocal tariff at half that rate.

So, take China for example. Donald Trump said his team had run the numbers and the world’s second-largest economy was implementing an effective tariff of 67% on US imports. The US is responding with 34%.

Trump latest: UK considers tariff retaliation

How did he come up with that 67%? This is where things get a bit murky. The US claims it studied its trading relationship with individual countries, examining non-tariff barriers as well as tariff barriers. That includes, for example, regulations that make it difficult for US exporters.

However, the actual methodology appears to be far cruder. Instead of responding to individual countries’ trade barriers, Trump is attacking those enjoying large trade surpluses with the US.

A formula released by the US trade representative laid this bare. It took the US’s trade deficit in goods with each country and divided that by imports from that country. That figure was then divided by two.

So, in the case of China, which has a trade surplus of $295bn on total US exports of $438bn, that gives a ratio of 68%. The US divided that by two, giving a reciprocal tariff of 34%.

This is a blunt measure which targets big importers to the US, irrespective of the trade barriers they have erected. This is all part of Donald Trump’s efforts to shrink the country’s deficit – although it’s US consumers who will end up paying the price.

But what about the small number of countries where the US has a trade surplus? Shouldn’t they actually be benefiting from all of this?

That includes the UK, with whom the US has a surplus (by its own calculations) of $12bn. By its own reciprocal tariff formula, the UK should be benefitting from a “negative tariff” of 9%.

Instead, it has been hit by a 10% baseline tariff. Number 10 may be breathing a sigh of relief – the US could, after all, have gone after us for our 20% VAT rate on imports, which it takes issue with – but, by Trump’s own measure, we haven’t got off as lightly as we should have.