Inventing Irish America: Generation, Class, and Ethnic Identity in a New England City, 18801928 Brochura - 2001

"Timothy Meagher's Inventing Irish America places the construction of ethnic identity in a specific historical context. It does so superbly, weaving a sophisticated treatment of the evolution of Irish American life into a rich account of Worcester, Massachusetts, from 1880 to 1928. The result is a major contribution to American ethnic history and an excellent example of the importance of carefully grounded historical analysis for understanding social group formation." --The Journal of American History

"Arguably one of the most important case studies since Oscar Handlin's Boston's Immigrants, 1790-1865. . . . Meagher breaks new ground by charting the complex interaction between this generational transition and the intergroup struggles for power, resources, and status that shaped and reshaped Irish American identity." --American Historical Review

"Meagher does a fine job of combining detailed, thoughtful analysis with pertinent illustrations from those who participated in this complex story. . . . [T]he book will certainly be interesting and accessible to others with interest in Irish and Irish American culture. In conveying a multifaceted analysis, Meagher has brought a community to life." --History: Review of New Books

"Meagher's rich and detailed study is filled with marvelous stories. . . . It would not be an exaggeration to call this book a masterpiece both of historical detail and of a new and sophisticated theory of the second generation." --American Catholic Studies

Timothy J. Meagher is associate professor of history and university archivist at Catholic University of America. He is the author of A Guide to Irish American History, and co-editor, with Ronald H. Bayor, of The New York Irish, winner of the James Donnelly Sr. Prize from the American Conference for Irish Studies.