Eileen McMahon. What Parish Are You From? A Chicago Irish Community and Race Relations.

Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky. 1995. Pp. xvi, 226.

The book, What Parish Are You From?, by Eileen McMahan attempts to tell the story of the Irish Catholic way of life in the parish communities of Chicago in the mid-twentieth century. In an effort to define and explain the eventual collapse of the traditionally close-knit neighborhoods that defined the parishes, McMahon focuses on one community in particular. The religious, ethnic, and racial struggles experienced by residents of St. Sabinas parish represented larger social transitions taking place in the city. While some may argue that the integration of the parishes signaled a larger trend of inclusion and tolerance in urban America, McMahon argues that the end results were in fact the death knell for the parishes themselves. The parish system originally provided Irish immigrants with a safety net when arriving in America. Like other ethnic groups, the difficulties that the Irish faced when moving to a new country with little money and only basic skills meant that adjustment would be difficult. Many left their home country because of overcrowding and little prospect for land ownership or careers outside of farming. Chicago in the early nineteenth century was developing rapidly and quickly established itself as one of the most influential cities in the Midwest. The southern part of the city contained largely unsettled neighborhoods and was known mostly as the industrial section of the city. For Irish settlers moving into this area, the parishes provided a network of support as well as a connection to their homeland. Each parish was defined by its central Catholic church. Although governed by national tenants of their faith, the residents of each parish served their local priest. The role of the church in the parishes cannot be understated. While not extremist, religion played a central role in the lives of Irish Catholics more than anything else. They identified themselves with their respective

parishes, and were fiercely protective of the other members of their neighborhood. After years of persecution and rule by Great Britain, Ireland developed a national identity based on selfreliance and suspicion of outside influences. Memories of Protestant oppression lingered in their minds as well. These attitudes followed immigrants to America, and created a very insular environment within the parishes. Each parish had its own school, and the needs of residents could largely be met by either the community or the church. As far as employment opportunities were concerned, there were few options for Irish immigrants after the Great Famine of the 1840s. Young men found work either working at the shipyards or through the seminary. The church became a place for newly displaced immigrants to congregate not only for worship, but social activities as well. Friendships were made, and the shared values and common backgrounds encouraged a sense of civic pride and united families within the parishes. Ironically, the persecution of the Catholic Church in Ireland and negative attitude towards their religion in America actually fostered stronger bonds amongst the Irish and further developed their sense of identity. The churches preached not just religion, but family stability, education, and economic mobility. The strong sense of community with the parishes eventually led to leaders emerging, not just in the church but politically as well. The parishes provided a perfect incubator for shared social issues, and many Chicago politicians began their careers in the Irish parishes. The core base of constituents within the parishes allowed for politicians to command large amounts of votes in their local elections, and eventually climb to higher levels of importance within the city. The elevation of members of their local communities brought benefits back to the parishes in the form of government contracts, new business opportunities, and the necessary network of prominent elected officials to influence municipal decisions favorable to the parishes.

By the beginning of the twentieth century, there were more than eighty parishes located just in the area of South Chicago. Despite their numbers and the individuality of each parish, they all shared common values. This allowed mobility within the parish system for the Irish, especially those in search of better housing or new job opportunities. The fluidity also allowed others to move in though, including members of other ethnic or religious groups. While the threat from outsiders was a common attitude within the Catholic churches of the parishes, they nonetheless allowed other nationalities to join their congregations, most notably Germans and Polish. Many of these other Europeans even became leaders within the parishes and added to the shared cultures within the communities. Some of the parish priests feared a loss of Irish traditions and identity due to outsiders moving into their neighborhoods. Conflicts arose, but as Chicago grew as a city and many upwardly mobile Irish relocated into the suburbs, the parishes began to reflect the same multiculturalism developing around the country. Eileen McMahon herself grew up in a Chicago parish in the 1950s, and many of the changes she references in her book are based on her own personal observations. Some of the more profound conflicts within the parishes were based on race. As African-Americans relocated into the areas once dominated by Irish Catholics, the influence of the priests gave way to fragmented pockets of ethnic identity. McMahons book documents the changes of St. Sabinas parish specifically, but draws attention to the same issues occurring across the South Side. She draws the conclusion that the religious identity of the parishes was able to withstand the outside influences from other beliefs, but the racial differences within the communities are what caused the Irish to abandon the parishes. After WWII, many returning Irish soldiers took advantage of the GI Bill, which eventually led to higher incomes. As their population as a whole

transitioned from working class to middle class by the mid nineteenth century, the church alone was not enough to keep the Irish in the city. Overpopulation within the parishes also contributed to the Irish exodus into the suburbs, but the racial conflicts were the main reason. McMahon cites a specific incident in 1965 in which a parish teenager was shot by a black youth as the final catalyst. As much as the priests had encouraged a connection to their home country for newly arrived immigrants, modern Irish Catholics moved out of the city with minimal regard for their parish roots. The dimensions of the parishes were not defined by any official or legislative boundaries. The churches were central only in their influence, not their geographic location. In looking at the South Side of Chicago, the parish system which defined the area follows along Mendelbaums historiograpical model. The neighborhoods that the parishioners identified with functioned as city systems in themselves. Often self-governing through an Old World system overseen by the church, the people of the parish were its identity. Mohls historiographic school can be paralleled with the dynamics of the parishes, and the mobility of the residents within them. Eileen McMahons book follows the life cycle of the parish from both a personal view and that of a historian. The book appeals to audiences much greater than just those from the old neighborhood, however. Anyone with an interest in the social influences of the Catholic Church, as well as those with Irish roots, and even including students researching the mobility of immigrants in Chicago would find this book both engaging and appealing. Casual readers and scholars alike would find value in this book, despite the negative views of ethnic influence on the Irish parishes reinforced by McMahon.

Craig Rader Youngstown State University