Essays and Such
Irish Cultural Society
of San Antonio Texas
Promoting Awareness of Irish Culture
The Irish in New Orleans
The Irish in New Orleans
The history of New Orleans is tinted green by the many Irish who have lived, worked and contributed there. When a series of levees was first constructed to protect the city back in the late 1700s, it was done under Governor Alexander O'Reilly of Co. Meath who, like many tens of thousands of other Wild Geese, left Ireland to serve in foreign armies. He swore allegiance to Spain, rose to brigadier general and when New Orleans was ceded to Spain in the Treaty of Paris (1763) he was sent as Spain's first governor. In 1801, the city reverted to the French. After the United Irish Rising of 1798 when British General Packenham publicly humiliated French General Humbert by ripping off his epaulets and breaking his sword, Napoleon sent the discredited Humbert to New Orleans. When America purchased Louisiana in 1803, Humbert decided to retire there. Nine years later, during the War of 1812, New Orleans found itself threatened by the same General Packenham. An American force under General Andrew Jackson, himself a son of Irish immigrants, was sent to stop them. Jackson sent messengers to seek assistance. They recruited the famed Prince of Pirates, Jean Lafitte and when they told retired General Humbert that the British force was led by Packenham, he too volunteered his military expertise hoping to avenge the indignity he had suffered in Ireland. Jackson also asked the Ursaline convent to pray for his success against the Brits. When victory came on 8 Jan, Humbert learned that Packenham had been killed in the battle and, being a principled soldier, he refused to hang his fallen enemy in effigy. However, according to a Cajun historian, Jackson agreed to Lafitte's suggestion which pleased Humbert - they packed Packenham's body in a barrel of New Orleans Brandy and sent it back to England, so that the General might arrive in good spirits. Jackson also sent a courier to the Ursaline Convent to thank the sisters for their prayers. Then he sought out the Rt.Rev. Dubourg, (later Catholic Archbishop of New Orleans) and asked that he offer up thanks for the victory. Permit me, he asked to entreat that you will cause the service of public thanksgiving to be performed in the Cathedral in token of the great assistance we have received from the Ruler of all events. On 23 January 1815, Jackson and his staff marched triumphantly through the streets of New Orleans lined with cheering citizens to celebrate the holy sacrifice of the Mass at St. Louis Cathedral in what is now Jackson Square. Among the early Irish contributors to New Orleans was Co. Louth born James Gallagher, known to locals as James Gallier. From 1834 until he retired in 1850 this brilliant architect built the St. Charles Hotel (influenced by the Court House in Dundalk), the Post Office, the Exchange and the City Hall in Greek Revival style and he built St. Patrick's Church and Christ Church with Gothic interior and spires. One of James' buildings is named Gallier Hall. It is chiefly owing to his 15 years of building in New Orleans that the city is renowned for its classical architecture. The city saw its greatest growth with the arrival, between 1845 and 1855, of Irish fleeing the Great Hunger. It was they who built the streets and canals that turned the port city into a thriving metropolis, and did so at a tremendous cost in life due to yellow fever. The history of Irish contributions to New Orleans continued with the philanthropy of Co. Cavan-born Margaret Haughery who saved the lives of many orphans and even defied Union General Butler to keep serving the poor of her adopted city against his curfew. When Margaret died in 1882, city newspapers were edged in black and her funeral procession was the largest ever seen with the mayor leading the procession and two former Louisiana governors as pallbearers. The city erected a marble statue to the memory of this remarkable Irish woman; it is simply engraved Margaret and it stands in a little park on Margaret Place. During WWII Higgins Industries, owned by an Irishman named Andrew Jackson Higgins, produced more than 20,000 boats for the Allies. He also designed and built 199 PT boats. By September, 1943, ninety-two percent of U.S. Navy vessels were of Higgins design. His company received the Army-Navy "E" (the highest award bestowed upon a civilian company) several times during the War and many of his boats are on display in the largest D-Day Museum. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, in his memoirs, recognized Higgins as the man who won the war for us. From the earliest days, when the blending of Irish and Creole music created the sound we know today as Cajun, to the most recent tragedy that struck the Crescent City, the Irish have been there. When Katrina hit in August, 2005, the AOH established a relief fund that has helped bring the city back to its feet. Buses and other assistance is still rolling in as a result of Irish generosity. Perhaps the most enduring legacy of the Irish in New Orleans is the undefeatable attitude that never says die and which has become a part of that city.