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- Feb 5, 2017
We All Want to be a Little Irish Because of the Civil War
St. Patrick’s Day is the one day of the year everyone wants to be Irish. I can’t blame them. My Polish last name, Mackowski, belies the Cawley and Dempsey in me, so few people realize I’m Irish—but…
emergingcivilwar.com
We All Want to be a Little Irish Because of the Civil War
Posted on March 17, 2020 by Chris Mackowski
The Irish Brigade Attacks at Fredericksburg
St. Patrick’s Day is the one day of the year everyone wants to be Irish. I can’t blame them. My Polish last name, Mackowski, belies the Cawley and Dempsey in me, so few people realize I’m Irish—but it’s there aplenty, and I’m proud of it.
It’s easy to forget that, once upon a time, American’s weren’t so eager to embrace their inner Irish—whether it be honorary or actual. Prejudice against the Irish, and Irish Catholics in particular, was so bad that an entire political party sprang up against them (Know-Nothings, anyone?).
The Civil War changed all that, though.