Irish American pop culture represented.

“I would suggest something from George M. Cohan -- some sheet music, perhaps. I know there's a statue of Cohan in the Fox Point section of Providence, at the top of Wickenden Street.

'Yankee Doodle Dandy' ad which starred James Cagney

“You might also consider a Warner Brothers movie from the 1930s, one that captures that New York Irish sensibility. There are plenty, whether gangster or military, starring Jimmy Cagney, Pat O'Brien, and Frank McHugh. The Fighting 69th, Angels With Dirty Faces, The Roaring Twenties.”

Tom Murphy, who heads up the retirees chapter of the United Federation of Teachers (and also happens to be my cousin), suggested a host of more domestic items, such as front door holy water fonts, lace curtains, St. Patrick’s Day cards, women'sMick Maloney, which contains some of the best Irish children’s songs long, long ago forgotten." Readers Dick and Kit Wheatley also had music on their minds, reserving a special place for the pipes played at funerals and any songs which long for “home.”

Author and historian Kevin Baker went back to the 19th century, saying any story of the Irish in the U.S. could not be told without a Union army field cap from the Civil War or a banner representing the San Patricios, who fought on the side of Mexico in the Mexican-American war.

Baker also suggested, “A growler, with which to talk about the constant, disastrous attempts by the codfish aristocracy to ‘tame’ the Irish through temperance. A pair of tap shoes, Dagger John Hughes’ clerical robes, the