South Side Irish
The South Side Irish is the large Irish-American community on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. After 1945, a large-scale movement to the suburbs occurred because of white flight and the steady upward social mobility of the Irish. Although their population has spread out, Irish Americans continue to make up the majority of the ethnic white American population on the south side of Chicago, especially in Beverly, Canaryville, Bridgeport, Scottsdale, Mount Greenwood, Morgan Park, Garfield Ridge, Clearing, Evergreen Park, and Oak Lawn. History Irish-Americans have had a presence on the South Side since the 19th century. Since the 19th century, the ethnic Irish population in Chicago had been largely Catholic, and largely concentrated on the cities south side. Irish Catholics were often economically disenfranchised compared to other European ethnic groups, and often faced anti-irish sentiment or ethnic bias, especially by non-Catholic European groups. The Irish Catholic community was largely tight-knit with census records from the early 20th century suggesting areas like Canaryville, sometimes refereed to as “Irish ghettos” being almost exclusively Irish. By the 20th century, the Irish community began advancing both socially and economically. By the mid-20th century, the Irish had largely assimilated into American society, with many abandoning