“No Irish Need Apply” Revisited: Anti-Irish Language in Baltimore’s Local Newspapers between 1840 and 1880

Abstract

In December 1864 the Evening Star in Washington, DC, advertised appearances by the “great Irish comedic vocalist” Kathleen O’Neill. People crowded halls throughout the United States to hear O’Neill’s critically acclaimed song titled “No Irish Need Apply.” The song spoke of a young woman’s experience with anti-Irish economic discrimination in England. The Irish American audience flocked to the recital because they were attracted to songs that referenced the language of prejudice they faced in their daily lives. Later, John F. Poole rewrote the song to change the perspective to that of a male worker in the United States. “No Irish Need Apply” became an “immense success,” and “Comic-Vocalist[s]” such as Tony Pastor performed it to Irish audiences across North America. For many Irish Americans the phrase “No Irish Need Apply” (NINA) embodied antiIrish discrimination in a predominantly Anglo-Protestant society. The public memory of NINA is so strong that former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley placed a replica NINA advertisement in his office to remind him of his ancestors’ struggle. In 2002 historian Richard Jensen published an article challenging the notion that “No Irish Need Apply” signs and job advertisements were widespread throughout the United States. Jensen examined “all the text of the several