Dick O'Dow's, 160 W. Maple, Birmingham, MI 48009
Most every Tuesday night from 9:00ish until at least 11:00 or later.
Slow session. Good for beginners. Open to all. www.sessionite.com
THURSDAY Irish Music Lessons
Flanagan-O'Hare Studio, Birmingham
7:00 - 10:00pm
Detroit IMA Irish Music-Dance-Language Classes. You or your children
can learn to play fiddle, concertina, whistle, harp or lset dancing www.DetroitIMA.org
FACTS: THE IRISH IN DETROIT Assimilation: Scorned in the 19th Century by native-born
Americans as a bad influence on the country, the Irish are thoroughly
melted into the population: According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more
than 500,000 metro Detroiter's claim some Irish ancestry.
Arrival: In the 1840s. Neighborhoods: Downtown; around Mt. Elliott-E. Jefferson
and most notably on the near west side, in what became Corktown. Peak: By 1850, the Irish were the region's biggest
ethnic group, about a third of the foreign-born population. The Germans
soon surpassed them. Stats: In 1850, 1 in 7 Detroiters had been born in
Ireland. By 1880, that figure was 1 in 20. In 1910, it was 1 in 80. Clout: Detroit's Irish became influential in law,
law enforcement, politics and the Catholic Church. But they never dominated
Detroit the way the Irish dominated Boston, Chicago, New York and San
Francisco in either population or power. Sources: The Detroit Almanac, "The Irish on the
Urban Frontier," by Jo Ellen Vinyard More...