{"id":435,"date":"2017-03-27T19:48:41","date_gmt":"2017-03-27T19:48:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/libapps.libraries.uc.edu\/exhibits\/irish-cincinnati\/?page_id=435"},"modified":"2017-04-12T17:42:59","modified_gmt":"2017-04-12T17:42:59","slug":"irish-americans-of-the-university-of-cincinnati","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/libapps.libraries.uc.edu\/exhibits\/irish-cincinnati\/personal-stories\/irish-americans-of-the-university-of-cincinnati\/","title":{"rendered":"Irish Americans of the University of Cincinnati"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dominque DiFalco<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The wildly popular blog, Humans of New York, was started by Brandon Stanton in 2010 in an effort to capture the diversity of citizens in the \u201cBig Apple.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0Going off of this idea, I created this version called \u201cIrish Americans of UC,\u201d showcasing the students of the University of Cincinnati and how they think about their heritage in their daily lives.<\/p>\n

As a university by the numbers, 21.1% of students at the University of Cincinnati are classified as minorities. \u00a0Students of color comprise 17% of the population and first-generation students are 21% of the UC population. \u00a0But beyond these categories, what makes a campus diverse? What constitutes true<\/em> diversity?<\/p>\n

Throughout the Honors seminar on \u201cThe Irish in America,\u201d we have discussed the differences between race, ethnicity, and culture and the different effects these identifiers have on the way we classify people. That\u2019s why, when conducting the short interviews with students and one faculty member, I focused on heritage <\/em>rather than race or ethnicity.<\/p>\n

Heritage, by definition, is \u201cproperty that is or may be inherited.\u201d \u00a0This definition, and the idea of passing on tradition, is evident in many of the students\u2019 answers. Maybe they don\u2019t have \u201ctraditionally\u201d Irish names or fit the stereotype so commonly associated with the idea of being Irish, but because of the humanness of passing and receiving throughout generations, each student\u2019s answer to the question \u201cWhat does your Irish heritage mean to you?\u201d is unique and personal, much like the families they represent.<\/p>\n

The Interviews<\/h4>\n

\u201cMy Irish roots mean that I am a part of a unique group that together shares a tremendous amount of pride for our ancestry.\u201d \u2013 Kaitlin C.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

~<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/em><\/strong>I appreciate the optimism passed down to me in my Irish heritage. Whether it be the social aspect of life in which I sit down at the pub and chat with a stranger over a pint, or the cheerful well-wishes of the age old “Irish Blessing.”\u201d \u2013 Kitty D.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

~<\/p>\n

\u201cIt means that my mom sometimes makes Irish soda bread.\u201d \u2013 Jack H.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0~<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe part of me that\u2019s Irish means a lot because it\u2019s my dad\u2019s grandma and she died when I was younger [\u2026] so anything Irish makes me feel connected to her even though she\u2019s not here anymore.\u201d \u2013 Annie M.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0~<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cMy Irish roots are very important to me because my grandma is Irish and [\u2026] it is very sentimental to me that I hold a piece of her in me.\u201d \u2013 Danielle A.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0~<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cMy Irish roots are really interesting to me because being an African-American it\u2019s cool to see [\u2026] the other parts of my heritage and it has actually had enough influence to have my middle name be O\u2019Brian.\u201d \u2013 Chandler R.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0~<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest thing [\u2026] is the importance of faith and emphasis on family that\u2019s has [\u2026] been a part of what we do.\u201d \u2013 Will K.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0~<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cMy Irish heritage is important to me because I got a clover tattoo.\u201d \u2013 Kaitlyn L.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

~
\n<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cMy Irish heritage means a lot to my family [because] my whole dad\u2019s side of my family is very, very Irish. My grandma\u2019s last name was MacNamara and a big thing for my family is just getting together and celebrating St. Patrick\u2019s Day and our heritage. [\u2026] Most of the time we have our family get togethers we have a lot of Irish food and it\u2019s just a happy background within our family. It helps bring us together and we love to celebrate it.\u201d \u2013 Sydney S.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0~<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI think I\u2019m part Irish. The story goes that my great-great-grandfather and grandmother came from Ireland. You know, it\u2019s never been a big part of my identity because I know for a fact that I\u2019m definitely Polish and to a greater extent than I am Irish.\u201d \u2013 Matt B.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0~<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cMy Irish heritage means to me that I enjoy having a nice, tall pint of classy beer and dancing to a good ol\u2019 Irish jig.\u201d \u2013 Hunter B.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

~
\n<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cTo me my Irish heritage means a connection to a deeper culture than my current one.\u201d \u2013 Megan D.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

~
\n<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cTo me, it has a lot of do with [\u2026] the Catholic side of our family. My grandmother is Italian Catholic, but my grandfather is very, very Irish so growing up with learning about that part of my family is where my heritage informs me.\u201d \u2013 Ryan. D<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0~<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I think of my Irish heritage, I think of my grandma who is very Irish. She always stood up to my grandpa\u2019s sisters who said she need to work in the house and she thought \u2018I don\u2019t like that. That\u2019s stupid.\u201d \u2013 Sammy B.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0~<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cMy Irish heritage is not too close to my life because the Irish heritage in me is from Illinois and I don\u2019t see them very much. I guess that kind of contributes to the whole Irish diaspora thing, like it was just in my dad to move out of Illinois and go to Ohio. Even though I\u2019m not close to them, when we\u2019re together, we\u2019re still very close and we miss each other a lot when we\u2019re away.\u201d \u2013 Michelle C.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0~<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cSo I think my Irish heritage is a little bit more of my family\u2019s cultural practices rather than actual percentage Irish. So my father\u2019s grandmother immigrated from Ireland, she was actually on the Lusitania, that famous World War I boat that sank, and then my father\u2019s grandfather is also from Ireland, so he is very Irish, about 50% Irish. But his whole family, they are very into corned beef and cabbage, we all wear Claddaghs, I have a Claddagh necklace that I got for my 18th<\/sup> birthday, I wear a Claddagh ring every single day, so I think it\u2019s more about that cultural pride. Also, living on the Jersey shore there is a very, very high Irish population, so things like the St. Patrick\u2019s Day Parade, we would do a Parade on the Boardwalk, and everyone wears green, and drinks Guinness, and everyone\u2019s Irish for the day, but we feel really special because we\u2019re actually Irish. Even my older brother has a tattoo of a giant shamrock, so clearly it\u2019s important to him as well.\u201d \u2013 Erin M.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0~<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cMy Irish heritage is important because it has been a huge thing in my family ever since I was born. My grandparents are really Irish and my dad has six siblings and they all have really Irish names, and my last name is all over Ireland. We have been wanting to go to Ireland for a really long time just to see our culture set in place. On St. Patrick\u2019s Day my entire family gets together, it\u2019s the biggest deal. Everything my grandmother owned had shamrocks on it. My aunt will only text green hearts and green shamrocks at the end of everything she sends. They\u2019re just really into their Irish blood and it\u2019s been a huge thing in our beliefs and values ever since I was little.\u201d \u2013 Katie B.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

~
\n<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

What does my heritage mean to me? My heritage means I come from a long line of people who have learned to fight and prosper regardless of what life throws at them. My heritage means I am one of millions who is proud to come from one of the most beautiful and prosperous countries in the world. My heritage means I am Irish, and I\u2019m American, and I do not need to compromise one to be proud of the other. \u2013 Dominique DiFalco<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n