Strong Irish presence in SF? (Montclair: county, Mexican, farming)

[clongirl]

Originally Posted by BayAreaHillbilly

Also, many of the Irish here are professionals and among them many are in high tech. Of course there are also working class folks as well, but it's a different vibe than back East. It's more of a modern day expat community type feeling.

The Gaelic football thing is a pretty big deal - scarily myself and Clongirl probably know some of the same people ... that's all I'll say, I am a stickler for internet privacy.

Yeah, "scarily"! Lol

[xGrendelx]

Originally Posted by CaliforniaSwagger

yea we arent like the east coast in that everyone has to fit in a sort of "mold" ..like hey guys im irish so im going to drink beer and hang out with other irish and do irish things...nah

we intermingle in california ... thats true diversity. if you want ireland go to ireland..

i wouldnt go to Spain and ask "hey guise wheres the best place to grab a hot dog and celebrate american culture? Where do all the americans live?"

Dang man, there's no need to get all huffy-puffy. I realize California is different than the East. I never said I wanted it to be like the East, and I never said I wanted to be in Ireland. All I did was ask for info on the presence of Irish culture in SF. Sorry if that offends you for some reason.

[DCgoblue]

Younger (college age) Irish kids come over to Berkeley in droves during the summer. Where I stayed there were 6 and the house across the street had 18. They usually only stay for 10 weeks or so, but they are there.

[misscassandra]

Sunset--agreed--my bf's parents are in the Sunset and Irish...they said up until the second half of the 20th century, the realtors and homeowners tried to keep it mainly Irish and guess who all they discriminated against? I was kind of shocked to hear the full story. I guess SF wasn't always butterflies and rainbows...

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Well, these days, certainly no red lining. Our former street (an Avenue in the teens) is now over half Chinese, with only a few Irish. Even when we lived there it was highly diverse (maybe even more truly diverse than now) with just about every race and creed.

[Frank99]

Give me a break. The only thing in San Francisco nowadays are Chinese and Gays.
Irish Presence? Yeah, like it's 1850 or something...

[redtide2012]

As a native to San Francisco I can tell you the "Sunset" is not the historical Irish district. Irish lived in the Mission for many years and they also lived in an area called Cow Hollow. I know this from reading up on it. And Frank is right. Irish haven't had a strong presence In San Francisco in over 40-50 years. There are irish pubs in the Sunset but those are new Irish moving into San Francisco and setting up "authentic" pubs. You see them all over the Italian area of North beach as well. But people starting mixes races in the 60s and there ya go.. All go bye bye. Hope that doesn't sound rude.

[clongirl]

Originally Posted by Frank99

Give me a break. The only thing in San Francisco nowadays are Chinese and Gays.
Irish Presence? Yeah, like it's 1850 or something...

Well just because you haven't met/know any, doesn't mean they're not around. Step into St Gabriel's, St. Anne's or St Thomas More and you'll find plenty of Irish. How do I know? My children used to attend one of the schools and about a third were Irish. I spend every St Stephen's (day after Christmas) with all of my Irish friends.

Sure, they are all in their late 30's/40's/50's/ 60's and beyond (they all bought their houses prior to the housing bubble) but they exist!

The twenty something Irish tend to move on/move back after a few years..perhaps this is why you don't notice? And no, the Sunset isn't historically Irish but this is where most of the families live now (it was affordable for the blue collar worker).

I do know plenty that moved back to Ireland also during Ireland's "Celtic tiger" (1990's) so you won't see SF looking like the 1800's or anything, but there is still a loose community there.

[18Montclair]

I'm part Irish.

Welcome.

[Mach50]

Irish/Mexican here, my fathers family are from Mayo county originally.