An Irish Itinerary in New York City: Exploring My Mom's Roots
Curating an Irish trip through Manhattan for my Mom
My Mom loves her Irish heritage. Even though she was never a fan of baking, she often made soda bread on St. Patrick’s Day when I was a kid. Yes, it was usually dry and bland, but that never mattered. It was made with love.
When my Mom told me she didn’t want presents for her birthday this year, it didn’t matter that her family did not immigrate to America through New York City, my home for the past decade-plus. She was visiting just a few weeks after her birthday, so I planned to curate an Irish itinerary. Made with love.
My wife laughed when I told her. “Why would your Mom want to go to the Tenement Museum for her birthday?”
A fair question for most people perhaps. But I was confident in my response:
“You clearly don’t know my Mom.”
As a lover of history and all things Irish, I knew my Mom would be intrigued by what Manhattan had to offer. After all, so many Irish immigrated here after the potato famine of the 1840s. They established strong roots in Manhattan’s Lower East Side and across the city.
These may not have been my Mother’s roots, whose family (both paternal and maternal) arrived in America from Ireland by way of Canada, but that didn’t matter. Irish culture and history was a shared experience across its diaspora.
When I sent my Mom her proposed Irish itinerary in Manhattan, she was all in and filled with excitement. Now it had to live up to the hype.
Breakfast: Mary O’s Irish Soda Bread Scones
My wife was the first person who told me about Mary O’s. We’re always hunting for great food, drinks, and things to do in Manhattan, so when she came across a few Instagram Reels about a new Irish soda bread and scone shop in the East Village, she sent them to me. I had to find out who was slinging scones to the massive lines forming outside this shop.
The story behind Mary O’Halloran’s East Village scone shop is incredible. With her pub facing shut down due to the pandemic, Mary had to figure out how to save her business and support her family of 6 children. In 2021, Humans of New York wrote about her efforts to sell fresh-baked soda bread scones with homemade blackberry jam.
Her business erupted. She not only saved her pub and supported her family, but was able to expand this past year by opening a new storefront a few blocks up from her pub specifically for her scones and soda bread.
I knew this place had to kick off our Irish itinerary.
When we arrived at Mary O’s Irish Soda Bread Shop on 7th Street, the line was not long. But multiple people had already ordered and were waiting, with some taking pictures outside.
Most customers had ordered boxes of scones. They were flying off the shelves a half-dozen at a time. By the time we were second in line, the scones were gone.
We watched as Mary instructed her only employee - her son - not to take any new orders until she could catch up. When I said these scones were freshly baked, I wasn’t kidding.
There was no music in the shop. The line grew behind me and my Mom like a slow communion procession. All the while Mary appeared unfazed. She even smiled as she prepared to mix her batter in front of all of us. There was no back kitchen to escape to.
Her son wandered around, disappearing from time to time, while taking instructions from his mother. He was pleasant, apologetic to everyone waiting, and looking to please, even offering more apple cider to a woman waiting for a scone she had already ordered.
I told my Mom that we could leave. The minutes ticked by at a snail’s pace, with everyone looking at each other and back at Mary, who methodically and calmly mixed the batter, eventually filling her small oven on wheels with a batch or two of scones.
My Mom wanted to stay and wait for her scone. I’m so glad we did. It was fascinating.
Family. Resilience. Perseverance. It was almost as if all of Irish history in New York City was present at Mary O’s.
By the time the scones arrived some thirty minutes later, we were rewarded for our patience. I can honestly say they were the best scones I have ever had in my entire life. And I’m a food snob, as demonstrated by my Eleven Madison Park critique.
Crunchy exterior. Soft, melt-in-your-mouth interior. Irish butter. Mary’s own blackberry jam.
The heat from the scone had melted the butter by the time my Mom and I arrived at Tompkin’s Square Park to indulge, creating a marriage of flavors with the jam that everyone must experience at least once in their lifetime.
We had followed Mary’s instructions too, which she repeated multiple times to her son (for him to relay to customers).
“Do not close the box on the hot scones because they will sweat, losing that crunchy texture.”
The only sweating was from my taste buds, which were begging for more scones, but alas, we had just started our Irish itinerary. It’s safe to say that I will be returning to Mary O’s again soon.
Morning Interlude: St. Patrick’s Cathedral
While soda bread played a big role in my childhood, nothing was bigger than the Catholic Church. My Mom is a devout Catholic, much like the many Irish Catholics before her. She had been to St. Patrick’s Cathedral with me before, but only for mass.
This time I wanted to try something different — a self-guided tour.
The church offers an app and headphones to use on your phone of choice. Then you can circle the outer pews of the church while learning about its history, important statues and chapels, and the significance of certain saints, including St. Patrick himself.
The Catholic Church was central to the life of Irish immigrants who came to New York City and throughout North America. Given its importance to my Mom, I knew it had to play a prominent role, even if I am not a practicing Catholic myself.
But I have to say, I really enjoyed it. Even if you aren’t Catholic, St. Patrick’s Cathedral is a magnificent piece of architecture and is almost more museum than church. And given its location on Manhattan’s 5th Avenue next to Rockefeller Center, it’s lively and buzzing at all times and seasons, especially at Christmas when we visited.
For the many Irish Catholics who immigrated to New York City in the 1840s and decades after, they were entering a fairly hostile environment. America at the time was a very Protestant country. This made the Catholic Church all the more important in the lives of newly immigrated Irish Americans.
But that didn’t mean they could never get along with Protestants. In fact, my Mom married one and my Dad even converted to Catholicism later in life.
There is only one place, however, that carries potentially more persuasive authority than the church.
The pub.
Lunch at the Pub: McSorley’s Old Ale House
This Irish working-class pub in the East Village dates back to the 1850s. Abraham Lincoln was said to have imbibed here.
It’s low-key. The menu is so basic they offer culinary staples like a ham sandwich. The beer is either light or dark. Leave your IPA requests at the door.
There are no televisions. I didn’t even hear any music at lunchtime.
McSorley’s is how an Irish pub is supposed to be. No bar seating. Communal tables that force conversation with strangers. Good craic, as the Irish would say (that’s fun or a good time for those not versed in Irish slang).
I ordered a steak sandwich with dark beer. The sandwich arrived on untoasted wheat bread. Two small glasses of dark beer accompanied it. When I polished those off, I tried the light beer. Both beers were excellent and satisfying.
My mom ordered that ham sandwich, which she enjoyed. She likes simple, good food, so I knew this place was right up her alley.
We enjoyed chatting with our tablemates, laughed about sitting just outside the ladies’ restroom, and basked in the pub atmosphere with sawdust on the floor.
One of my favorite bars in Manhattan.
Afternoon History: The Tenement Museum
Once we were filled up, we walked a few minutes downtown to the Lower East Side. I’ve had the Tenement Museum on my list for a long time but had never made time to go. The museum has been a fixture in Manhattan since 1988, telling the stories of many immigrants who arrived in New York City and called it home.
The museum and the city have helped preserve various tenement buildings that housed a variety of immigrants from Irish to Jews. They offer tours that recreate the stories of specific immigrant families based on research from primary sources (birth and death certificates, property records, etc.).
For my Mom, I chose a tour that followed an Irish family (the Moores — my grandmother’s maiden name!) that had lived in one of the tenements. The educator who conducted our tour recreated their entire life for us, from the communal washing and toilets to the small but quaint space they lived in upstairs.
The presentation was deep and rich in the history of working-class Irish Americans. How the husband was a waiter and the wife was a domestic servant for rich and powerful New York City families. How they struggled to make ends meet. How a few of their children died as infants. How they experienced discrimination and class conflict with other groups at the bottom rungs of society.
It was powerful storytelling that not only helped my mom and I understand our own family’s history, but the history of America too. The experience was a compelling reminder that great cities like New York are built on immigration even to this day.
My Mom and I left the Tenement Museum in awe.
Honorable Mentions For Your Irish Itinerary in Manhattan
We had to call it quits at that point of our Irish adventure in Manhattan. A little lad had to be picked up from school (my 3-year-old toddler).
If I were to extend the tour, however, (perhaps for part 2) here is where I would go:
Irish Hunger Memorial in Battery Park - this outdoor memorial near the World Trade Center and Brookfield Place is a great landmark and acknowledgment of New York City’s rich Irish history. Great views of the Hudson River too.
Ulysses - another of my favorite Irish pubs in Manhattan. I had already taken my Mom to this Financial District institution, so we chose the even more historic McSorley’s for this round. But definitely check out Ulysses for good craic, drinks, and live music. The rest of Stone Street is also a good time.
American Irish Historical Society - located on the Museum Mile of Manhattan’s Upper East Side, this looks like a great place to learn about Irish culture and history. I’ve yet to visit, but it’s on my life, if only because past presidents of the society have been people like Theodore Roosevelt.
Vinegar Hill - Irish American immigrants did not only live in Manhattan. Other boroughs have rich Irish history as well, particularly Vinegar Hill in Brooklyn. This neighborhood, which borders DUMBO, was once colloquially known as “Irishtown.” While there may not be much of anything formal to see or do that celebrates the Irish history of the neighborhood, walking the streets may be a fun way to get an idea of what life may have been like for the many Irish Americans who once called it home.
This Irish tour of Manhattan with my Mom was a reminder of why I love New York City so much. You can curate practically any cultural tour for almost any group of people in the world here. It’s truly a city—even to this day—of immigrants.
We should never lose sight of it.
I plan to do more New York City writing and content in 2025, so I hope you’ll follow for more.
Sláinte!
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