The power of family lore: uncovering Brooklyn’s “Auld Irishtown”
I was at first made aware of an “Irishtown” in Brooklyn by an elder through word of mouth, which of course is the ancient form of Irish storytelling. My grandmother, who was born in Brooklyn in 1917, first mentioned Irishtown in passing when telling of stories from her childhood in the humble tenement neighborhoods. Because her family was often forced to move due to their financial state, she got to know many of the old Brooklyn neighborhoods.
My grandfather, James Lynch (b. 1915), who was a much better listener than a talker (of course, that made him a great bartender) agreed. “Yes, yes, there was once an Irishtown in Brooklyn,” he said. “Certainly was.”