Well, I couldn’t stand his nonsense, so aheld of him I took
and I gave him such a baetin’ as he’d get in Donnybrook.
He hollered me the murther, and to get away did try
and swore he’d nivver write again, “No Irish Need Apply.”
He made a big apology, and I bid him then goodbye,
sayin’, “When nixt you want a baetin’, write ‘No Irish Need Apply.'”
Well, some may think it a misfortune to be christened Patrick Dan,
but to me it is an honor to be born an Irishman.
Sure, I’ve heard that in America, it always is the plan
that an Irishman is just as good as any other man.
A home and hospitality they nivver will deny
to strangers here, or ever write, “No Irish Need Apply.”
Oh, but some black sheep are in the flock: “A drrty lot,” says I;
a daecent man would nivver say, “No Irish Need Apply.”
See below
Happy St. Patrick’s Day yesterday!
Out of Babel 
Sounds like he was mildly Iri-tated.
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Ha ha yes! I have no idea why that employer was hesitant to hire the Irish …
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Well, my father, uncles and their friends came to America during the late 1920’s – early 30’s. They saw some of those signs or had jobs denied because of being from Ireland. From what I’ve been told this sentiment was due to three factors: 1)a general dislike and distrust of Irish (they were considered dirty, ill-educated, etc.); 2) they were willing to initially work for less so they upset the status quo; 3) they had a tendency to form or join unions For the most part this animosity did not last long due to WWII and the ability of Irish to become the hiring bosses especially in the public utility sector.
One somewhat humorous story is that men working for a large chemical company (in CT) would not be allowed to ride the trolley from the factory back into the city. After a long shift, walking 5-6 miles back to their lodgings was not pleasant. One night they decided to do something about the driver who refused to stop and pick them up. The driver told them in no uncertain terms, in a thick west Ireland accent, that he had nothing against Irish but did have something against having to clean up the trolley cars of green, blue, red or whatever color of dye was being made on a particular shift. Those Irish quickly learned to bring with them “work’ clothes and “street” clothes.
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Thanks for sharing your family story!
There can indeed be many different reasons for hiring discrimination. Thomas Sowell discusses this in Discrimination and Disparities. For example, Irish Catholics and Irish Protestants might be perfectly OK workers as individuals, but if you hire a mixed group you are likely to get tensions and fighting on the job, which decreases productivity.
I had an Irish-American grandfather, and it is true to say that after several generations in America, that hard- living culture had not entirely died out.
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