Making Sense of the Molly Maguires: Twenty-fifth Anniversary Edition

In the 1870s, twenty Irish immigrants were executed in Pennsylvania for the murder of sixteen men. This work examines new archival evidence from Ireland that establishes that the American Molly Maguires were a rare transatlantic strand of the violent protest endemic in the Irish countryside. It offers a new explanation of who the Molly Maguires were and why people wrote and believed such curious things about them, and vividly retells one of the classic stories of American labor and immigration.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 384 pages
Publication date: 14 November 2023
Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc

In the 1870s, a group of twenty Irish immigrants, believed to be associated with the secret terrorist organization known as the Molly Maguires, faced execution in Pennsylvania for the murder of sixteen men. Since then, there has been a significant debate surrounding the identity, actions, and motivations of these individuals, as the majority of our knowledge about the Molly Maguires is based on hostile descriptions provided by their contemporaries. Kevin Kenny challenges the reliance on such sources, arguing that they are insufficient to construct a factual narrative. Instead, he delves into the ideology behind contemporary evidence to unravel how and why a specific meaning became associated with the Molly Maguires in Ireland and Pennsylvania. Furthermore, this work explores new archival evidence from Ireland that establishes the American Molly Maguires as a rare transatlantic strand of the violent protest that was prevalent in the Irish countryside. By combining social and cultural history, Making Sense of the Molly Maguires offers a fresh perspective on the identity of the Molly Maguires and sheds light on the reasons behind the creation and dissemination of such curious narratives. In addition, the book vividly retells one of the iconic stories of American labor and immigration. The twenty-fifth-anniversary edition includes a new preface that reflects on the original work, the current state of immigration and labor history, and the enduring memory of the Molly Maguires in American popular culture.

Weight: 534g
Dimension: 155 x 234 x 24 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780197673881