The Irish in America, and an Irish lady in Watertown in honor of St. Patrick's Day

As St. Patrick's day is impending, I find myself thinking about my heritage and the legacy of the Irish in America. Here's just a few facts for those of you who were wondering:

The 2000 United State Census reports 30,528,492 persons claiming Irish ancestry, 10.8% of the total American population. This is over 7 times the population of Ireland itself, which was 4 million in the year 2003.

Irish-Americans are the largest ancestral group in Washington DC, Delaware, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire.

Here is a complete breakdown of the Irish-American population, by state

	State	Irish-American population	Irish-Americans as a percentage of total population
	Alabama	342,274	7.7
	Alaska	67,578	10.8
	Arizona	524,306	10.2
	Arkansas	254,773	9.5
	California	2,611,449	7.7
	Colorado	525,507	12.2
	Connecticut	565,290	16.6
	DC	28,081	4.9
	Delaware	129,701	16.6
	Florida	1,645,585	10.3
	Georgia	640,729	7.8
	Hawaii	52,755	4.4
	Idaho	129,407	10.0
	Illinois	1,511,569	12.2
	Indiana	655,530	10.8
	Iowa	395,506	13.5
	Kansas	309,181	11.5
	Kentucky	423,237	10.5
	Louisiana	314,647	7.0
	Maine	192,344	15.1
	Maryland	621,779	11.7
	Massachusetts	1,426,453	22.5
	Michigan	1,067,474	10.7
	Minnesota	552,172	11.2
	Mississippi	195,224	6.9
	Missouri	711,120	12.7
	Montana	133,952	14.8
	Nebraska	229,506	13.4
	Nevada	219,974	11.0
	New Hampshire	240,295	19.4
	New Jersey	1,335,535	15.9
	New Mexico	132,997	7.3
	New York	2,451,042	12.9
	North Carolina	594,798	7.4
	North Dakota	49,346	7.7
	Ohio	1,445,668	12.7
	Oklahoma	354,233	10.3
	Oregon	406,431	11.9
	Pennsylvania	1,981,106	16.1
	Rhode Island	193,097	18.4
	South Carolina	317,490	7.9
	South Dakota	78,379	10.4
	Tennessee	526,571	9.3
	Texas	1,502,841	7.2
	Utah	131,510	5.9
	Vermont	99,880	16.4
	Virginia	694,263	9.8
	Washington	669,861	11.4
	West Virginia	198,108	11.0
	Wisconsin	582,316	10.9
	Wyoming	65,622	13.3

Some might find it odd, but on St. Patrick's Day, I'm going to spend part of it at a funeral. The former mayor of Watertown, Bette Moisan who passed away recently is going to be celebrated and remembered on St Patrick's Day. Her son, South Dakota's artist of the state seal John Moisan is also having an authentic Irish wake as part of the tribute to her life and achievements.

As John has related the story to me, Bette got her start in Watertown politics when she approached a city councilman. This single mother of limited means expressed a desire to become active in city politics - possibly even running for office one day herself.

The local politician poked in her direction with his cigar, and suggested that she would be better off going back into the kitchen, and that she had no business running for office.

Bette's reply? As John relates it, she politely told the man "well, maybe I'll just take your seat then."

And she did. Running a door to door campaign with mimeographed fliers, she destroyed him at the ballot box and started a career which culminated with her being elected as the first female mayor of Watertown.

Proud of her heritage, and a perfect example of the tenacious "can do" attitude of the Irish, I expect her send off into the great hereafter will be as memorable as the woman was herself.

May the road rise with you.
May the wind always be at your back
May the sun shine warm upon your face
And the rains fall soft upon your fields,
And until we meet again
May God keep you in the hollow of his hand.
And may you be gone to him a half hour
Before the devil finds out ye left
- Old Irish Blessing.