Michael Mooney and the Leadville Irish: respectability and resistance at 10,200 feet, 1875-1900
(Manuscript)

"This is a study of a working class Irish community that existed in Leadville, Colorado in the late nineteenth century." - p.1.

Between 1877 and 1900, Leadville, Colorado experienced one of the greatest silver rushes in American history. During this time, thousands of Irish immigrants travelled to Leadville, settling on the east side of town and in the many gulches in the mining district east of town. This community quickly grew into the largest Irish enclave in the history of the state, with first and second generation Irish residents numbering over four thousand by 1880.

Chapter one deals with the migratory networks of the Leadville Irish. U.S. Federal Census reports and the baptism and marriage records at Annunciation Catholic Church in Leadville reveal that the Leadville Irish came from mining towns and camps across Ireland, the British Isles and North America.

In chapter two, a detailed exploration of the 1880 Federal Census for Lake County, Colorado reveals the kinds of work opportunities afforded to Irish and Irish Americans. This data also allows us to understand the kinds of labor and upward mobility that were afforded to Irish men and women in Leadville.

Chapters three and five explore two major strikes led by Irish miners. In the spring of 1880, Dublin-born miner Michael Mooney led a walkout of the mines. The miners demanded four dollars per day, an eight hour day, and more control over their workspaces. Sixteen years later, the miners in Leadville went on strike again, this time as part of the Western Federation of Miners. The demands were largely the same as in the first strike. In both cases, state troops were called into Leadville to break the strikes. Newspaper accounts of the strikes and the personal journals of labor spies, recruited by the companies to break the strikes, provide valuable insight into these conflicts and the role played by Leadville's Irish community.

Chapter four explores the ethnic organizations created in Leadville by Irish immigrants in search of respectability. These include fraternal organizations such as the Ancient Order of Hibernians and Knights of Robert Emmet, ethnic militias such as the Wolfe Tone Guard and Rocky Mountain Rifles, and nationalist organizations such as the Land League.