Irish Channel, New Orleans

Irish Channel (French: Manche irlandaise, Irish: Cainéal na hÉireann) is a neighborhood of the city of New Orleans. It is a subdistrict of the Central City/Garden District Area. Although the original site was located predominantly on the east side of Jackson Avenue, its boundaries as defined by the Historic District Landmarks Commission are: Magazine Street to the north, Jackson Avenue to the east, the Mississippi River to the south and Delachaise Street to the west.

Irish Channel is located at and has an elevation of 7 feet (2 m). According to the United States Census Bureau, the district has a total area of 0.83 square miles (2 km2). 0.50 square miles (1 km2) of which is land and 0.33 square miles (1 km2) (39.76%) of which is water.

The boundaries of the Irish Channel, originally part of the now incorporated Faubourg Lafayette were Tchoupitoulas Street and Magazine Street between Felicity Street and Phillip Street. The east boundary was later moved to Jackson street in the 1930s for the St. Thomas Development which was demolished in the late 1990’s. Most of the original location of the Irish Channel is now considered part of the Lower Garden District and the location of historic Irish Channel landmarks such as Adele Street, St. Andrews Street, St. Mary’s Cathedral, St. Alphonsus Church, along with a police station, Walmart, Boettner Park, and the River Garden development. In 2002, prior to Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans City Planning Commission defined the boundaries of the Irish Channel as Tchoupitoulas Street, Toledano Street, Magazine Street, and First Street.

The mostly working class neighborhood was, as the name implies, originally settled largely by immigrants from Ireland in the early 19th century. However early on the area also had people of other ethnicities, including German, Italian, and African American, living nearby each other. The origin of the name is obscure. However, one school of thought says that the Irish "channeled" into the area, while another says that rain would settle into the streets of this predominately Irish neighborhood at the time. Significant emigration from Ireland to the United States occurred during the period 1810 1850, with a particularly large wave to New Orleans during the decade of the 1830s. The point of debarkation was Adele Street, where many immigrants, penniless, took up residence in simple cottages (shotgun houses). These Irish immigrants arrived primarily to dig the New Basin Canal, Irish ethnicity dominated despite the multi ethnicity of the area. Adele Street was the center of activity in the early days of the Irish Channel. In 1874, a painting of Our Lady of Perpetual Help was brought to St. Alphonsus and a National Shrine established. For generations Irish school children as well as parishioners and visitors would participate in novenas to Our Lady at St. Alphonsus church. These services were so well attended that the city placed additional street cars in service to carry the large number of attendees. In these early years, churches were built to serve various other ethnic groups. St. Mary's Assumption Church served the German immigrant population of the Irish Channel, while Notre Dame de Bon Secours Church served the French immigrants. The Irish Channel developed a reputation for ruffians early in its history, a reputation that slowly eroded. Much of this centered on conflicts between ethnic groups, eventually congealing as gangs, such as the St. Mary's Market Gang, the Shot Tower Gang, the Pine Knot Gang, the Ripsaw Gang, and the Crowbar Gang. Since about the 1960s, the neighborhood has been majority African American, with substantial minorities of the descendants of the 19th century immigrants and more recent Latino immigrants. Parades and parties are held on and around St. Patrick's Day which are enjoyed by many locals whether they are of Irish ancestry or not. Examples of organizations that parade on St. Patrick's Day and promote other civic activities are the Irish Channel St. Patrick's Day Club and the Irish Channel Corner Club. The local chapter of the Ancient Order of Hibernians also promotes Irish Channel heritage. Parasol's Bar and Tracey's Bar, a block apart on Third Street, are a focal point for St. Patrick's Day parades in the Irish Channel. The population density was 8,540 /mi² (3,285 /km). As of the census of 2010, there were 3,373 people, 1,665 households, and 649 families residing in the neighborhood. After Hurricane Katrina, Live Oak was a school directly operated by the RSD. In 2009 about 75% of the fourth graders at the Live Oak Elementary School failed the LEAP test. In 2010 the school had a performance score of "40" which was below the "65" that was the level considered "academically unacceptable."