{"id":720,"featured":0,"modified":"2026-04-17 19:48:37","latitude":40.83199599999999662713889847509562969207763671875,"longitude":-85.72647299999999859210220165550708770751953125,"title":"The Indiana Irish Wars","subtitle":"Feuds from Ireland transported to the Hoosier State","fullsize":"https://discoverindianahistory.org/files/fullsize/90dc336909e199e06e1b2cffc800303a.jpg","address":"","all_locations":[],"zoom":9,"creator":["Kaitlyn Leib","Kayley Schacht"],"description":"Irishmen often brought regional feuds from Ireland to the United States. Due to the number of Irish workers on canal projects, these were prevalent in Indiana. Two groups— the Corkonians and the Fardowns—held a longstanding feud. The Corkonians came from the Irish province Munster, specifically in County Cork. The Fardowns came from the provinces of Connaught and Leinster. The hostility between the two groups was ultimately due to competition for employment. The Corkonians and Fardowns had violent encounters near many canal and railroad worksites in Indiana, later referred to as the Irish War.<br />\r\n<br />\r\nIn 1835, groups of Corkonians and Fardowns were working on the Wabash and Erie Canal. Construction contractors knew about the feud and tried to keep the groups separate. The Corkonians worked the northern section of the fifty-mile line, leaving the southern section for the Fardown men. The men stayed in separate camps and often worried that members of the other party would burn down their shelters or kill them at night. Contractors reported that some men camped in the woods to avoid such a fate. Most men came to work armed, sometimes with weapons they had stolen from locals. Small-scale brawls became so frequent that worksite authorities planned to remove one of the groups from the line entirely. <br />\r\n<br />\r\nIn July, rumors of a big clash began to spread around the canal camps. The groups planned to meet in the middle of the two camps, near Lagro. As men on both sides prepared for the fight, work on the canal slowed to a halt. On July 10, a reported 600 Irishmen met in Lagro, about 300 from each faction. Canal Commissioner David Burr managed to arrange a truce that lasted long enough for Indiana militias to arrive. The militias arrested over 100 Irish laborers a few days later. Without a nearby jail to hold so many men, officials took eight of the faction leaders to Indianapolis and released the rest to return to work. The eight leaders were released shortly after arriving. One Corkonian leader, Jeremiah Sullivan, was later re-arrested and sent to the state penitentiary. He was the only participant in the clash to receive legal punishment. <br />","sponsor":null,"accessinfo":"","lede":"","website":"","related_resources":["Burr, David. The Irish War. Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County.  Last modified <br />\r\nOctober 18, 2024. https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/64763/pg64763-images.html.<br />","Perry, Jay M. “The Irish Wars: Laborer Feuds on Indiana’s Canals and Railroads in the 1830s.” <br />\r\nIndiana Magazine of History 109, no. 3 (2013): 224–56.","Perry, Jay Martin. “Shillelaghs, Shovels, and Secrets: Irish Immigrant Secret Societies and the <br />\r\nBuilding of Indiana Internal Improvements, 1835-1837,” 2009. https://scholarworks.indianapolis.iu.edu/items/ee95de43-1058-49ea-8f97-0257048d16e4.<br />"],"factoids":[],"files":{"https://discoverindianahistory.org/files/fullsize/90dc336909e199e06e1b2cffc800303a.jpg":{"id":3428,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Riot Depiction","description":" The cover of the 1962 City of Wabash Canal Days festival program shows an illustration relating to the 1835 conflict on the Wabash and Erie Canal. The image demonstrates how the event has survived in community memory.  | Wabash County Historical Museum | 1962","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org/files/square_thumbnails/90dc336909e199e06e1b2cffc800303a.jpg"},"https://discoverindianahistory.org/files/fullsize/df46c53181fb7805a46cf9ce00445986.jpg":{"id":3432,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Ireland Counties","description":"Ireland is divided into counties. Like American states, each has unique cultures and loyalties. When feuds and disagreements arose between different counties and their people, those feelings often carried over to new homes, such as immigrants in the United States. Corkonians come from the province of Munster, specifically from County Cork, the southernmost county. The name Fardowns is harder to define, though it is suggested to refer to those from the Leinster and Connaught provinces. | IrishCentral.com","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org/files/square_thumbnails/df46c53181fb7805a46cf9ce00445986.jpg"},"https://discoverindianahistory.org/files/fullsize/f4349e7eb32a1bd33525e862c52085fe.jpg":{"id":3429,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Canal Workers","description":"In this image, canal workers pose for a photograph. Many canal workers were Irish immigrants, often new arrivals. As immigrants and their kin held onto old traditions, some immigrants working on the canal fought with others, especially due to long-standing feuds.<br />\r\n | <a href=\"https://fortwaynehistory.com/\">Fort Wayne History</a>","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org/files/square_thumbnails/f4349e7eb32a1bd33525e862c52085fe.jpg"},"https://discoverindianahistory.org/files/fullsize/bcfd203606df36a9253f5cfac6ab3ee4.jpg":{"id":3430,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Irish Stereotypes","description":"As the number of Irish immigrants entered the United States increased, many native-born Americans projected negative stereotypes onthem. In this card, a stereotypical Irish immigrant, Paddy O’Rourke, has just arrived in America from Ireland. Irish immigrants were stereotyped as drunkards and fighters. The Indiana Irish Wars may have contributed to some of these stereotypes in the nearby area.   | The Library Company of Philadelphia","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org/files/square_thumbnails/bcfd203606df36a9253f5cfac6ab3ee4.jpg"},"https://discoverindianahistory.org/files/fullsize/ab5477abdf9a06c59069e0a5c959633d.jpg":{"id":3433,"mime-type":"image/png","title":"Burr&#039;s Report","description":"Responding to a request from Indiana Governor Noah Noble, Commissioner David Burr wrote a report explaining the July incident. Noble then gave the report to the House of Representatives, where it was read on December 31, 1835. This illustrated version of Burr’s account was published in 1953. | Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County | 1953","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org/files/square_thumbnails/ab5477abdf9a06c59069e0a5c959633d.jpg"},"https://discoverindianahistory.org/files/fullsize/21a2aad5452a36abcd87c37a5ee5c3b3.jpg":{"id":3431,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Indiana Canal Map","description":"This 1847 map depicts finished canals and canals still in progress or left unfinished. The map highlights Indiana canals, as well as some railroads and transit lines in Ohio. Regional canals connected a large portion of Indiana to larger bodies of water like the Great Lakes and the Ohio River. | Indiana State Library Map Collection | 1847","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org/files/square_thumbnails/21a2aad5452a36abcd87c37a5ee5c3b3.jpg"}}}