Missouri 2008 Official Vacation Planner - (Page 42) NORTHWEST KANSAS CITY CONVENTION AND VISITORS ASSOCIATION The Irish In the late 1850s, as the frontier town struggled toward cityhood, immigrant Irish laborers cut Kansas City’s earliest roads though the intimidating bluffs south of the Missouri River. Bernard Donnelly, a Catholic priest and immigrant himself, had recruited the workers and helped plan the civic expansion. Between in Kansas City Ceili dancing and bouncing curls rule this Irish Fest stage in Kansas City. the 1890s and 1930s, Boss Tom Pendergast, son of a “Famine Irish” immigrant, rose to rule Kansas City and Jackson County politics. The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, constructed of Father Donnelly’s bricks, still serves the faithful at 12th and Broadway, while the two-story building at 1908 Main where Boss Tom held court and dispensed favors now houses an art gallery. All in all, KC area people of Irish ancestry (250,000 by 2000 census count) have fared well in the last 150 years, and Irish Museum and Cultural Center, Union Station IRISH IMMIGRANTS CUT THE EARLIEST R O A D S T H R O U G H K A N S A S C I T Y ’ S I N T I M I D AT I N G BLUFFS SOUTH OF THE MISSOURI RIVER. they celebrate their good fortune at one of the nation’s largest St. Patrick’s Day parades (the 35th edition in 2008) and at an annual Irish Fest (September in Crown Center) that draws performers from across the United States, Canada and Ireland itself. Of the many Irish clubs, pubs and shops in town, there’s a can’t-miss favorite at 33rd and Pennsylvania streets: Browne’s Market and Deli, a luncheon Left: Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and gift spot that opened in 1887 and may be North America’s oldest existing Irish business. The new Irish Museum and Cultural Center (lower level, west wing at Union Station) began welcoming visitors on St. Patrick’s Day 2007. Permanent and rotating exhibits tell the local IrishAmerican story, and genealogy resources allow visitors to learn the part their families played in the story. 42 Missouri Vacation Planner 2008
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