Making Sense of the Molly Maguires [Hardcover]

Kevin Kenny (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 12, 1998 | ISBN-10: 0195106644 | ISBN-13: 978-0195106640

Twenty Irish immigrants, suspected of belonging to a secret terrorist organization called the Molly Maguires, were executed in Pennsylvania in the 1870s for the murder of sixteen men. Ever since, there has been enormous disagreement over who the Molly Maguires were, what they did, and why they did it, as virtually everything we now know about the Molly Maguires is based on hostile descriptions of their contemporaries.

Arguing that such sources are inadequate to serve as the basis for a factual narrative, Making Sense of the Molly Maguires examines the ideology behind the contemporary evidence to explain how and why a particular meaning came to be associated with the Molly Maguires in Ireland and Pennsylvania. At the same time, this book examines new archival evidence from Ireland that establishes that the American Molly Maguires were a rare transatlantic strand of the violent protest endemic in the Irish countryside.

Combining social and cultural history, Making Sense of the Molly Maguires offers a new explanation of who the Molly Maguires were, as well as why people wrote and believed such curious things about them. In the process, it vividly retells one of the classic stories of American labor and immigration.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Professor Kenny's scholarly work is a valuable addition to the literature on the Molly Maguires and an aid to understanding this tragic episode in the history of Irish-Ammerican immigrant labour. Seanchas Ard Mhacha: Journal of the Armagh Diocesan Historical Society Few have ever heard of the Pennsylvanian Molly Maguires. Kevin Kelly certainly makes sense of them in a generously subsidised book which is meticulously researched and referenced, includes enough statistics to support his arguments, and is packed with fascinating details. Charles Chenevix Trench, Irish Independent (Dublin)

About the Author

Kevin Kenny is Assistant Professor of History at the University of Texas at Austin.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (February 12, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195106644
• ISBN-13: 978-0195106640
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #164,982 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, very well-researched book, February 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Making Sense of the Molly Maguires (Paperback)

A very well-researched and detailed account of the Molly Maguires in Pennsylvania. Cuts through the myths and concentrates on the facts. Gives a very good depiction of life in the coal region at the time (much of the language, culture, etc. is still present in the region today). Also good background information on the Mollies origins in Ireland. A very scholarly work.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Full consideration of a complex historical event, December 20, 2002

By 

Christopher R Burk - See all my reviews

This review is from: Making Sense of the Molly Maguires (Paperback)

Kenny digs into the broader social and historical forces that operated in the Irish coal miners and the community in which they found themselves. The events under review are themselves shocking. Like the 9/11 attacks, they seem almost incomprehensible because of their violence and the drama surrounding the events. The Molly Maguries were more than simple killers -- the women's clothing, for example, is a clue that something beyond a simple murder. Kenny gives his explanation of WHY events unfolded as they did.
Kenny has a scholarly point to make and academic readers will be rewarded with Kenny's solid analysis. This is a serious work on a serious subject. It is well worth a bit of intellectual effort. It also makes a fine addition to the reading list of an upper level undergraduate or graduate history course. However, the general reader with an interest in Irish-American history, labor history, and/or European immigrant history will also find this book interesting and informative.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars SHOCKING DETAIL, August 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Making Sense of the Molly Maguires (Hardcover)

After reading Mr. Kenny's account of the Mollys, I have a much better understanding of what really transpired in the coal fields of Eastern Pennsylvania over 100 years ago. Going beyond the typical view of the Mollys as a band of drunken criminals of Irish origin, Kenny tells of the political and corporate corruption that existed in the 1850s to 1880s. While not displaying total sympathy for the Mollys - since many did fit the stereotypical image, Kenny's accounts will change one's perspective of this group. Well worth reading.