The Irish contingent is. next to the German. the most important contribution to the foreign population in Iowa. The Irish first arrived inI the 1840s. driven from home by famine. and settled in the larger towns. They were divided into two groups. the Protestant Orangemen. or ScotchIrish. who constituted about one fourth of the Irish immigrants. and the Irish proper. who were Roman Catholics. The Irish played a large part in the building of bridges. roads. and railroads and in construction work generally. They were strongest in the counties of Dubuque and Clinton In the eastern tip of the State but later spread to more western counties.
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immigrants