Settling in a city founded by the Puritans, the Irish of Boston evolved into one of America's most distinctive ethnic communities - and eventually came to dominate local politics. This book chronicles the growth of Irish political power in Boston.

According to Thomas O'Connor, Irish political dominance in Boston grew out of generations of bitter and unyielding conflict between Yankees and Irish Catholic immigrants. Unlike the Irish in other American cities, the settlers in Boston encountered a homogenous, long-established Anglo-Saxon population openly hostile toward the Irish and all things Roman Catholic. O'Connor charts the course of the Irish's growing political influence in Boston against the background of this clash between two different cultures. He argues that Irish politicians established a distinct philosophy of government that often shifted from traditional Democratic leadership to local neighborhood populism.