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"Irish Hours" have been broadcast on American radio stations since the late 1920s. Largely music-based, these shows are a means for the Irish in America to connect with Ireland and their heritage through song. They also operate as communication vehicles, providing a forum for both Irish and American political discussion, an advertising venue for Irish businesses, and a potential audience for social and cultural events. They can therefore support the continuity of a local Irish American culture and economic base. In addition, by promoting tradition and memories, Irish radio shows have helped to construct an identity for Irish Americans that lasts beyond the immigrant generation.
History and Overview
Beginning in the 1920s through the 1940s, entertainers, including Italian-trained Irish tenor and stage star John McCormack as well as Bing Crosby (who started his own radio program on CBS in 1931), could be heard singing such Thomas Moore melodies and Tin Pan Alley tunes as "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling," "Danny Boy," and "Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral." The recordings and broadcasts of these singers helped to move Irish song from the vaudeville stage into the mainstream American home. This period also saw the beginning of shows geared specifically towards Irish Americans. Large Irish populations in America created a demand for talented musicians to play in Irish bars and dance halls, generating a new market in recordings and radio broadcasts. Modeled after the hour-long format popularized by music programs sponsored by Gimbels' department stores, "Irish Hours" sprouted up overnight. The shows were broadcast everywhere there were Irish to listen. New York, for example, had 22 radio stations that featured Irish programs during this time (Nye 1970:393; Casey 1995:601).
One such program was James Hayden's "Irish Memories," created in 1930 to feature his band the "Irish Memories Entertainers." Philadelphia had "Irish Hours" broadcast by Will Regan and Tommy Caulfield and his Orchestra. It also had Pat Stanton's "Irish Hour," which broadcast from 1926-76. Boston had Tommy Shields' "Irish Hour," sponsored by John Byrne's Music Store and Travel Agency. P.J. Colcannon aired his "Irish Hour" from Chicago beginning in 1941 and from San Francisco in 1959.1
Music was the foundation of the shows; radio was seen mainly as a way to promote the recordings of popular musicians and singers and expose...