But throughout the 19th and early 20th century they were like the Muslims are today.

They were considered backward, lazy, violent, and had carried all the political troubles of their homeland here to their ghettoes, where they dominated certain professions like the police by organizing into tight political blocs. And they had a foreign, subversive religion that required their allegiance to an Italian Pope. They drank too much, bred like rabbits and they talked funny. Their accent was considered barbarous and coarse. "Help wanted. Irish need not apply."

But they were lucky. They looked like everybody else, and (if they lost the brogue) after a few generations of penny whistles, jigs, St Patrick's Day, leprechauns, tenors, "Danny Boy", Riverdance and U2, they started to fit right in. And they did seem to have a talent for music and literature. Today, their speech is considered lively and charming.

I was not familiar with Dolores O'Riordan. But I've listened to her music on Youtube, and she struck me as a lovely and talented young woman who died much too young. I once fell in love with a remarkable Irish-Italian girl with a beautiful voice. Miss O'Riordan's fans and countrymen have my sincerest sympathies.