Molly maguiress is an authentic irish pubs offering outstanding irish cuisineand a full bar with a fantastic craft beer selection. They took their name from the custom of the members sometimes disguising themselves as women. The molly maguires was a bigbudget drama from paramount pictures, with powerhouse stars, sean connery, richard harris, and samantha eggar, a terrific director, martin ritt hud, the spy who came in from the cold and many others, and the screenwriter of fail safe and john frankenheimers the train, the great walter bernstein. When poor working conditions and employment discrimination led to assassinations and acts of sabotage by irish. The molly maguires and the detectives by allan pinkerton.
Great neighborhood pub with a wide beer selection and fully stocked bar. Sons of molly ghost of molly maguire the irish balladeers song lyrics. It also this is a piece of 19th century propaganda by the pinkerton company. Richard harris plays a police detective sent to infiltrate a secret society of coal miners, and terrorists, lead by sean connery. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes. Molly maguires american labour organization britannica. Set in late 19th century northeastern pennsylvania, this social drama tells the story of an undercover detective sent to a coal mining community to expose a secret society of irishamerican miners battling exploitation at. These include over 50 books about coal mining mostly in pennsylvania, over 25 books about the molly maguires, and 2 films about mining and the molly maguires. Make way for the molly maguires theyre drinkers, theyre liars but theyre men make way for the molly maguires youll never see the likes of them again down the mines no sunlight shines those pits theyre black as hell in modest style they do their time its paddys prison cell and they curse the day theyve travelled far then drown their. What makes this such a good point of reference is the fact that the dvd covers history realistically and incorpoartes family feedback of relatives affected by this group on both sides of the coal industrythat is laborers and owners. Digital history id 3190 on june 21, 1877, in schuylkill county, pa. It doesnt differentiate the ancient order of hiberians irish mutual aid society that sought better conditions for miners and the molly maguires. The andruss library special collections has a concentration of books on the topic of coal mining primarily anthracite and the molly maguires. Make way for the molly maguires theyre drinkers, theyre liars but theyre men make way for the molly maguires youll never see the likes of them again.
Join facebook to connect with molly maguires and others you may know. Life is rough in the coal mines of 1876 pennsylvania. Ok, if youre too lazy to click on the link, the molly maguires were militant irish mineworkers who used violence and sabotage to struggle against the brutal unionbusting tactics of. Was the agency that was on the case of the molly maguires.
Molly maguires, secret organization of coal miners supposedly responsible for acts of terrorism in the coalfields of pennsylvania and west virginia, u. The molly maguires sought fair treatment and safer working conditions which led to a bitter dispute with the coal companies called the long strike of 1875. Molly maguires definition and meaning collins english dictionary. The dubliners was an irish folk band founded in dublin, ireland, in 1962. Down the mines no sunlight shines those pits theyre black as hell in modest style they do their time its paddys prison cell and they curse the day theyve travelled far then drown their. Invariably the epithet is used by those who have not the slightest idea of what they are talking about and it is used too suggest that there is something sinister or discreditable associated with the label of molly maguires. The fact that its inset in a shopping center rather than front facing a busy main street gives it a cool speakeasy type vibe you wont find most other places.
The molly maguires was a secret society of militant coal miners who battled their exploitation by mine owners with violence, intimidation. The molly maguires were a secret society of irishmen that were active in the anthracite coal region of pennsylvania during the late 19th century, and by active i mean they used physical violence to fight back against the coal bosses whose treatment of their workers were nothing short of oppressive. Molly malone may be the bestknown molly in irish history, folklore or music, but despite her entrepreneurial spirit and wide wheelbarrow, she wasnt nearly as important, influential, or reviled as molly maguire. Its a film on the side of law and order, with just a twang of guilt for the plight of the poor coal miner. In some areas the terms ribbonmen and molly maguires were both used for similar activism but at different times. Mine company superintendents and bosses could all rest assured that their days would not. The story of the 1870s frameup of the pennsylvania irish anthraci.
An irish secret society known as the molly maguires is thought responsible for a string of violent attacks in the pennsylvania coal fields. The molly maguires was filmed at the very beginning of what i think is the greatest american movie decade ever, and im not alone in that opinion as the most recent 2007 afi list of the top 100 films of all time contains more from the 70s than any other single decade 19. Based in fact, the molly maguires 1970 is set in 19thcentury pennsylvania and depicts the attempt of a pinkerton agent richard harris to infiltrate the molly maguires, a group of coal miners who have responded to the exploitation they are suffering with acts of terrorism. After they figured out who the leaders were they accused them of murder.
Richard harris and samantha eggar in the molly maguires 1970. The molly maguires is a 1970 american historical drama film directed by martin ritt, starring. The molly maguires the molly maguires or the mollies is a term that is sometimes applied to the a. Molly maguires formerly oreillys is a hidden gem in the corner of the lighthouse commons shopping center in oakdale, ny. One of the most influential irish acts of the 20th century, they celebrated 50 years together in 2012, making them irelands longest surviving musical act. The molly maguires is a movie full of missed opportunities. The molly maguires were an irish 19thcentury secret society active in ireland, liverpool and. Molly maguire, an irish widow, in the 1840s, protested against english landlords who tried to steal peoples land. The molly maguires were established in the late 1800s, and were composed of irishamerican coal miners. Insisting he was innocent, campbell declared that this is proof of my words. In the latter half of the 19th century, schuylkill county, pennsylvania, was an area rife with violence. After pinkerton detective james mcparlan goes undercover to join their ranks, 20 mollies are tried, convicted, and hanged.
A detective, also an irish emigrant, is hired to infiltrate the group and report on its members. Kessinger publishing, llc january 29, 2010 language. A secret group of irish emigrant miners, known as the molly maguires. Molly maguires newspaper and current periodical reading. The mollies came to america with the major irish immigration periods in the 1830s, 1840s, and. The jail in jim thorpe, pennsylvania, where four of the molly maguires were hanged. Irish immigrants took it upon themselves to combat their own mistreatment by the coal companies. The pennsylvania center for the book the mollie maguires.
Molly maguires the band of coal miners known as the molly maguires led one of the first labor uprisings in the united states. There lived then an energetic dame, the widow molly maguire, who did not believe in the rent system that was in effect in her country and became the leading spirit of a loosely organized resistance to it. The molly maguires originated in ireland, where secret societies with names such as whiteboys and peep o day boys were common beginning in the 18th century and through most of the 19th century. According to the prosecution, the men were members of a secret organization, the molly maguires. In fact, some consider the mollies to be a direct precursor to organized labor in the united. The molly maguires is the secret society of miners that seeks to right the wrongs of the unjust and callous owners of the company. Mcparlan tries to join the gang, but jack is suspicious of the. As if hungover from the 60s, this postrevolutionary period gave. Inspired by a true story, the molly maguires tells the story of a secret society of coal miners and their struggle against oppression and a corrupt mine owners. The molly maguires, were a secret society of irish and irish american coal miners based in the pennsylvania coal region. It took them about 2 years, but they found about 20 leaders. Based on actual events, this gripping story is a sympathetic and accurate account of the irishamerican miners struggle. Linder 2010 in 1875, a writer of the time observed, there came from the coalmining district of pennsylvania an appalling series of tales of murder, of arson, and of every description of violent crime. The molly maguires is a 1970 american historical drama film directed by martin ritt, starring richard harris and sean connery.
The group named itself after a widow who led a group of irish antilandlord agitators in the 1840s. One of these fights centered around a group that became known as the molly maguires. Posts about molly maguires written by myles dungan. He was the detective that investigated the molly maguires. Other articles where the molly maguires is discussed. The molly maguires was a secret society of militant coal miners who battled their exploitation by mine owners with violence, intimidation, and sometimes murder. A potato famine in ireland leads to a mass migration of irish into americas coal towns. A secret group of irish emigrant miners, known as the molly maguires, fights against the cruelty of the mining company with sabotage and murder.
The molly maguires, born of desperation the molly maguires formed as a secret society in ireland in the 1840s to stop evictions by ruthless landlords agents. The molly maguires in pennsylvania coal mining country helped bring pivotal changes in the attitudes of the average american toward labor unrest. The background of the american molly maguires reaches back into feudalistic ireland of the fourth decade of the nineteenth century. In the 1850s, the coal mines of northeast pennsylvania became a war zone, as miners struggled to unionize and the mine owners called in hired guns. Summary and definition of the molly maguires definition and summary. Sons of molly ghost of molly maguire antiwar songs aws. Today, the mollies are remembered through numerous mediums including a monument in mahanoy city, a 1970 movie titled the molly maguires starring sean connery, and a known historical meeting place of the mollies called the wooden keg tavern, to name just. They migrated from ireland during the great potato famine, and continued their secret organization in the states. They were primarily active during the 1860s, and the 1870s. The molly maguires definitely deserves another look. The molly maguires is a serious movie delivering a message concerning social justice.