I grew up in a small New England city where Irish Catholics， or<br > those of "Irish extraction，" were not asked to join the country<br > club， and so--being of that extraction myself--I have long been<br > aware of the strong， and at the same time vulnerable， position of<br > the Irish in American life. But more than my own personal expe-<br > riences and sentiments have gone into the production of this book，<br > and there are a number of people whom I would like to thank for<br > their assistance， insights， impressions， memories， and materials.<br > Most particularly I am grateful to Mr. John Murray Cuddihy of<br > New York for access to his voluminous data on the Murray-<br > Cuddihy-Bradley-McDonnell family complex， as well as for his<br > own considerable researches on the general topic of the Irish in<br > America. 1 am also indebted to Mr. Cuddihy s wife， Harriet De<br > Haven Cuddihy， for help as well as for hospitality， nor should I<br > overlook the two older Cuddihy children， Heidi and John， who--<br > despite the fact that they have a perfect attendance record at their<br >