Patrick J. McCarthy

Patrick McCarthy was born in Geevagh[1][2], County Sligo, Ireland,[3] on September 12, 1848.[4] His family came to the United States to avoid the potato famine in 1850.[5] The family was quarantined on Deer Island in Boston Harbor, and both Patrick's parents died there.[5] Patrick and his five brothers were separated into different orphanages, adoption agencies, and homes of relatives.[3][6] Young "P.J.", as he was known, lived with various extended relatives and poor houses, until a wealthy Bostonian agreed to fund his education.[5]

McCarthy moved to Providence in 1868, then earned a law degree from Harvard University Law School in 1876.[5]

McCarthy became involved in fraternal and educational societies in the Catholic Church and became known in Providence's growing Irish Catholic community.[5] McCarthy became a prominent lawyer and served on the City Council and the Rhode Island House of Representatives in the 1890s.[6]

He ran for the Providence Mayor's office on a progressive reform ticket in 1906, as a long shot candidate.[6] He was a populist, and attacked the local trolley monopoly, tax policies, and educational barriers.[5] He was in favor of expanding suffrage.[5] He was in favor of eight-hour workdays for city workers, retirement pay for teachers, and pensions for police and firefighters.[3]

The Cranston Street Armory was built during McCarthy's term.[3]

McCarthy died on March 13, 1921 and he is buried at St. Francis Cemetery, in Pawtucket.[5] A large, ornate Celtic cross marks his resting place.[5][6] After his death, the New England elite pointed to McCarthy as an example of how Irish immigrants could succeed in America if they worked hard.[6]

His portrait in Providence City Hall was restored in 2012, and for a time hung above the mantle in the office of then-mayor Angel Taveras.[7]

McCarthy was inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame in 2008.[5]

• Mary Josephine Bannon, ed., Autobiographical Memoirs of Hon. Patrick J. McCarthy (Providence: Providence Visitor Press, 1927).

• Patrick J. McCarthy at Find a Grave
• Guide to the McCarthy-Bannon Family Collection from the Rhode Island State Archives