Synopses & Reviews
It was the biggest funeral Chicago had seen since Lincolnandrsquo;s. On May 26, 1889, four thousand mourners proceeded down Michigan Avenue, followed by a crowd forty thousand strong, in a howl of protest at what commentators called one of the ghastliest and most curious crimes in civilized history. The dead man, Dr. P. H. Cronin, was a respected Irish physician, but his brutal murder uncovered a web of intrigue, secrecy, and corruption that stretched across the United States and far beyond.
Blood Runs Green tells the story of Croninandrsquo;s murder from the police investigation to the trial. It is a story of hotheaded journalists in pursuit of sensational crimes, of a bungling police force riddled with informers and spies, and of a secret revolutionary society determined to free Ireland but succeeding only in tearing itself apart. It is also the story of a booming immigrant population clamoring for power at a time of unprecedented change.
From backrooms to courtrooms, historian Gillian Oandrsquo;Brien deftly navigates the complexities of Irish Chicago, bringing to life a rich cast of characters and tracing the spectacular rise and fall of the secret Irish American society Clan na Gael. She draws on real-life accounts and sources from the United States, Ireland, and Britain to cast new light on Clan na Gael and reveal how Irish republicanism swept across the United States. Destined to be a true crime classic, Blood Runs Green is an enthralling tale of a murder that captivated the world and reverberated through society long after the coffin closed.
Review
"In the process of dissecting and analyzing one of the most notorious murder cases of the late nineteenth century Gillian Oand#8217;Brien has illuminated not only the subterranean world of the Irish nationalist revolutionaries of the Clan na Gael but also many aspects of the broader story of Irish American Chicago. The book is meticulously researched and elegantly writtenand#8212;a star in the social history of the immigrant group, the movement, the period, and the city."
Review
"Oand#8217;Brien does a wonderful job of placing the sensational 1889 murder of Dr. Patrick Henry Cronin firmly within the history of nineteenth century Irish Chicago, as well as within the political machinations of the city, the Clan na Gael, Ireland, and the Catholic Church. Blood Runs Green is a lively tale of intrigue, murder, and the Gilded Age in the fastest growing city of nineteenth century America."
Review
andldquo;Who was Dr. Patrick Cronin and who murdered him? To find out you must dive into Oandrsquo;Brienandrsquo;s dark, fascinating tale of 1880s Chicago. This true-life whodunit captures the Second City at a key moment in its history as it weaves through sensation-seeking journalists, wild-eyed Irish nationalists and, of course, corrupt police officers. An enlightening and entertaining read.andrdquo;
Review
andquot;For connoisseurs of Gilded Age America, Gillian Oandrsquo;Brienandrsquo;s book has everything: a ghastly murder of a respected medical doctor, police incompetence and probably corruption, deadly Irish American splits and rivalries, more than a hint of international terrorism in the background, a British government informer, and above all, an unforgettable portrait of the pulsating city of Chicago, with the dogs of its print media let slip in full hue and cry for a culprit, any culprit. Not to be missed.andquot;
Review
andquot;Oandrsquo;Brien paints a vivid picture of what was then the longest-running trial in US history with a verve that would make John Grisham and company green with envy. . . . Blood Runs Green is all thatandrsquo;s best in academic writing: detailed research, accessible writingandmdash;and a rattling good yarn. It certainly kept me turning the pages like the best crime novel.andquot;
Review
andquot;Page-turning. . . . In retelling a tale that for years captured the attention of Chicagoans as well as international readers, Oandrsquo;Brien has shared a slice of history that had long-lasting and far-reaching implications. Thoroughly researched and well told, Blood Runs Green is a timeless story that deftly captures the feel of an era.andrdquo;
Review
andquot;Oandrsquo;Brienandrsquo;s detailed account is a testament to what good, well-written history can be:and#160; interesting, spell-binding, instructive, and thought-provoking all at once. Blood Runs Green is a tale well and skillfully told.andquot;
Review
andquot;Chicagoand#39;s reputation for dramatic crime and corruption predates Al Capone and Prohibition andmdash; by decades. In May, 1889, Dr. P.H. Cronin, an esteemed physician, was found in a sewer. He was naked, dead, and savagely beaten. The investigation and trial caused an international sensation, and one of the worldand#39;s first media circuses, over a story that involved Irish revolutionaries and reactionaries, secret societies, and even a French spy. Or was he British? All at a time when Chicago had been burned down, and was reborn as the fast-growing city in America.andquot;
Review
andquot;Blood Runs Green is the first book in more than a century to examine Croninandrsquo;s execution-style killing and the trial of five men on charges of conspiracy to murder. Gillian Oandrsquo;Brienandrsquo;s retelling of this pivotal yet almost forgotten story is worth the wait. . . . With a thoroughness and insight worthy of an academic Sherlock Holmes, Oandrsquo;Brien has mined newspaper accounts, court records and archives in Ireland, Britain and the US to breathe life into the people and events connected to the case.andquot;
Review
andquot;The grisly murder of the Irish-American politician Patrick Henry Cronin, in 1889, captivated the city of Chicago: his body, naked and disfigured, was pulled out of a sewer, and thousands marched in his funeral procession. This history sets the incident against the development of the Irish Republican movement in the United States, which gave money and tactical support to the cause of Irish independence. After Croninandrsquo;s death, the cityandrsquo;s secretive Irish societies came under intense scrutiny, and the public, spurred by a sensationalist press, declared them to be unseemly, dangerous, and unpatriotic.andquot;
Review
andquot;Deftly puts the complicated case in context, showing just how intertwined the histories of Chicago and Ireland are.andquot;
Review
andquot;Oand#39;Brien takes a fresh and compelling look at the case, exploring its origins in a disastrous dispute among Irish nationalists over how to fight the British oppression of their homeland. . . . The book left me thinking about even broader questions. Amid our latest national debates on race and justice, I wondered if anything has fundamentally changed about our appetite for heroes, villains, and instant judgments.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;This is academic writing at its most accessible. . . For those who revel in knowing the human side of often faceless political movements, this book will satisfy.andrdquo;
Review
andquot;The 1889 murder of Patrick Henry Cronin, an Irish-American physician and political activist, was one of the great scandals of late 19th-century US public life. Oandrsquo;Brien . . . recounts the story with enormous verve and gripping detail.andquot;
Synopsis
Who was Dr. Cronin and why did his death transfix nineteenth-century Chicago? Might it have anything to do with Clan na Gael, the Irish and#147;secret societyand#8221; devoted to freeing Ireland from British rule by any means possible? Irish-born Patrick Henry Cronin was a well-respected Chicagoan: a successful physician, an active church member, a popular singer. He was also a member of Clan na Gael. Early in 1889, Cronin had a falling out with the Clanand#8217;s leader, Alexander Sullivan, and not long after that he disappeared. After weeks of feverish speculation in the papers, Croninand#8217;s whereabouts became clear when his naked and beaten body was pulled from a north-side sewerand#151;at which point all hell broke loose in the media, the courts, and the streets. An extensive murder investigation ensued, and many secrets were eventually revealed in a complex tale of murder and justice in Irish Chicago. This is a gripping read, told in an accessible voice, which brings that murky time and place to life for a contemporary audience.
About the Author
Gillian Oandrsquo;Brien is a senior lecturer in history at Liverpool John Moores University. She is coeditor of Georgian Dublin and Portraits of the City: Dublin and the Wider World.
Table of Contents
Cast of Characters
Chronology
Prologue: Requiem
1and#160; and#147;City of Big Shouldersand#8221;: The Convergence of the Clan
2and#160; The United Brotherhood
3and#160; The Dynamite War
4and#160; and#147;Secret Hatredsand#8221;: A Tale of Two Trials
5and#160; and#147;Boys, I Give Upand#8221;
6and#160; and#147;The Darkest and Bloodiest Mysteries of Secret Crimeand#8221;
7and#160; and#147;The Whisper of Silenceand#8221;
8and#160; and#147;Truth in Essentials, Imagination in Non-Essentialsand#8221;: The Press and Public Entertainment
9and#160; and#147;A Theater of Great Sensationsand#8221;
10and#160; and#147;Remember Croninand#8221;
Acknowledgments
Note on Sources
Notes
Organizations and Terms
Bibliography
Index