TV goes Irish: Shows defy, embrace stereotypes

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Updated: August 4, 2011 4:20PM

Begorrah, it’s a fine day to reflect that just 10 years ago, Irish-Americans on TV were represented by a sitcom called “The Fighting Fitzgeralds.”

Produced by Ed Burns and starring Brian Dennehy, the show had a surplus of stereotypes. In the first episode, one character takes his brother Patrick to a bar: “He’s sad,” he explained. “It’s happy hour. We’re Irish. Do the math, Dad.” There’s a brawl — at the pub, naturally. But by the end of the episode, everyone has reconciled. At the pub.

Sure, there are Irish stereotypes on TV today, but they’re infinitely more subtle. “It’s pretty safe to watch TV now,” says Kathy O’Neill of Chicago’s Irish American Heritage Center. “Much better than walking down the greeting card aisle, at least. You just think, ‘Oh no, they did not put this on a St. Patrick’s Day Card.’”

No longer do the Irish get a token role as the neighborhood “Lucky Charms” bartender. The Reagans (“Blue Bloods”), the Gallaghers (“Shameless”) and the Gavins (“Rescue Me”) represent the sprawling Irish-American family. The Irish mob is making a comeback on “The Chicago Code,” and “30 Rock’s” Jack Donaghy is a proud, self-made success story descended from “whiskey testers and goblins.”

Why so many Irish?

“In this politically correct society, you can point out their ethnicity without people having a heart attack,” says Colin Quinn, possibly the only “Saturday Night Live” vet to have a Gerry Adams impression.

Here are the best current shows to have Irish-American characters, and take heart: Only one of them has featured leprechauns.

Full disclosure: My mom’s a Connor.

‘30 Rock,’ NBC

If Jack Donaghy weren’t Irish, would he still have become NBC’s (fictional) Vice President of East Coast Television and Microwave Programming? No way, says O’Neill. “He’s Boston Irish, absolutely charming, and it’s what helped him rise to the top,” she says. “His ancestors are from the little-known County Steve.” (No, there isn’t really a County Steve.)

As played by Alec Baldwin, who has a bit of a temper himself, Jack is a scrapper who has named his fists after St. Patrick and St. Michael. He interned for Sen. Ted Kennedy at an impressionable age and has already written Jack Attack: The Art of Aggression in Business. His only failure thus far? Donaghy Estates, a Long Island winery. Its vintage was reviewed as tasting like “the urine of Satan after a hefty portion of asparagus.”

‘Shameless,’ Showtime

William H. Macy plays patriarch Frank Gallagher, who is a bum by anyone’s definition: a drunk who has largely abandoned his kids, he relies on disability checks after he faked an accident at a poultry slaughterhouse. But Macy prefers to think of the beer mug as half full. “He loves to have a good time,” says Macy. “He’s resourceful. He loves life.”

When he’s not passed out, Frank likes to go off on long political rants that would be positively Shakespearian if they made any sense. “Sheenian” is probably a better description. “Insane as his rants are, they’re erudite in their own way, in their profanity,” says Macy. If you haven’t made Frank’s acquaintance yet, there’s still time: “Shameless” has been renewed for a second season.

‘The Chicago Code,’ Fox

The main villains in this series are a powerful alderman — and the Irish mob. “Wow, they haven’t shaken me down lately,” O’Neill says, confirming that in real life there’s no Irish mob in Chicago.

But the idea’s not so far-fetched, insists Eamonn McDonagh, a Chicago-based actor from County Ros­com­mon who appeared on the show with Jennifer Beals. A while back, he says, “all the mobs were Irish.” It was really a matter of survival for the newly arrived immigrants, he says, who couldn’t get jobs from prejudiced locals. Eventually Al Capone took over in Chicago, with a new brand of savage violence. “The Irish weren’t as cold-blooded as Capone’s gang,” says McDonagh.

‘Blue Bloods,’ CBS

And what happened to the Irish mobsters? “They became legal gangsters,” laughs McDonagh, “like policemen. The Irish like to keep one step ahead.” On “Blue Bloods,” though, the Reagan family is sincere in its commitment to law and order. Patriarch Frank is the chief of police, while one son is a police detective and another a beat cop. His daughter, Erin, is an assistant district attorney. One of his kids died in the line of duty.

“You should believe in something you keep fighting for, no matter what,” says Danny (Donnie Wahlberg) to his kids. “That’s what your grandpa taught me. ... I guess that means catching the bad guys is the right thing to do.”

‘Entourage,’ HBO

Eric “E” Murphy, the best friend and manager of movie star Vince on “Entourage,” is a particularly favorite character of O’Neill’s. “They were boyhood friends from Queens, and E is completely, fiercely loyal,” she says. “He’s gone from working in Sbarro’s to going up against these slick Hollywood types, and proven himself. He’s compromised nothing.”

Eric is played by Kevin Connolly with a mixture of street savvy and idealism. Amidst the over-the-top characters of Jeremy Piven and Kevin Dillon, E is the voice of reason. “No matter how successful he gets, he’s still an Irishman from Queens,” says O’Neill. “He’s somebody I think I would know.”

‘Boardwalk Empire,’ HBO

Finally, leprechauns! In addition to having an Irish immigrant heroine (played by Kelly Macdonald), this critically worshipped series devoted an episode to St. Patrick’s Day. Nucky Thompson hosts a Celtic Dinner for political bigwigs, but the festivities are threatened when the little people who are supposed to dance as leprechauns balk at the humiliation. Until Nucky gives them a raise.

“I don’t even understand how people can be offended about leprechauns,” Quinn points out. “They don’t exist! They’re stereotypes about what? We’re not particularly short.”

‘Rescue Me,’ FX

Firefighter Tommy Gavin, played by show creator Denis Leary, treats his life as an Irish wake for his fallen 9/11 brethren. He’s a lapsed Catholic and a spectacularly relapsed alcoholic, who turns his intervention into a bacchanal. He’s haunted by the ghost of his son — who was killed by a drunk driver — and hallucinates Jesus on a fairly regular basis. Tommy is tortured and tragic, but has never lost his fight or his sense of humor.

The writing is brilliant, but when Tommy says, “Kiss my boney, white, Irish ass!” it’s just as effective.

Don’t miss this upcoming season seven. The series finale is set for Sept. 6.