Originally posted by SC:
Here, in the New York City area, there is a large number of marriages between Italian and Irish.I'm not sure how accurate this book is, but The Gangsters by Timothy Jacobs has this to say on Al Capone and Italian/Irish marriges.
...Alphonse met a tall Irish girl named Mae Coughlin. While the Italian and Irish communities as a rule did not smile on one another, it was true that certain circumstances encouraged intermarriage to happen.
Italian boys had no fear of marriage, while Irish boys tended to wait until they were well settled in their occupations. Therefore, marriage anxious Irish girls found an attraction, as did Mae Coughlin, in Italian boys. Alphonse married Mae almost immediately - the ceremony was performed on 18 December 1918.
Seems like a few sweeping generalisations! But I guess his reasoning may be true.
