If the Irish became "White", why are they still overwhelmingly Catholic? The religious affiliation of the Catholic Irish in no way endeared them to the Protestant Establishment. The Irish also created the Catholic school system in this country. How did that square with becoming part of the "White" establishment. The fact is that the Irish remained Irish and became the most affluent ethnic group in this country. Why settle for being "White" when you can be Irish? A non-Irish person could never understand this and Ignatiev is laughably out of his depth. The Mumia Abu Jamal endorsement doesn't help either, this genius never finished high school,killed an IRISH-AMERICAN police officer,and has been in prison for almost 30 years successfully ducking a death sentence.th