On Friday morning, one resident of an apartment building on East Sixth Street found a strange message scrawled on the front door in light blue marker.  It reads: 1776 No Irish Need Apply.

The odd message is referencing two historical things.  1776 – the year America celebrated independence from England, and the second is an anti-Irish sentiment popular in the mid-1850s when Boston saw a huge wave of immigration, and the Irish were arriving in droves. Fleeing the devastating Potato Famine, thousands made their way across the Atlantic, landing in Boston in search of a fresh start and a better life. The Irish were the largest immigrant group in Boston by 1850.

Because of this, the Irish suffered discrimination when applying for jobs, and you could often read this anti-Irish saying, “No Irish Need Apply” or “Irish Need Not Apply” in job postings in newspapers and storefronts.

As to why this message was scrawled on the window of the front door of an apartment building in South Boston in 2025, it has us scratching our heads.  Also, what does No Irish Need Apply have to do with 1776?

South Boston has deep roots when it comes to Irish immigration. My great-grandparents, James Dahill and Julia Kenneally, came to South Boston in the late 1890s.  My grandfather, also James “Jim” Dahill, was born here in 1905. There is a park named in his honor at Castle Island. The James F. Dahill Harborview Park leads out to the fish pier at the end of the green space behind Sullivan’s. 

Irish immigrants also built a small but sturdy brick chapel was nearly 200 years ago. They named it St. Augustine, and through the centuries, it has stood the test of time. It is the oldest Catholic church still standing in Massachusetts.

So what exactly does this message on the front door mean? You’re guess is as good as mine.  Most likely just crazy nonsense. But someone took the time to deface public property with this message.  Which is very strange.