By just taking a walk through the city of San Francisco, you will be reminded of the Irish heritage that is a predominant part of the city. Many of the streets are named after the influential Irish of the eighteenth and nineteenth century. Examples include O' Farrell Street, Hayes Street, O'Shaughnessy Street, McCoppin Street, Phelan Street and Downey Street. Furthermore the Irish are responsible for some of the great buildings in the city, such as the Flood building, the Phelan building and the Fairmount Hotel.

The first Irish contingent to arrive in the West Coast was not as everyone imagines during the Famine era, but during the late seventeenth century and early eighteenth century. This was the period when many left Ireland because of the Penal laws.

By 1870 the population of San Francisco had grown to 100,000, one third of whom were Irish. One in every three Irish men at this time owned real estate. In 1859 the Irish were the only National group to have a banking institution of its own. The Hibernian Savings and Loan Bank, set up by James Phelan, enabled the ambitious Irish to engage in business and industry. The San Francisco Directory of 1875 is a proof of their success; Irish businesses dominated it.

Many of the Irish who struck gold in the fields during the Gold rush reinvested their money into land, farming, dairying and stock raising. Often it was the Irish who were the pioneer farmers in clearing the land and planting the first crops in virgin Californian soil. At this time the Irish lived in areas such as Southpark, Rincon Hill, Happy Valley (site of the Palace Hotel) and the Inner Mission where they engaged in small-scale farming.

James Phelan was one of the more renowned Irishmen in this era. Originally from Laois, he and his family immigrated to New York. Survival in the city around this time was very tough. James was forced to move to Ohio where he went from being a grocery clerk apprentice to a retail owner. When he heard news of the Gold rush, he dispersed his holdings and bought a huge quantity of goods that he knew would be in demand in San Francisco. This is how he made his fortune. He was responsible for the first Gold Bank in the state as well as the first national bank. His name lives on in the form of the Phelan Building constructed by him and the street named after him.

Another influential Irish man in this era was Tom Hayes originating from Roscarberry, Co. Cork. Hayes was the brain behind the first form of transport in the city; the railroad from Market Street to Mission Dolores. Hayes owned the land where in present day the Civic Center buildings are situated. In 1861 Tom Hayes constructed the first outdoor recreational park, namely Hayes Park.

Another Cork man, Smith O’Brien was the architect behind the Monadock Building, the Hamboldt Bank and the Rialto.

The Irish in San Francisco were also predominant in the political sphere. In 1867 Frank McCoppin from Co. Longford was elected Mayor of San Francisco. Another Irish man, David Broderick arrived in San Francisco after unsuccessful attempts to get into the political circle in New York. By 1849 he was elected as a State senator and in 1851 he became President of the Senate.