Irish Hills Is Not the Most Irish Place in Michigan
Everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's day, and you'd think an area called "Irish Hills" would have the most descendants from the Emerald Isle, but you'd be wrong.
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again,
may God hold you in the palm of His hand.
-Traditional Irish blessing
It seems like a slam dunk that an area named Irish Hills would be the most Irish place in the state of Michigan. It's aptly named, beautiful countryside in the southeast part of the state. NASCAR fans flock to the Irish Hills to Michigan International Speedway twice a year to see the spectacle of 200+ mph racing. The Faster Horses festival brings in country music fans for what has become one of the nation's premier events. Although Irish immigrants settled this area in about 1830-50, it is not the most Irish place in Michigan.
The answer lies not far away in Hamburg Township, Michigan. As the name suggests, it was settled by Germans in 1837, but Hamburg is now 47.36% Irish. Not only is that tops in Michigan, but it is also #23 in the country for the highest percentage of Irish population.
Kalamazoo lands at #460 in Michigan at 10.11% and Battle Creek is #427 with 10.42%. The highest-ranking cities in southwest Michigan for Irish include Hickory Corners (16),
Scott’s (25), Coloma (34), and Augusta (43) all making the Top 50 in Michigan.