Irishtown Bend is an area of Cleveland, Ohio, USA located along the Cuyahoga River in the Flats. It encompassed roughly the area from West 25th Street east to the river north of Detroit Road. The swampy area was developed during the 1830s by immigrant Irish who came to the area as laborers for the construction of the city's railways and canal. Many soon found work on the bustling city docks, or in the growing industries. The area was characterized by the extreme poverty of the outcast Irish, the majority of whom lived in nothing more than flimsy shacks on the hill side above the river. The constant threat of disease in the swampy land along the river and the backbreaking work most engaged in made life in Irishtown tough. Life was centered on 10- to 12-hour work days, their community, the p