COMING INTO CLOVER is a groundbreaking documentary film that traces the evolution of cinematic representations of Ireland and the Irish in early American cinema. From the birth of the medium in 1895 until the full emergence of the so-called Hollywood system in 1917, these images underwent a fascinating evolution with the crude “stage Irish” stereotypes of Paddy and Bridget steadily giving way to a more positive and diverse set of representations beginning in the early- to mid-teens.

Central to this transformation was an increasingly powerful and influential class of Irish-Americans who actively protested demeaning images of the ill-tempered Hibernian laborer and his female counterpart, the dimwitted maid. In their stead they demanded a new set of images reflecting the realities of Irish-America and the increasing social mobility of its members.

The result was the emergence of a set of representational and narrative conventions that would define Hollywood’s image of the Irish for next three decades.