It's kind of interesting, although anti-Irish sentiment was so long ago that it seems irrelevant. You can still find old signs on eBay that say NO IRISH NEED APPLY that have been saved, and old pulps and comics are full of the incredibly stupid Irish cop stereotype.
I know what you mean about MAD sometimes being sadder than funny, but the old NATIONAL LAMPOON had them beat. They once had a gallery of comic strip characters done as realistic paintings. Henry, Popeye (deformed because of the Bends), Little Orphan Annie (with cataracts). It caused a twinge of sympathy rather than a laugh.