Irish Migration

What was Irish migration?

Irish migration was when people from Ireland migrated to Britain through the ports of Liverpool and Glasgow. In these cities today there is still a large Irish population. The Irish were one of the largest groups to come to Britain.

When did the Irish migrate?

Irish migration to Britain occurred mainly from the mid 19th century onwards.

Where did the Irish migrate to?

The Irish migrated from Ireland. Many went to places in the British Empire, such as America, Canada and Australia. Many who could not afford to travel so far migrated to England.

Why did the Irish migrate to Britain?

The Irish migrated to Britain for various reasons:

• ❖ In 1846, around one million Irish died during the Irish Potato Famine. Around 1.5 million people migrated from Ireland at this time.
• ❖ The British government refused to help the Irish during the famine, as they considered them no better than savages.
• ❖ One of the reasons for the British attitude towards the Irish was because of religion: most Irish were Catholics, while the British wished to make Ireland a purely Protestant nation.

What jobs did the Irish migrants do?

When the migrant population settled they found many jobs around the country:

• ❖ Some worked as navvies. Navvies were labourers who were employed in the building of railways, roads and canals.
• ❖ Others also got jobs in cotton mills.

What was the British reaction to Irish migration?

Many of the British did not react positively to their new neighbours.

• ❖ The Irish were blamed for any high rates of crime as many of the navvies would get violent when they were drinking.
• ❖ The violence led to the Irish being described as squalid apes rather than human beings.
• ❖ There were religious differences between the Irish Catholics and British Protestants. This sometimes caused violence.
• ❖ People would blame the Irish for causing disease as they lived in poor conditions. For example, the disease typhus was nicknamed 'Irish fever'.
• ❖ The Irish were accused of taking jobs away from Englishmen.
• ❖ In some places, those with Irish accents were prevented from getting jobs.
• ❖ As many Irish labourers did not have regular work, they were sometimes accused of being lazy.

What was the significance of Irish migration to Britain?

These are some of the ways in which Irish migration was significant.

• ❖ Despite differences, many Irish continued to migrate between the 1930s and 1960s. This created strong Irish communities in Liverpool and Birmingham.
• ❖ In the 2001 census, 6 million people were recorded as having Irish parents or grandparents.
• ❖ The navvies helped construct the canals, railways and roads. As a result, they contributed to Britain's rapid economic development.
• ❖ In the early 1800s, around 40% of soldiers in the army were Irish. As a result, they played a major role in the development of the British Empire.
• ❖ The causes of Irish migration contributed to the religious and political divisions in Ireland, and to Irish calls for independence in the late 19th century.
• ❖ This was the background to eventual independence for the Republic of Ireland in 1922.
• ❖ It was also the background to the 'Troubles', when the British government faced threats from Republican groups in Northern Ireland, such as the IRA.