Again, excellent info... I shall look for the books. Jean, can you recommend a specific journal/periodical that deals with the movement of Irish people to Britain in the 19th Century? Susan Canada ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jean R." <jeanrice@cet.com> To: <IRISH-IN-UK-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, May 04, 2006 9:02 AM Subject: [UK-Irish] On Irish Emigration > SNIPPET: Researchers interested in Irish emigration might look to D. H. > AKENSON's book "The Irish Diaspora: A Primer" (1993) and David > FITZPATRICK's "Irish Emigration, 1801-1921," (1984), in addition to many > others. > > Per Mr. AKENSON: Emigration as a concept in Irish historical writing and > social criticism has a set of connotations and contextual limitations > different from those which generally apply to European writing. In the > world literature, migration, which means out-migration, is joined to > in-migration (or immigration) to cover the general phenomenon of human > movement, usually permanent, from one region or nation to another. The > conceptual apparatus is not, for the most part, emotionally loaded and, > therefore, dispassionate 'laws' (or, at least, tendencies) for worldwide > migration have been articulated by historians and social observers. > > 'Emigration' from Ireland, however, departs from this world-based > conceptual structure in several ways. First, emigration is rarely seen as > being part of a general migration process in which in-migration is > recognized as being as important as out-migration. Secondly, emigration > is usually treated as a singularly Irish phenomenon and not as part of > larger processes which, in fact, affected all of Western Europe during the > same period. Third, emigration in much (though not all) of the literature > is treated as something tragic, or as something for which the nation > should be ashamed. A synthetic layer of 'exile' is cast over the entire > phenomenon, even though it is clear that the majority of those who > emigrated from Ireland did so as part of a set of conscious decisions > which, in most cases, improved their life-chances. > > Historians of emigration in Ireland have yet to resolve two central issues > of debate. the first is the extent to which emigrants from Ireland were > selected. That is, did the best leave, or the dregs, and what does the > answer mean for understanding the Irish society which the emigrants left > behind? The second question is whether or not the large-scale migration > hurt Ireland economically. On the one hand, economic historians point > out the surplus labourers were siphoned off, thus reducing the number of > economically dependent individuals. A counter-argument suggests that the > individuals who left were those most likely to have been the recipients of > social investment (especially primary education) and that their emigration > effectively exported to other nations the Irish social capital invested in > them. > > Although emigration from Ireland began in the pre-Christian era, it became > a large-scale phenomenon only in the age of the first English empire, with > considerable (but untallied) numbers leaving Ireland during the 17th and > 18th centuries, sometimes for the Continent (the European mainland), more > often for the British colonies in the western hemisphere. > > Mass emigration, however, began only at the close of the revolutionary and > Napoleonic wars. Although sizeable emigration continues to the present > day, the era of mass emigration from Ireland was from 1815 to the > beginning of the First World War. A reasonable estimate is that between > 1801 and 1921 at least 8 million Irish men, women, and children > permanently left the country. Thus, the claim made by President Mary > ROBINSON, in December 1990, that there are over all the world 70 million > persons who claim as part of their cultural heritage at least partial > Irish descent, is not excessive. > > As for destinations, a simple formulation is that, prior to the Great > Famine (1845-9) Canada was the most common destination for Irish > emigrants; between the Famine and the First World War, it was the United > States of America; thereafter, it was Great Britain. > > Among the most notable characteristics of Irish emigration from 1815 to > the present day is that (uniquely among European nations) Irish women were > as large a part of the emigrant stream as were Irish men. This had > implications both for Ireland (unlike most European countries, a surplus > of single females did not develop) and for the new homelands: the numbers > of women were sufficiently balanced to make it possible for Irish-born > persons to marry within their own ethnic group. > > Per S. J. CONNOLLY - Australia received only about 5 per cent of the > emigrants who left Ireland during the 19th century. These, however, made > up nearly a quarter of all immigrants during that period. A proportion of > Irish arrivals came by transportation, many of them being joined > subsequently by wives and children. Of the remainder, a majority received > some form of government assistance towards the cost of a long and > expensive journey. The largest groups of emigrants came from a group of > south-midland counties (Kilkenny, Tipperary, Limerick, Clare) and from > south and central Ulster (Cavan, Fermanagh, Tyrone). Irish immigration > peaked during the gold rush of the 1850s and fell off sharply after the > 1880s. > > Reliance on assisted passage meant that settlement in Australia was > determined less by pressures in Ireland than by the needs of the colony: > there was, in particular, no great surge of migrants during the Great > Famine. Closer official regulation may also help to explain why Irish > settlers in Australia were more evenly distributed, both geographically > and in terms of occupation and social status, than was initially the case > in the United States and elsewhere. In addition their status as the > second largest ethnic group (after the English) made them less vulnerable > to discrimination. > > The legend of bushranger Ned KELLY (1854-80), along with overemphasis on > transportation as a route to Australia, has encouraged a stereotype of > outcast rebelliousness. Mid-19th-century statistics reveal that Irishmen > were indeed over-represented among convicted criminals, but also within > the police force. Most of the Irish born who achieved prominence in the > early decades of Australian history were from the Protestant middle and > upper classes, like Sir Richard BOURKE, governor of New South Wales > 1831-8. However, Michael DWYER, Gavan DUFFY, and Daniel MANNIX, in their > different ways, provided examples of what was to become an increasingly > well-established pattern of pragmatic assimilation. In politics, the > Irish of Australia strongly supported home rule for Ireland, but showed > less enthusiasm for the separatist republicanism that later displaced it. > > > ==== IRISH-IN-UK Mailing List ==== > To unsub or change your subscription: > http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/other/Ethnic-Irish/IRISH-IN-UK.html > > ============================== > Search the US Census Collection. Over 140 million records added in the > last 12 months. 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