Irish Immigration Summary Causes of Irish Immigration Irish

Irish Immigration

Summary

Causes of Irish Immigration Irish emigration began with the religious persecutions in XVIth and XVIIth centuries. Some people fled protestant authorities from England went to European countries such as France or Spain. But in the XVIIIth people left Ireland for economic reasons : poor people went to England to find a job whereas one third of emigrants went to America.

During the Napoleonic wars, the English Army had many Irish soldiers. But it was after the Napoleonic wars that we can speak about a “massive emigration”. Between 1815 and 1845 one million Irish people went to America. This phenomenon was made bigger by the Great Famine.

In fact, between 1845 and 1854, around two million three hundred thousand Irish people emigrated to flee the famine caused by a bad crop of potatoes. 80% of these immigrants went to The United States, others went to English colonies. People embarking in a boat to cross the Atlantic Ocean.

This “massive emigration” went on for 40 years until the beginning of World War I. This event stopped the flux of emigration from Ireland with American immigration restrictions and the economic crisis of 1929. W. W. I. reduced the Irish emigration.

But Irish emigration began once more with World War II. Irish Workers had to help the English industries in the war effort. So thousands of people emigrated to England to build tanks, planes, and ammunition. Irish people in an ammunition plant.

The emigration flux continued during the 1960 s and 1980 s because of the difficult Irish economic situation.

Consequences in the world Now, between fifteen and twenty millions Americans are of Irish origin. But the most surprising is that New York has more Irish people than the Irish capitals, Dublin and Belfast. > New York is more populated with Irish people than Dublin.