Migration from Ireland

The following information comes courtesy of Jane Lyons and others on the Yahoo Ireland Discussion Group.

Margaret gives a figure of 23,904 to Australia & New Zealand during 1848 and the figures have always fascinated me (there's a drop for most counties about 1880-1890 and an increase again).............the change in them - though I only have from 1861 forwards.

Take a look at this: and it's Ireland only - not Britain as a whole

1861
Antrim: 77,516 (includes those for city of Belfast)
Armagh: 29,496
Carlow: 10,713
Cavan: 36,502
Clare: 50,033
Cork: 148,009
Donegal: 38,260
Down: 47,906 (includes figures for Belfast)
Dublin: 25,755
Fermanagh: 17,372
Galway: 50,838
Kerry: 54,672
Kildare: 12,257
Kilkenny: 34,010
Leitrim: 16,820
Laois: 19.886 (Quen's/Leix)
Limerick: 62,173
Londonderry: 27,738
Longford: 14,577
Louth: 17,091
Mayo: 29,317
Meath: 23,297
Monaghan: 26,842
Offaly: 21.061 (King's)
Roscomon: 27,756
Sligo: 13,328
Tipperary: 81,068
Tyrone: 39,629
Waterford: 38,383
Westmeath: 18,587
Wexford: 27,053

Makes for something to think about when one sees them as a whole I haven't added it up - counties that were hit badly by the famine are probably those with the higher figures - Antrim and Cork are highest - whether or not those who left Ireland from Belfast and Cork were included a second time somewhere along the line may account for how high these two are compared to all the others, though Cork is our biggest county. The Dublin figures are surprisingly low.

It would be interesting to know how many of these went to Australia and New Zealand.

and it's an eye-opener or to me unimaginable to think of this number of people leaving Ireland in one year - and not only that - there seems to be about a 10-20,000 drop in the figure for each county ten years later and then the figures leaving in 1881 are about the same as 1871 for most counties.

A heck of a lot of Irish spreading their wings!!

---

Irish immigrants to USA in 1840's was about 700,000
.......................................1850's was1,000,000
.......................................1860 through 1914, 2.4million
I don't have figures for earlier, but it was substantial, in the hundreds of thousands.

Italian immigrants to USA before 1880 was about 70,000
...............................................1880 through 1900 was about 800,000
.................................................1900 through 1914 was 3million

About half of Italian -Americans still live within 100 miles of New York City.

All of this plus approximately 6 to 8 million Germans over the last 5 centuries plus the Dutch, English, Scots, Poles. etc.

According to a speaker from the National Archives I heard, more white Americans are descended from German and/or Irish immigrants than any other European groups. Personally, I know almost no-one who is purely of one descent. I'm descended from at least 6 nationalities myself, though mostly Irish and German. As each new wave of immigration took place, they went through the usual hardships and travails, but, a generation or two down the line, some pretty girl or handsome boy swept someone off their feet and despite parental disapproval, religious differences and the rest, love won out. It makes for an interesting cultural mix and I think it is may be difficult for Europeans to get the feel of it. Perhaps easier for Australians? John Schroeter