Irish immigrants/ migration and empire

Question 1

Problems in Ireland

Answer 1

Ireland’s population doubled.This reduced how much land was available and Ireland struggled to produce enough food to feed the population.
The huge growth in population meant that many people could not find work in Ireland.
The Industrial Revolution in Britain meant that British factories could produce goods cheaper which affected demand for Irish goods.
Very few Irish owned their own land, which meant they could be evicted or forced to pay higher rents.
Tenant farmers had to pay rent. This meant that most Irish farm workers lived in poverty.
Many of the laws at that time in Ireland were British laws and were biased against Catholics.
Between 1845 and 1848 a potato blight struck the harvest in Ireland and this resulted in the ‘Great Famine’.

Question 2

Experiences of Irish immigrants

Answer 2

Some Scots complained about Irish people taking their jobs.
Irish were poorly educated and worked in low paid jobs. Many experienced very poor living conditions.
Poor housing and sanitation led to diseases such as cholera, typhus and tuberculosis.
Protestant Irish immigrants were welcomed by Scots due to the similarity of their religion to the Church of Scotland.
Some Scots did not welcome the Catholic Irish immigrants who faced hostility from the Church of Scotland and some Scottish employers favoured Protestant immigrants.

Question 3

Impact of Irish immigration on Scotland

Answer 3

Irish labourers built much of the infrastructure in Scotland including roads, bridges, canals and factories.

Irish immigrants supplied seasonal labour in agriculture, eg picking fruit and harvesting potatoes.
Irish immigrants made up large part of workforce in textile industry/jute mills in Dundee, cotton mills elsewhere.
Irish immigrants worked extensively in coalmines, ironworking and steelmaking.
Many Irish immigrants were employed in docks and in shipyards on Clydeside.
Irish immigrants helped to develop football such as Celtic and Hibernian.

Question 4

Influence of the Catholic Church

Answer 4

Maintaining catholic identity - Church was the centre of social life for many Irish immigrants, such as dances, fetes and celebrations such as St Patrick’s Day.
supporting catholic immigrants-Parish priests helped with writing letters, finding work and accommodation.

Problems Experienced by Irish Catholics- The Catholic Irish faced hostility from the Church of Scotland.