Higher migration and empire - Immigrants in Scotland - Irish Catholics.pptx

1. Migration &
Empire,
1830-1939
Immigrants in Scotland –
Catholic Irish

2. In today’s class I am learning to:
• Describe the experiences of Irish
Catholic immigrants in Scotland
• Explain why some Scots supported or
opposed Irish Catholic immigration
Immigrants in Scotland – Catholic Irish

3. During the 1800s and 1900s, large numbers of Irish
people made the journey across the Irish Sea to live
in Scotland; most of them were Catholic.
Immigrants in Scotland – Catholic Irish

4. Reasons for
moving
Immigrants in Scotland – Catholic Irish

5. There were various
reasons that Irish Catholics
came to Scotland.
The most well known is
the need to escape the
devastating impact of the
Potato Famine that swept
Europe in the 1840s,
killing around one million
Irish people.
Immigrants in Scotland – Catholic Irish

6. Ireland suffered other
problems too, including
high unemployment and
average wages which were
lower than Scotland.
Many Irish suffered
because of anti-Catholic
laws, including not getting
an education or being
allowed to buy land.
Immigrants in Scotland – Catholic Irish

7. Scotland’s location also
made it an obvious
destination.
It was close to Ireland
which meant a quicker
and cheaper journey. This
was important as many
Irish people were poor
and suffered from ill-
health.
Immigrants in Scotland – Catholic Irish

8. Where they
lived
Immigrants in Scotland – Catholic Irish

9. The Irish population in
Scotland increased
significantly during the
nineteenth century:
• In 1841 there were
around 126,000 Irish-
born people in Scotland.
• By 1881 this had almost
doubled to 219,000.
Immigrants in Scotland – Catholic Irish

10. Many Irish people left to
escape poverty, so they
moved places which had
jobs, or were not too far
from Ireland (meaning
Scotland’s west coast).
Many Irish people who
travelled further did so
because they family and
friends there.
Immigrants in Scotland – Catholic Irish

11. Most Irish Catholics
settled in the west coast of
Scotland, either in
Glasgow, Ayrshire or
Lanarkshire.
They were attracted here
because it was close to the
ports, and also had jobs in
industries such as
factories and mining.
Immigrants in Scotland – Catholic Irish

12. However large numbers of
Irish people did travel to
the north and east coast
of Scotland.
In 1851 Dundee had the
highest proportion of Irish
people anywhere in
Britain, and Edinburgh
attracted large numbers of
Irish migrants too.
Immigrants in Scotland – Catholic Irish

13. Employment
Immigrants in Scotland – Catholic Irish

14. Irish immigration to
Scotland to find work was
not a new thing, and
existed well before the
Potato Famine.
Thousands of Irish people
travelled to Scotland
before this to work in
farming during busy times
such as harvest.
Immigrants in Scotland – Catholic Irish

15. In Glasgow Irish
immigrants often found
work in the city’s
factories. Some worked in
shipyards but anti-Catholic
views often stopped this.
Many Irish people became
dock workers, including in
locations such as
Greenock and Dundee.
Immigrants in Scotland – Catholic Irish

16. Other Irish people
(especially women) went
to Dundee, where there
was a lot of factory work,
especially in the jute
industry.
Edinburgh’s Irish
population was smaller
but included many factory
workers.
Immigrants in Scotland – Catholic Irish

17. Large numbers of Irish
people found jobs working
in heavy industry.
This included mining
communities in Lothian,
Fife, Ayrshire and
Lanarkshire. Other Irish
people worked in the steel
industry in places like
Lanarkshire.
Immigrants in Scotland – Catholic Irish

18. Some Irish people worked
in seasonal jobs, meaning
they moved to various
areas at different times of
the year to find work.
Irish navvies travelled to
help build railways across
Scotland, and others
worked on farms when
they were needed.
Immigrants in Scotland – Catholic Irish

19. Some Irish Catholics had
only a little education
(and often couldn’t speak
English) which meant they
had to take low paid jobs.
This caused resentment
amongst Scots who
believed that they were
losing jobs or wages to
lower paid workers.
Immigrants in Scotland – Catholic Irish

20. Other Catholics found
work by setting up their
own companies and
businesses – which then
create work for other
people too.
Thomas Lipton was the
son of Irish migrants and
set up a tea and shop
business in Glasgow.
Immigrants in Scotland – Catholic Irish

21. Housing
conditions
Immigrants in Scotland – Catholic Irish

22. As many Irish immigrants
were extremely poor, they
often lived in areas with
the poorest quality
housing.
Irish people living in
Scotland faced the same
problems as many Scots,
including overcrowding
and poor sanitation.
Immigrants in Scotland – Catholic Irish

23. By 1871, around 41% of
Irish families in Scotland
lived in single ends (one
roomed houses).
An 1850s government
investigation into housing
conditions studied an Irish
area of Edinburgh and
found 15 people living in
one single end.
Immigrants in Scotland – Catholic Irish

24. Many Irish people lived in
very dirty conditions, with
their homes being poorly
built, often being damp
and draughty.
Irish people would share
toilets with other families,
and often did not even
have running water in
their home.
Immigrants in Scotland – Catholic Irish

25. As a result of living in such
poor conditions, disease
was a problem faced by
many Irish immigrants.
Illnesses such as smallpox,
cholera and tuberculosis
affected their
communities, and were
more easily spread due to
overcrowding.
Immigrants in Scotland – Catholic Irish

26. Some of the poorest
housing also had middens
in the communal back
gardens.
These were open rubbish
dumps (sometimes
including human waste)
and had a terrible smell,
or attracted vermin such
as rats.
Immigrants in Scotland – Catholic Irish

27. Miners often lived in single-
storey cottages which were
built for them.
These were usually one- or
two-roomed homes. Like
single ends, they did not
have indoor toilets.
Shift workers often shared
beds, with one using them
whilst the other worked.
Immigrants in Scotland – Catholic Irish

28. Personal
identity
Immigrants in Scotland – Catholic Irish

29. The Catholic Church was a
major focal point for Irish
communities, especially
those immigrants that had
just arrived in the country.
This was for religious and
social reasons.
The 1800s saw more
Catholic Churches open
across Scotland.
Immigrants in Scotland – Catholic Irish

30. Priests had a very
important role, holding
masses, which let
immigrants continue their
religious belief.
They also helped Irish
immigrants that could only
speak Gaelic or assisted
new immigrants to find
jobs or housing.
Immigrants in Scotland – Catholic Irish

31. The Church ran schools,
which let Catholic children
get an education and
allowed Catholic teachers
to work.
Social events such as
dances also helped
Catholics meet people,
including a possible future
husband or wife.
Immigrants in Scotland – Catholic Irish

32. The church also offered
charity to immigrants,
including food, often given
out at soup kitchens.
Most famously the
Catholic Church started
football teams to provide
more social activities and
also to fund their
charitable work.
Immigrants in Scotland – Catholic Irish

33. Catholic cemeteries were
also opened to allow
people to be buried in line
with their religious beliefs.
This includes St Peter’s
and St Kentigern’s
cemeteries in Glasgow,
and also Mount Vernon
cemetery in Edinburgh.
Immigrants in Scotland – Catholic Irish

34. Relations with
Scots
Immigrants in Scotland – Catholic Irish

35. Irish Catholics that moved
to Scotland often faced a
very negative reception.
Many who arrived in
Scotland were poor so
wore rags, creating anti-
Irish feeling. Other Scots
blamed the Irish for
encouraging poor Scots to
drink too much alcohol.
Immigrants in Scotland – Catholic Irish

36. In Ireland there had been
significant arguments and
even violence between
Catholics and Protestants.
This sometimes continued
to Scotland, including
street battles amongst the
rival groups. All of this
created a negative
impression of the Irish.
Immigrants in Scotland – Catholic Irish

37. Religious differences also
caused arguments with
native Scots.
Many Scots were
Protestant and opposed
to the religious beliefs of
Catholics. They especially
worried about Catholic
loyalty to a ‘foreign leader’
- the Pope.
Immigrants in Scotland – Catholic Irish

38. Some groups worked to
promote Protestantism,
including the Scottish
Reformation Society, and
the Orange Order.
Even the Church of
Scotland published a 1923
report called ‘The menace
of the Irish race to our
Scottish nationality’.
Immigrants in Scotland – Catholic Irish

39. Catholics faced
discrimination in schools,
with Catholic teachers
sometimes finding it
difficult to get a job.
The Catholic Church
opened their own schools,
which were paid for by the
British government from
1918 onwards.
Immigrants in Scotland – Catholic Irish

40. Employment caused major
arguments with Scots.
Many Irish people were
uneducated or low skilled
so worked in low paid
jobs. Some Scots believed
this led to lower wages for
everyone, or said that Irish
workers were often strike
breakers.
Immigrants in Scotland – Catholic Irish

41. Poor living conditions also
created resentment
towards Irish immigrants.
Many Irish incomers lived
in the very poorest
housing where there was
already overcrowding
problems, so the sight of
new arrivals led to Scottish
complaints.
Immigrants in Scotland – Catholic Irish

42. However there were some
people in Scotland that did
welcome more Irish
immigrants.
Scottish Catholics
supported the arrival of
people who shared their
religious beliefs, especially
as it helped the Church to
grow in Scotland.
Immigrants in Scotland – Catholic Irish

43. Irish immigrants were also
welcomed by friends and
family (often the people
that had encouraged them
to move).
Other Scots began to
improve relations with the
Irish when they fought
alongside each other
during the Great War.
Immigrants in Scotland – Catholic Irish

44. Employers also wanted to
see more Irish immigrants,
and indeed sometimes
advertised in Ireland to
attract them to Scotland,
sometimes with the
promise of paid travel.
More workers meant that
there would fewer skills or
labour shortages.
Immigrants in Scotland – Catholic Irish

45. Over time many Irish
people became involved in
trade unions and politics
(such as helping set up the
Scottish Labour Party).
These groups worked to
improve working and
social conditions for
everyone in Scotland,
again improving relations.
Immigrants in Scotland – Catholic Irish

46. In Dumfriesshire and Galloway
there are plenty of Irishmen
ready to take the bread out of
the mouths of our own poor.
An Irishman who lives in a
hovel, feeds on potatoes and
neither clothes or educates his
children, can always work for
less than a Scot. There are too
many people who employ only
the cheapest workers and do
not think of the consequences.
The Dumfries Courier, 1845
Immigrants in Scotland – Catholic Irish
In our opinion, the Irish have as
much right to come to our
country to better their lives as
the Scots and English have to go
to Ireland or any other part of
Britain for the same reason. Let
us hear no more complaints
about the influx of Irish having a
bad effect on Scotland unless it
is to do something about
tackling the problems which
causes the emigration.
The Glasgow Courier, 1830

47. Immigrants in Scotland – Catholic Irish
Irish
Catholics
Personal
identity
Employment
Housing

48. Immigrants in Scotland – Catholic Irish
Irish
Catholics
Reasons for
moving
Personal
identity
Employment
Housing

49. Immigrants in Scotland – Catholic Irish
Irish
Catholics
Reasons for
moving
Relations
with Scots
Personal
identity
Employment
Housing