The Irish Diaspora

The Irish Diaspora encompasses all descendants of the original emigrants of Ireland, living abroad. The Irish diaspora was initially motivated in part due to Protestant Ascendancy in the early 17th century (Brighton). Ireland was under English rule and the indigenous Irish Catholic majority was subordinated by an immigrant Protestant minority, forcing many to relocate west or emigrate to the West Indies (Brighton). In the early 1800s, the Irish population was rapidly growing reaching eight million on the small island (Untold Stories). However, the system the British established left land in control of a very small minority of landowners forcing many to live in impoverished conditions (Untold Stories). As Brighton explains "the rural poor class formed the largest numbers of Irish population and held the least amount of land." Due to the resilience of the potato, introduced to Ireland during the Age of Conquest, people moved east to west from good land to poor soil and eventually three million "potato people" lived in Ireland, receiving 90% of their caloric intake from the root (Untold Stories). Unfortunately, this reliance set the stage for a famine of unparalleled proportion. An Ghorta Mor, or the Great Famine, occurred when the potato crop was ruined three times by fungus from 1845 to 1849. The Famine was exacerbated by the delayed reaction of the British government and led to mass evictions by the ruling class as it was a cheaper alternative that coping with starving laborers (Untold Stories). Furthermore, not only were people dying of starvation, but disease and infection spread almost instantaneously through the already weakened population (Untold Stories). With two million people (a quarter of the population of the time) either having died or left the country, the famine easily served as "the defining event in the history of modern Ireland," (Untold Stories). By 1890, two of every five Irish-born people lived outside of Ireland and by 1900 the population had almost halved, never regaining pre-famine level (Untold Stories). Also, with the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922, through the 1970s, another 1.5 million Irish left. As Brighton illustrates in his archaeological research; "the Famine period and the decades following is a time in Irish history that marks the largest global dispersal with the totality of the Irish Diaspora and had the greatest impact on the creation of Irish heritage of injustice and exile." For many years in North America, the Irish were not privileged with equal rights or job opportunities of the rest of the white population, being labeled "not white," further limiting their social status and mobility. The contemporary socio-economic situation of the Irish has prevented full understanding of the emigration of Irish people. This is significant part of the debate as to whether or not this dispersal should be considered a diaspora at all. However, I think the only reason it is even remotely being debated is because of conflict and issues with the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, and England because of England's flawed colonization and ruling strategies in the 19th century. Because of England's higher status in global economics and politics, they have a much more dominant voice and could easily argue against calling this emigration a diaspora because British involvement in Irish history would not be portrayed positively whatsoever. 

More positively, the Irish diaspora has led to a large population in America and the celebration of St. Patrick's Day around the globe. Of particular personal importance,  due to the potato famine, thousands of Irish moved to New Orleans and are considered to have saved Louisiana as there wouldn't have been any way to survive without their hard work and diligent farming along the Mississippi River. Additionally, in my research, the internet was very proud to report the many famous members or descendants of the Irish diaspora:

Henry Ford

Presidents Kennedy, Nixon, Carter, Reagan, Both Bush Sr. and Jr., Clinton, and Barack Obama

Che Guevara

Princess Diana

Muhammad Ali. 

The Irish diaspora has had a permanent effect on global culture by the single fact that without Irish emigration there would be no Beatles (Untold Stories).

Hopefully, in the future, more time will be invested in understanding the history of the Irish and the cultural and political impact they have had on the countries in which they now live. 

Works Cited

• Brighton, Stephen A. "The Irish Diaspora and the Creation of an Irish-American Heritage." Irish Heritage. University of Maryland Department of Anthropology, 1 Jan. 2005. Web. 13 Apr. 2015. <http://www.heritage.umd.edu/chrsweb/Ireland/ireland.htm>.
• "Welcome to Untold Stories." Untold Stories. The Leeds Irish Community : Emigration & The Irish Diaspora. Untold Stories. Web. 13 Apr. 2015. <http://www.untoldstories.co.uk/emigration.do>.
• Doyle, Henry. Emigrants Leave Ireland. Digital image. Wikipedia. 31 Dec. 1867. Web.