Scottish History
The Irish have been both frequent visitors to and permanent settlers into Scotland for hundreds of years. The 18th century saw many seasonal agricultural workers crossing the Irish Sea to earn money during the harvest months before returning home to Ireland. By the later years of this same century and into the early decades of the 19th century, more skilled workers, especially from the Ulster linen and textile working trades, were drawn to similar industries in Scotland's growing towns and cities. Sugar refining, coal mining, tanning and other arduous lines of work also had their employee ranks swelled by Irish immigrants too.
Then came the Great Hunger and the flow of unskilled and desperate Irish into Scotland increased rapidly. As the majority of these were poor Roman Catholic Irish, strongly Presbyterian Scotland proved to be none too welcoming I'm afraid. Victorian industrialists on the other hand thought it a tremendously good idea that the Irish were prepared to work for lower wages or be thrown into the fight against well-organised and unionised indigenous labour. There is also some evidence that skilled Scots decided to try their luck in further flung Empire outposts such as New Zealand in large numbers at this time and thus also created opportunities for Irish workers to take their places.
Much has of course been written on the subject (click any of the book covers for more information.) I also found a couple of links to some academic works that examined the history between the Irish and the Scots.
“A History of the Scottish People - Migration: Scotland’s Shifting Population 1840-1940” WW Knox
Out of print document published on the SCRAN website (part of Historic Environment Scotland) - see Section 4 in particular for a discussion of Irish immigration into Scotland.
“The Irish Famine in a Scottish Perspective 1845-1851” Geraldine Vaughan
A research paper published in English on a French Canadian site - don't panic, it's not all in French - scroll down for the English text!
There have also been a fair few books written on the subject - one lent to me by a fellow Irish genie entitled "The Irish Diaspora in Britain, 1750-1939" by Donald M. MacRaild (2nd Edn, Palgrave Macmillan, 2011) is a comprehensive academic work on the subject.
Then came the Great Hunger and the flow of unskilled and desperate Irish into Scotland increased rapidly. As the majority of these were poor Roman Catholic Irish, strongly Presbyterian Scotland proved to be none too welcoming I'm afraid. Victorian industrialists on the other hand thought it a tremendously good idea that the Irish were prepared to work for lower wages or be thrown into the fight against well-organised and unionised indigenous labour. There is also some evidence that skilled Scots decided to try their luck in further flung Empire outposts such as New Zealand in large numbers at this time and thus also created opportunities for Irish workers to take their places.
Much has of course been written on the subject (click any of the book covers for more information.) I also found a couple of links to some academic works that examined the history between the Irish and the Scots.
“A History of the Scottish People - Migration: Scotland’s Shifting Population 1840-1940” WW Knox
Out of print document published on the SCRAN website (part of Historic Environment Scotland) - see Section 4 in particular for a discussion of Irish immigration into Scotland.
“The Irish Famine in a Scottish Perspective 1845-1851” Geraldine Vaughan
A research paper published in English on a French Canadian site - don't panic, it's not all in French - scroll down for the English text!
There have also been a fair few books written on the subject - one lent to me by a fellow Irish genie entitled "The Irish Diaspora in Britain, 1750-1939" by Donald M. MacRaild (2nd Edn, Palgrave Macmillan, 2011) is a comprehensive academic work on the subject.
For a very human take on Scottish history, I can thoroughly recommend the works of T. C. Smout. He wrote several books, of which I own 3 well-thumbed second hand volumes. Until you understand more about the forces and events that have shaped Scottish society, you won't fully understand why some records take the form that they do. The Scottish Voices book is a particularly lovely collection of history woven through with verbatim anecdotes and quotes that will make the lives of your ancestors come alive with commentary from the past. All 4 books appear to be available to borrow on the Internet Archive, where you will have to create a free account and log in to view all the pages. Click on any of the cover images below to access them.
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For perhaps a more widely available well-written history of Scotland, consult the pages of Tom Devine's The Scottish Nation, 1700-2000. This is the edition I own, but I think there may be a more recent version. Professor Devine has also written several other specific books on aspects of Scottish history which you may find interesting if you like his style - check out his list of publications to see if there is a topic covered relevant to your research. For example, he has written about the Clearances as well as the global Scottish diaspora.
You will find numerous other books on all aspects of Scottish history, so pick an author you think you are going to enjoy reading. For example, I have a couple of other very readable Scottish histories - one by Neil Oliver which supported a television series and another by Magnus Magnusson of Mastermind fame.
You will find numerous other books on all aspects of Scottish history, so pick an author you think you are going to enjoy reading. For example, I have a couple of other very readable Scottish histories - one by Neil Oliver which supported a television series and another by Magnus Magnusson of Mastermind fame.
Read On... Scottish Geography
(c) Irish Geneaography - 2025
