Thomasena Shaw

First wave

The first wave of Irish immigration was from 1715 to 1845. In this time period, over 200,000 Ulster Presbyterians fled Northern Ireland to America. Of these 200,000 immigrants ten percent ended up in New England and Boston. The primary reason they fled Northern Ireland was due to the English Penal Laws. These laws discriminated against them and their religion by setting penalties and other inconveniences on those who did not accept the Church of Ireland. In addition to this, things like drought, increases in rent prices, taxes and a poor harvest were all factors in their decision to leave. They were also promised land in Massachusetts by the governor at the time, which incentivized them to come over, particularly to Massachusetts.

Second Wave

The second and most famous wave of Irish immigration occurred from 1845 to 1914. The main reason for immigration was the result of the Irish Potato Famine. Many people in Ireland relied on potatoes as a food source, so when potato blight infected most of the country's potato crops, which had a detrimental effect. During this time the population of Ireland decreased by 25%. Around one million was due to deaths and the other million due to emigration. Also, as a result of the famine and related economic hardships, a total of 6 million people left Ireland between 1841-1900.

Current Immigration

In recent times, immigration from Ireland to America is mostly a result of greater job opportunities offered in America and higher education opportunities. Today in America, most notably in Boston, there are large communities of Irish people and the Irish culture is widely known and appreciated.