6. What problems did the Irish experience in Scotland?

This Orange Lodge banner shows a portrait of John Cormack who led an organisation called "Protestant Action". During 1935, Protestant Action organised several anti Catholic demonstrations at which rioting broke out. (The modern Orange Lodge states that it is not an anti catholic or sectarian organisation.)

1. Ulster / Irish Protestants who came to the Glasgow area often had a strong dislike of the Catholic Irish. This caused trouble between the two communities.


2. Trouble between the Irish and the native Scots got worse as politics in Ireland became more violent.


3. Scottish Protestants often attacked the Catholic Irish for religious reasons.


4. The Irish were often very poor and had the worst housing. Some native Scots said that this was because they were lazy or ignorant. (Some of them even said the same thing about poor Scottish people!)


5. The Irish often suffered from prejudice and racism … “What school do you go to?” at a job interview…


6. Irish workers were often blamed for the low wages which were common at the time. Employers often encouraged this by deliberately using Irish workers as strike breakers.

5. What support did the Irish get from their communities?

Brother Walfrid was the priest who founded Celtic FC as a means of raising funds for poor children in the east end of Glasgow.

1. The church was very important for religious comfort and as a social gathering place.


2. The church often provided extra help e.g. a soup kitchen, charity fund raising.


3. Priests were often Irish. They could often speak Gaelic and translate letters from English.


4. Football teams like Celtic, Hibs, Dundee United often gave the Irish a focus for their community.


5. Irish music and dance was often very important in bringing the community together.


6. Education was very important. Irish children were sometimes refused places in Scottish schools or bullied if they were allowed in. The Church organised separate schools for them. These schools were taken over by the government in 1918.

4. What kind of work did the Irish do? What kind of homes did they find?

Scotland's economy was booming at the very time that Irish migrants needed work. Coal mining employed tens of thousands in the 19th and 20th centuries.

1. It was often low paid and unskilled. Native Scots often got the best jobs.
2. They were often used as cheap labour by employers.
3. Many settled close to where they landed. They got jobs in the factories of Glasgow.
4. Iron works and coal mines in Lanarkshire attracted many.
5. Farming was a popular choice. Irish men could already do this.
6. Dundee was popular. The new jute spinning factories needed labour.
7. As they tended to be low paid, they had little choice when it came to housing. They got the worst
8. Overcrowding was common. More people to spread the cost of the rent.
9. Landlords spent as little as possible on housing and there were no laws to force them to improve matters.
10. Overcrowding helped disease to spread more easily. Typhus, cholera, TB were very common.

3. Why were Irish migrants attracted to Scotland? (PULL factors)

The Broomielaw in 1880. Ships carrying Irish migrants could sail right into the centre of Glasgow.

1. Scotland was the closest part of the UK to Ireland.


2. Irish people had been coming to Scotland in small numbers for centuries. It was not a foreign country to them.


3. There were more jobs in Scotland and wages were higher.


4. Irish women and children could get work in the new factories.

2. Why were Irish emigrants pushed out of Ireland? (PUSH Factors)

1. Ireland had very little industry to provide jobs.


2. Ireland’s population had grown rapidly.


3. Jobs in spinning and hand weaving were disappearing due to new factories in Britain.


4. Landowners evicted tenants who could not afford to pay high rents. They also started to use modern farming methods which needed less workers.


5. Irish Catholics were prevented from doing some government jobs. Protestants got a better deal.


6. The potato famine meant that there was no longer enough food to support the population.

1. What this Blog is about.

This blog has been set up to help you revise your Immigrants and Exiles Intermediate History topic