Life In Ireland In The 1800's

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Irish people are known all over the world Ireland, and in the mid-1800s Ireland was an agricultural nation, populated by eight million persons who were among the poorest people in the Western World. Only about a quarter of the population could read and write. Life expectancy was short, just 40 years for men. The Irish married quite young, girls at 16 and boys at 17 or 18, and tended to have large families, although infant mortality was also quite high. A British survey in 1835 found half of the rural families in Ireland living in single-room, windowless mud cabins that didn't have chimneys. The people lived in small communal clusters, known as clachans, MacManus, Seamus, 1922. Spread out among the beautiful countryside. Up to a dozen persons …show more content…

It was not uncommon for a beggar in Ireland to mention that he was in fact the descendant of an ancient Irish king. MacManus, Seamus, 1922. Over 1.5 million died and another 1 million sought Refuge by attempting to Immigrate to foreign lands that promised brighter futures. Canada, America and Australia were the most popular. Those that travelled to England were met with; little or no welcome at all, local authorities demanding what little they had or threatening to send them right back. The near death of a nation through ignorance and greed was later said to be of British intent. The Irish Holocaust had taken so many, when so many just sat back and watched. Penal laws and the great potato famine of 1845 drove millions to their deaths. Others affected by what some have called genocide, boarded ships to new lands. These ships were to be known later as the coffin …show more content…

It would all change though and it would change in time for the better through perseverance. The journey from the hut on the side of the road to the White house was to be forged in history. JFK was the son of Famine immigrant; He would be the first roman catholic of Irish decent to be elected as the 35th President of the United States. The Irish people in General have settled all over the globe, the larger families have populated may countries and in the united states alone over 40 million claim Irish heritage. The sign is no longer is posted, NO CHINEESE OR IRISH NEED APPLY. Nowadays we are a more educated culture, and one might ask could this ever happen again. The Great Irish Famine is the most pivotal event in modern Irish history, with implications that cannot be underestimated. John Crowley,

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