Emigration from Clare pre-1908

[smcarberry]

Continuing with data and testimony appearing in the 1908 report by the Royal Commission on Congestion, published in Volume 40 of the Parliamentary Papers (now on Google Books), there are significant sections dealing with emigration, not just perceived causes but also statistics supposedly derived from contemporaneous records. Perhaps this started with the testimony of Rev. P. Glynn on 5 Jun 1907, who was scheduled to talk about "congestion" factors but brushed that topic aside to first state to the English officials very clearly his opinion on the cause of emigration (see below). Page 312 in the appendix section contains a short table showing statistics for two Clare areas in 1993 (see below).

However the eye-popping table is the one on p. 311 which details, year by year from 1 May 1851 through 31 Dec 1906, how many Clare residents left the island, a total of 150,851. These numbers came from the Registrar-General and must have been tallied from lists compiled at the time of the departures. Thus some official in Clare had the duty of learning who was leaving when. Then total numbers were tallied each year or at some later point. I do not know what became of the original lists, but they had to have existed in order to come up with these numbers listed on the 1908 chart. The final number is quite close to a number of 143,000-plus emigrants to which a Clare priest referred in his testimony before this Commission. I think the emigrants were counted, and I think that quite possibly their names (or at least that of the household head) were noted.

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posted by Sharon C.

Fr. Glynn p. 184 1907.jpg (50.35 KiB) Viewed 4897 times

State aided emig stats 1883, ParlP vol 40.jpg (29.75 KiB) Viewed 4898 times

Congest. Rpt title page.jpg (19.56 KiB) Viewed 4899 times