Higher History- Migration and Empire

The Experience of Immigrants to Scotland- Irish Catholics

Irish communities and the Catholic Church

By the 1840s, the Catholic Church had little following in the Lowlands and central
belt of Scotland. Catholic Irish immigrants began to build churches, which became
the centre of Irish communities.

Why was the Church important to Irish Catholic immigrants?

 Priests provided practical help with writing letters back home to Ireland and
helped to find accommodation.
 The Church was a place of comfort in a time when families
were experiencing dreadful living and working conditions.
 The Church was also supportive of those experiencing
financial difficulties. Charities like St. Vincent de Paul
emerged from the Church and provided significant help to
many impoverished Irish people.
 The Church was also a focal point of social gatherings –
family events, dances, fetes and Irish cultural celebrations
such as St Patrick’s Day.
 The Church helped to provide schooling for Catholic
children. These schools were separate from others in
Scotland and taught Catholic moral values, as well as
traditional school subjects.
 Football teams were formed by Irish Catholics as ways to raise money and to
bring the community together - Hibernian in Edinburgh 1875 and Celtic in
Glasgow 1888.
 Higher History- Migration and Empire
The Experience of Immigrants to Scotland- Irish Catholics
Negative attitudes to Irish immigrants

1. The ‘attack on Scots identity’

The Scots worried about the large numbers of Irish immigrants arriving in Scotland.
Lots of the Irish immigrants were Catholic, especially before 1880. Scotland was a
Protestant country and the Scots worried that Catholicism would return to Scotland.
The Church of Scotland, newspapers and political leaders tried to convince Scots
that they were in danger of losing their identity and their religion.

2. The cost of support

Many Irish people were very poor when they arrived in Scotland and were without
any money. The Scots worried that the Irish immigrants would drain the Poor Law
provision, costing them more in taxes.

3. ‘They took our jobs!’

Many workers felt that the Irish immigrants took their jobs. The immigrants were
willing to work for lower pay and in poor conditions and the Scots felt that this put
them out of a job. If the Scots tried to fight for better
conditions, the Irish immigrants were brought in as strike-
breakers.

4. The moral claims about the Irish

Irish immigrants were seen to ‘bring down the moral
standard’ of Scotland and were blamed for bad behaviour
for a number of reasons:
1. The navvies (labourer/manual worker) gained a
reputation for being violent.
2. Irish immigrants were stereotyped as illiterate due to their lack of education.
3. The areas where the Irish immigrants lived had a lot of social problems
related to poverty and poor housing.

Positive attitude to Irish immigrants

On the other hand, many Scots made Irish immigrant settlers feel welcome.
● Early immigrants often married locals and changed their surnames to
Scottish equivalents.
● Employers were very happy to see so many Irish immigrants as there was a
shortage of manual workers and factory workers.
● The Irish immigrants were willing to work for long hours and low pay and
were welcomed by employers.
 Higher History- Migration and Empire
The Experience of Immigrants to Scotland- Irish Catholics

Tasks:

1. Take the title in your jotter:

‘How did the Scots react to the Irish Catholic immigrants?’

2. Why was the Catholic Church a place of comfort and aid to the Irish
migrants? (Give at least 3 reasons)

3. Copy and complete the following table: (must be in own words)

Negative Scottish Attitude Why did people think this?

Attack on Scottish Identity

Cost of Support

‘They took our jobs’

Moral Claims

4. Which one group of people had positive impression of the Irish and why?

5. Do you think this helped how the Scots saw them or made this worse?