The World – Home of the Irish

The missing words in the first part of the article

1. the
2. its
3. of
4. to
5. of
6. to
7. of
8. but
9. many

Handouts
➢ Handout 1B
• Part 1
1. About 80 million Irish people and their descendants live outside Ireland
2. Irish emigration started in the 1800s because of religion. Emigration was forbidden
for Catholics and they must stay in Ireland or worked without pay for landowners of
British colonies.
3. Between 1845 and 1852 a disease destroyed nearly all Irish potatoes, their main
food.
4. Between 20% and 50% of passengers died on the ‘‘coffin“ ships.
5. Ireland finally won its independence in 1922.

• Part 2
• The United States
1. Most Irish people settled in New York and Boston because that‘s where the ships
landed.
2. There, they were discriminated against by American Protestants.
3. The Irish worked as building workers.
4. Since 1762, New York has had a St Patrick‘s Day parade
• The UK
1. About 6 million people in the UK have an Irish – born grandparent.
2. Irish people in the UK worked in building and transport.
3. Many famous people in the UK have Irish ancestry or were born in Ireland, such as
Bram Stoker, the author of Dracula, and novelist and playwright Oscar Wilde.
4. Liverpool has been called the capital of Ireland because about three – quarters of
its people have Irish roots.

• Australia
1. 40,000 Irish convicts were sent to Australia.
2. Many of them were political prisoners.
3. Most of the Irish people who went to Australia were free settlers .
4. About 2 milion Australians, or 10% of today‘s population, claim direct Irish ancestry.
 • The Caribbean
1. Irish people were sent to Caribbean islands such as Jamaica, Barbados or
Montserrat.
2. They worked on sugar plantations.
3. About 25% of Jamaicans have have both Irish and African ancestry
4. Some Caribbean islands even celebrate St Patrick‘s Day.

➢ Handout 1C
1. … until 1922 when Ireland got its independence
INFINITIVE – to get

2. Then they were put on ships and sold to landowners in British colonies…
INFINITIVE – to sell

3. Ireland finally won its independencein 1922…

INFINITIVE – to win

4. ...lots of Irish people left their country as a result of a terrible famine

INFINITIVE – to leave

5. Irish people were Catholics and the British who controlled Ireland were Protestants.
INFINITIVE – to be

6. They went together with their and relatives, but this is a place they would say
goodbye.
INFINITIVE – to go

• Past tenses of these other verbs

◦ A break – broke
◦ B meet – met
◦ C set – set
◦ D throw – threw
◦ E eat – ate
◦ F understand – understood
◦ G write - wrote
◦ H think - thought
◦ I teach - tought
◦ J read – read
◦ K spend – spent
◦ L ride – rode

➢ Handout 1D
 1. True
2. False
3. True
4. True
5. False

➢ Handout 1E

If I would be an Irish who decided to move out of Ireland to settle in another country, I
would travel to the islands in the Caribbean. I have chosen this place, because it‘s far
away from Ireland and it‘s out of Europe. So there will be many changes and different new
things. The climate is too much better than in Ireland, the sun is shining all day long and a
soft, warm breeze is blowing into my face.There are no heavy, grey clouds in the sky and
there is not annoying, strong rain as in Ireland. Lots of Irish are working on sugar
plantations there and I have to join them. I know it‘s very hard to work all day long under
the burning sun, but everyone who arrives, starts there. But I hope that I will get better
work than this at once. Also I have chosen this place for its beautiful nature and crystal
clear ocean. When I have a while, I always go to the long, clean beach and sit on the soft,
yellow sand. I give a long look to the big waves, which hit against the cliffs. It‘s an amazing
feeling and there are no words to describe it. The people are very nice and pleasant there
and often give advise or help you. They are smiling ang laughing a lot.
I would‘t like to move to the USA or UK because of the more severe climate and hard
working conditions in the factories. So I think the islands in the Caribbean, as Jamaica or
Barbados are the best places to start your life in the amazing nature.