Appendix B

The Volume of Overseas Emigration

Year[1] Irish Emigration to United States (1,000s) % of Annual Emigration Irish Emigration to British North America (1,000s) % of Annual Emigration Irish Emigration to Australia (1,000s) % of Annual Emigration % of Annual Emigration Directed to Other Places Annual Total (1,000s)
1841 12 70.4 2 10.7 3 18.8 0.1 16
1842 49 55.9 39 44.0 1 1.1 90
1843 23 62.4 14 36.2 0.5 1.4 38
1844 37 68.6 16 30.4 5 1.0 54
1845 50 66.9 25 23.0 0.1 75
1846 68 64.2 38 35.8 106
1847 117 54.3 97 45.2 1 0.5 215
1848 154 86.2 23 13.8 2 1.0 178
1849 177 82.4 31 14.3 7 3.3 214
1850 181 86.4 24 11.7 4 1.9 209
1851 216 86.3 29 11.8 5 1.9 250
1852 193 81.4 22 9.8 6 2.8 220
1853 157 81.5 22 11.6 13 6.6 0.3 193
1854 111 73.9 23 15.3 16 10.8 150
1855 57 72.4 6 7.9 16 19.6 0.1 79
Totals (1,000s) and Average 1,601 76.7 412 19.7 75 3.6 2,088

Note — These statistics are taken from the Census of Ireland, 1951, part vi, p. iv. They almost cetainly fall short of the true totals, though the margin of error may not be very great. No allowance was made for stowaways, illegal embarkations or illegal sailing, although there are many references to these practices. Moreover, the returns assume that only 90% of the emigration from Liverpool (by far the most important of the embarkation ports) was Irish in origin. This was a distinct underestimate for the years 1845-50, though it may have been an onverestimate for the years 1852-5, when the German emigration from Liverpool appears to have been considerable. We should note, too, that no account was taken of Irish emigration form the Clyde until 1850, despite the practice of Ulster and North Connacht emigrants of embarking at Glasgow or Greenock. To allow for these ommissions we should perhaps add something like 5% to the annual totals.

10th rep. C.L.E.C., 5, {1204}, H.C. 1850 xxiii; 11th rep. C.L.E.C., 1, {1383}, H.C. 1851 xxii.

Ireland’s Population Size From the Census of 1821 to the Census of 1971

Year Population of the Twenty-Six Counties of the Republic of Ireland in Thousands Percentage of Change in Preceding Ten-Year Period Population of all Thirty-Two Counties of Ireland in Thousands
1821 5,421 6,802
1831 6,193 +41.2 7,767
1841 6,529 +5.4 8,175
1851 5,112 -21.7
1861 4,402 -13.9 5,798
1871 4,053 -7.9
1881 3,870 -4.5 5,175
1891 3,469 -10.4
1901 3,222 -7.1 4,450
1916 3,140 -2.5
1926 2,972 -5.4 4,220
1936 2,968 -0.1
1946 2,955 -0.4 4,332
1951 2,961 -0.2
1961 2,818 -4.8 4,243
1971 2,881 +2.2

Source: Robert E. Kennedy, Jr., “Irish Emigration, Marriage, and Fertility” (PhD Dissertation, University of California, Berkeley, 1967), p. 4; and The Census of Population, 1971, Preliminary Report.

Annual Irish Immigration to the United States, 1831-1860

Year Number of Immigrants
1831 5,772
1832 12,436
1833 8,648
1834 24,474
1835 20,927
1836 30,578
1837 28,508
1838 12,645
1839 23,963
1840 39,430
1841 37,772
1842 51,342
1843 19,670
1844 33,490
1845 44,821
1846 51,752
1847 105,536
1848 112,934
1849 159,398
1850 164,004
1851 221,253
1852 159,548
1853 162,649
1854 101,606
1855 49,627
1856 54,349
1857 54,361
1858 26,873
1859 35,216

Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1957, p. 57.

Irish Immigration to the United States by Decade, 1820-1970

Year Number of Immigrants Percentage of Total Immigrants to United States during Decade
1820-1830 54,338 35.8
1831-1840 207,381 34.6
1841-1850 780,719 45.6
1851-1860 914,109 35.2
1861-1870 435,998 18.6
1871-1880 655,482 12.5
1881-1900 388,416 10.5
1901-1910 388,977 4.4
1911-1920 146,131 2.5
1921-1930 220,591 5.4
1931-1940 13,167 2.5
1941-1950 27,503 2.6
1951-1960 57,332 2.3
1961-1970 37,461 1.1
Total, 1820-1970 4,764,476 10.4

Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1957, (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1960), pp. 56-57, and Statistical Abstract of the United States: 1971 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1971), p. 92.


  1. From July 30th of that year only.

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Irish Americans and Their Communities of Cleveland Copyright © by Nelson Callahan and William Hickey. All Rights Reserved.

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