The Americanisation of Ireland
Migration and Settlement, 1841–1925

This rigorous and accessible study explores the transformative impact of reverse migration from America to post-Famine Ireland.

David Fitzpatrick (Author)

9781108486491, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 19 December 2019

270 pages, 82 b/w illus. 10 maps
23.5 x 16.2 x 1.9 cm, 0.62 kg

'Migration historians will have much to ponder as they delve into Fitzpatrick's data. It is as impressive as it is illustrative. But they will not be the only ones. Fitzpatrick has also unearthed an important set of issues that he has engaged in his previous work and that rising generations of scholars would be wise to revisit in light of his data-driven story of return migration.' Patrick Griffin, Journal of British Studies

Irish emigration to America is one of the clichés of modern Irish history; much less familiar is the reverse process. Who were the people who chose to return to Ireland? What motivated them? How did this affect Irish society? While many European countries were somewhat Americanised in this period, the Irish case was unique as so many Irish families had members in America. The most powerful agency for Americanisation, therefore, was not popular culture but circumstantial knowledge and personal contact. David Fitzpatrick demonstrates the often unexpected ways in which the reverse effects of emigration remoulded Irish society, balancing original demographic research with fascinating individual profiles to assemble a vivid picture of a changing Ireland. He explores the transformative impact of reverse migration from America to post-Famine Ireland, and offers penetrating insights into its growing population of American-born residents.

Prologue
Ireland's American question
1. Beyond emigration
2. Cosmopolitan Ireland, 1841–1911
3. America on show, 1901–1911: profile
4. America on show: people
5. America on show: special cases
6. Americans in Leitrim, 1901–1911: profile
7. Americans in Leitrim: people
8. Visitors from America, 1914–1925: profile
9. Visitors from America: motives
10. Visitors from America: faces
Epilogue
Questions unanswered.

Subject Areas: Migration, immigration & emigration [JFFN], 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000 [HBLW], Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900 [HBLL], History of the Americas [HBJK], British & Irish history [HBJD1]