Ireland Emigration and Immigration

Online Databases

 * Immigrant Ancestors Project
 * Irish Emigration database
 * Irish Immigrants Database
 * Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild Choose a volume and then choose Ireland under "Listed by Port of Departure" or "Listed by Port of Arrival".
 * Irish Emigrants in North America, Part 1-6 - at Ancestry, index and images, ($).
 * 1803-1806 Irish Passenger Lists, 1803-1806, index, ($)
 * 1833-1839 Irish Emigration Lists, 1833-1839, index, ($)
 * 1841-1849 Irish Emigration to New England through the Port of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, 1841 to 1849, index, ($).
 * 1846-1851 Ireland Famine Emigrants Online (1846-1851)
 * 1846-1851 New York, Irish Immigrant Arrival Records, 1846 - 1851, ($)
 * 1846-1851 Irish Famine Immigrants, 1846 - 1851
 * 1847--1871 Irish Passenger Lists, 1847-1871, index, ($)
 * 1850s Workhouse Emigration – 1850s Limerick, index.
 * 1850-1883 New York Emigrant Savings Bank, 1850-1883, index, ($)
 * 1946-1971 Free Access: Africa, Asia and Europe, Passenger Lists of Displaced Persons, 1946-1971 Ancestry, free. Index and images. Passenger lists of immigrants leaving Germany and other European ports and airports between 1946-1971. The majority of the immigrants listed in this collection are displaced persons - Holocaust survivors, former concentration camp inmates and Nazi forced laborers, as well as refugees from Central and Eastern European countries and some non-European countries.

Emigration to Canada

 * 1823-1849 Irish Canadian Emigration Records, 1823-1849, index, ($)
 * 1826 at FamilySearch — index, images available through FindMyPast
 * 1828-1849 Irish Canadian Emigration Records, 1828 - 1849, ($)
 * 1841-1849 Irish Emigration to New England through the Port of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, 1841 to 1849, index, ($).

Passenger Lists to Ireland

 * 1858-1870 Ireland and Britain, Transatlantic Migration from North America, 1858-1870 - passenger lists from United States to England and Ireland. Index, images available on FindMyPast

Emigration and Immigration
Emigration records are about people leaving a country. Immigration records are about people entering a country. Records of emigration and immigration include passenger lists, permissions to emigrate, records of passports issued, lists of transported prisoners, and registers of assistance to emigrate. These records may contain the name, age, occupation, destination, place of origin or birthplace, date of departure, and date and ship of arrival of the person immigrating or emigrating. Names of fellow passengers may suggest familial relationships or provide hints about a passenger's place of origin or destination.

No records are required for movements within the British Isles countries (England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Isle of Man, and Channel Islands). Records were not required for free emigrants to the United States until 1773, to Canada until 1865, or to Australia, New Zealand, the British West Indies, or South Africa until the twentieth century. No countrywide, official record was kept for people leaving Ireland.

Finding the Town of Origin in Ireland
If you are using emigration/immigration records to find the name of your ancestors' town in Ireland, see Ireland Finding Town of Origin for additional research strategies.

Irish Emigration--Irish Diaspora
The Irish diaspora consists of Irish emigrants and their descendants especially in countries such as: To a lesser extent, Irish people also immigrated to: ''' The diaspora contains over 80 million people and it is the result of mass migration from Ireland, due to past famines (especially the Great Famine), poverty, and political oppression.
 * the United States (see Irish Americans),
 * the United Kingdom (see Irish migration to Great Britain and Irish-Scots, not to be confused with Ulster-Scots aka Scots-Irish),
 * Canada (Irish Canadians, Irish Quebecers, Irish Newfoundlanders),
 * Australia (see Irish Australians),
 * New Zealand (see Irish New Zealanders),
 * and Argentina (see Irish Argentine), where vibrant Irish communities continue to exist.
 * Chile (see Irish Chilean),
 * Brazil (see Irish Brazilians),
 * Uruguay (see Irish Uruguayan),
 * Mexico (see Irish immigration to Mexico),
 * South Africa (see Irish South African),
 * and nations of the Caribbean
 * Irish immigration to Barbados,
 * Irish people in Jamaica,
 * Irish immigration to Puerto Rico,
 * Irish immigration to Saint Kitts and Nevis
 * and continental Europe (see Irish people in mainland Europe).

Reasons Irish Emigrated
The Irish throughout history had many reasons for leaving Ireland. As well many among those remaining in Ireland would have emigrated but were unable to, due to poverty or impoverishment. Many Irishmen during the Great Famine years who did embark were in such sickened and critically weakened condition that death followed many while traversing the high seas to their new world home.

Generally, the Irishman's reasons for emigrating--if not compelled to do so, to countries abroad were due to an intolerable convergence of circumstances including, but not limited to:


 * dire economic conditions that destituted families
 * austere political policies such as the Crown's Penal laws (from 1695-1829)
 * a series of circumstances surrounding devastating crop failures especially in the mid-19th Century.
 * social and religious persecution against most nonconformists and Catholics (the dominant segment of Irish society)

For a more complete list detailing the devastating effects of the Penal Laws and the main reasons for emigrating, read Compelling Reasons Why The Irish Emigrated.

Types of Emigration from Ireland
Emigration from Ireland began as early as 1603, when people immigrated to areas such as continental Europe, the islands of the Caribbean, the British colonies, and other parts of the British Isles. Emigration increased during periods of civil or religious unrest or famine in Ireland as well as during various gold rushes in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United States. The period of greatest emigration began around 1780 and reached its peak from 1845 to 1855, when between one and two million people left Ireland because of the potato famine. The following categories of emigrants account for most people who emigrated from Ireland:


 * Free emigrants. Starting in the seventeenth century, emigrants left Ireland to seek opportunity in a new land; to flee religious persecution, poverty, or oppression; and to seek political asylum following rebellion in Ireland.


 * Assisted emigrants. In the nineteenth century, qualified emigrants received passage money or land grants as incentives to emigrate. Assistance was viewed by officials as an alternative to providing poor relief for able-bodied, unemployed workers and for the starving masses during famine. After 1840, colonies such as New Zealand and Australia offered money or land grants to skilled workers to attract needed immigrants.


 * Transported prisoners. From 1611 to 1870, more than fifty thousand Irish criminals were sentenced to deportation to a penal colony for a number of years. Beginning with Irishmen who rebelled against Cromwell's army in 1649, political prisoners were also often deported. Many Irish prisoners were sent to America, primarily to Virginia and Maryland, until 1775. From 1788 to 1869, over forty thousand Irish prisoners were sent to Australia. Many of those deported were later pardoned on the condition that they would never return to Ireland.


 * Military personnel. Soldiers serving overseas were offered land or other inducements to settle in the colony where they were serving when they were discharged. This settlement practice was common for soldiers in Australia from 1791, Canada from 1815, and New Zealand from 1844.

For Further Reading
There are additional sources listed in the FamilySearch Catalog: