Why Move? : A case study of change and migration in rural Ireland and connections to broader social and political movements

Summary

Scholars acknowledge that residential practices changed throughout 19-20th century Irish coastal villages,  Little research, however, has explored these residential changes from the conceptual frameworks of the Irish famine and consequential social upheaval. This paper explores 19th and 20th century social and residential history of Westquarter, Inishbofin, Co. Galway, Ireland. Centered on village residential changes, I track concurrent patterns of continuity, relocation and migration of families around Inishbofin . mainland Ireland and the United Kingdom, as well as North America. I interpret the changing village history through the lens of the famine and the resulting social and political national policies that created considerable, lasting social and economic changes. Collectively the use of oral history, historical maps, and local interviews provides new insights into how and why Westquarter residential patterns changes were linked to to broader social and political movements.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2018   •
• Localized Rural Histories and Connected Worlds: Interdisciplinary Narratives of Transformation, Emigration and Interaction

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Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 1013