The Irish in Middlesbrough : a part of Middlesbrough's community or apart from it?

Victorian Middlesbrough was a 'new town' and, as a consequence, all itsinhabitants were immigrants. Thus, how the Irish came to Middlesbrough is of interest.However, the main aims of this research are to examine the spatial, demographic, socialand economic profile of the Middlesbrough Irish using the four census enumerations from1871 to 1901 and, with other information, assess whether an Irish community existed.To clothe these statistics, contemporary evidence has been sought. In the socialand economic context, living conditions in the 1880s; pertinent social institutions; andIrish occupations have been examined. Also, the over-representation of the Irish-born incrime statistics are presented with an assessment of putative causes.The Catholic Church and its spiritual and material influence in Middlesbrough hasbeen studied from storms in the 1870s to calm in the 1900s. Inextricably linked with theChurch was Catholic education which included not only public, private, lay and religiousCatholic schools but also orphan girls supervised by nuns and Catholic orphans despatchedoverseas by the Board of Guardians.Lastly, Irish involvement in Middlesbrough politics is assessed. At the local levelthis involved the elected bodies of the Corporation, School Board and Poor LawGuardians. Nationally, it involves the contribution of the Middlesbrough Irish to theCondition of Ireland debate and action arising therefrom. Because of its partisan nature,prejudice has been linked with politics.In this study, the findings of relevant research and as much archival evidence as isavailable has been used; and an intense perusal of local newspapers has proved mostfruitful. The conclusion that the Irish formed a community in Middlesbrough is based onthe evidence presented.

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

Doctoral (Level 8)

Year dc:date.issued

2011

Author dc:creator

• Willis, JT

Language dc:language

en

Identifier

oai:salford-repository.worktribe.com:1338111

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:salford-repository.worktribe.com:1338111