IRISH DIASPORA

In this section we will find out the reasons for the Irish leaving Ireland for various locations around the world. The story is sad, shocking and real. We will here of slavery, ethnic cleansing, torture, starvation etc. All these things were forced on the Irish nation by the so called ‘cultured and civilised’ English. From the year 1609 (when the English started the Irish slave trade) until the late 1800’s, a massive three hundred years, the Irish were forcibly removed from their native soil by an uncaring England. During those sad and torturous times many McGinleys left in search of Liberty, Freedom of Religion and basic Human Rights. Unfortunatley this meant the break up of families, most never to meet again.

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'For the cottage is roofless,

The inmates are gone,

And the walls slowly mouldering,

Stone after stone'

Bridget McGinley, 1883. Poet

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The widespread genocide acted upon the Irish people during the reign of Elizabeth I of England was indeed shocking. Her intention was to wipe out the natives and colonise Ireland with the so called civilised English. Under the kingship of James I and Charles I her evil policies were to continue. The idea was simple. The extermination (or at the very least expulsion to Connacht) of the Irish race, save for a small amount needed to work the farms etc for the English settlers. At this point in time, the Irish were considered to be barbarian by the English monarchy. The Irish language, form of dress, music and the Brehon Laws all came under constant attack during the 1500's. The English like to portray their Queen Elizabeth as a kind and generous leader but the Irish knew otherwise. It seemed for a long time that the Irish form of dress angered the English more than anything else going by the many laws and statutes against such apparell! They tried also to ban the traditional Irish moustache (yes...I can see how that could threaten the stability of the English Empire!)

All of this was nothing compared to the evils brought down upon the Irish people by the man the Irish called ‘the Devil’, Oliver Cromwell. It was without doubt the English who started the modern Slave Trade when they took 300 Africans against their will as slaves during the reign of Elizabeth I. This was shortly followed by the same evil acts being perpetrated on the Irish. Irish slaves were a vital part of Englands trade during the 1600's and 1700's (see 'Irish in the Carribean' section). From 1609 onwards, the English sent thousands of Irish to the various Carribean islands to forcibly work as slaves, then later to America. This evil and sickening trade no doubt accounts for some of the early McGinleys in America while the McGinley surname can still be found in the Carribean among families described as 'the old stock' to distinguish them from late 20th century settlers.

The slave trade involving Irish lasted for more than two hundred years, but the memory of such events is nearly wiped from the 'social consciousness'. This was the first great tragedy to affect the Irish nation after the Nine Years War, closely followed by the Plantation of much of the country with English and Scottish settlers, which in the northern half of the country, still has effects today.

Since then, Ireland has not been without her problems. The native Irish were forced into deep poverty by the illegal incomers. Many new laws were brought in to stop the native Irish from developing, socially or economically. The English Government done nothing in the next two hundred years to help the Irish develop. They were happy to have a landless peasant population 'on their doorstep' that they could manipulate and use.

There is no doubt that the Great Hunger of the mid 1800's was the worst time for the Irish. During the period 1845 to 1855, hundreds of thousands left Irish soil each year for a better life. The worst year was 1847 and it has survived in the folk memory as 'the Black '47'. It ruined a generation of Irish people (see The Great Hunger section).

Ireland was not to improve after the Great Hunger, infact many areas were even worse. The extreme poverty following the Great Hunger forced many people to steal food to feed their family, their old folk, their children. The Irish had no money and could not buy food (even if food was available to buy) and they could not pay their rent to the illegal foreign landlords. Englands answer was to be tough on these ungrateful peasants. New Anti Irish laws were quickly drafted in and the 'Battering Ram' was brought to Ireland. The famed Battering Ram was a crude but effective device that the English Government allowed to be used (by landlords, their agents and the police) to demolish the houses of the starving peasants who could not pay their rents. These terrible occasions were known as The Land War Evictions (see this section elsewhere).

Over the next two hundred years, many Irish left their native soil in search of something better. The slave trade of the 1600's and 1700's, the Plantations, the Penal Laws in the 1700's and early 1800's and the worst of all, the Great Hunger, followed by the Land War evictions. These were all reasons for the Irish going to far flung places in search of freedom and liberty.

Life in Ireland from 1609 to the early 20th century was not easy. Life under English rule offered no hope. The forced removal of millions of Irish over the centuries left scars on the Irish mind. However....the Irish can be proud of their achievements around the world. The Irish built Britain, they built America too. The McGinley clan can be proud of their achievements and legacy in America, especially the states of Pennsylvania and New York.