Scottish-born Residents of Donegal in the 1901 Census of Ireland: An Analysis of Composition and Migration

This paper is based on an analysis of the data in the 1901 census of Ireland relating to Scottish-born residents of County Donegal in the context of significant population movement and social change in Ireland in the second half of the nineteenth century. Noting that the religious composition of this population is markedly different than both the population of Scotland and of the Scottish-born population in the rest of Ireland, it identifies the basis for that difference in the significance of return migration to Donegal.
The paper outlines the geographical spread of the Scottish-born population by religious denomination, analyses occupational, age and gender differences between the groups, as well as between Scottish and mixed Scottish-Irish couples, and seeks to identify patterns of migration by using children’s ages as indicators, where the children are a mixture of Scottish-born and Irish-born. It notes strong similarities between Donegal Catholic and Presbyterian behaviours in respect of migration to Scotland, which are somewhat different than those of Episcopalians. It also notes an element of Presbyterian “elite migration” from Scotland to Donegal in a wider Irish context.
With its focus on Donegal, this paper highlights two under-researched aspects of migration between Ireland and Scotland: Scottish elite agricultural migration to Ireland and Irish return migration from Scotland.