It's clear that a lot of Irish folk came over in the late 19th/early 20th century to work in the mines around here, and nationally. Many among my ancestors. Did the mine owners (e.g. the Fitzwilliams, etc) pay the passage of the migrants to boost the workforce in their mines? Alternatively, were they just fleeing from poverty and famine? Genuinely interested in how this came about - and no agenda whatsoever here, before anybody thinks otherwise.
I'm not 100% but I believe they paid their own way because it was quite easy to hop across on a quick ferry and jump on a train
It’s always been the case in any industry tbh . But mining especially in the 19th early 20th century was a very hungry industry as far as manpower was concerned thousands of miners a week were being invalided out of mining due to the obvious dangers . Too much for explanation on here but there are hundreds of books on the subject and it is always worth a visit to the national mining museum or even the town hall .thousands of Eastern Europeans fleeing nazism and communism settled I mining areas
Orsen, I always thought the Irish came over to dig railway tunnels and outcrop coal, not to mine coal but I suppose some most likely would have done but not in great numbers like the Welsh and Scotish in all my years in the Pits from the 1960's I worked with Polish men, HungarIan men, Scot's men, Welsh men and 1 American who worked with the timber lads who ran out of the pit shouting -man down, man down, when one lad got his foot taped with a warick never to be seen again l kid you not,
Good question, and one that I will ask my aunt when I see her in America next month. My Irish ancestors emigrated to both Yorkshire and New York, and after she retired my aunt started doing some research into the family history, Unbelievably, my family used to own huge swathes of farmland in western Ireland, but one of my great uncles put most of it up as collateral when he ran out of money in a game of cards. And lost. Another uncle managed to kill his best friend after accidentally distilling a bad batch of potcheen. It's probably for the best that this branch of the family stayed in Ireland......
I came across very few Irish in my time in the mines,Non UK Miners were mainly Eastern Europeans, largely Polish, Ukrainian. Remember 1 Hungarian and an Italian. There were quite a lot from other parts of the Uk around these parts, Scottish, North- East, and many came up from Staffordshire. It is said that is this where the ‘Royston accent’ originated from. If you can remember the broadcaster Ian Clayton from Featherstone, In his Autobiography he mentions his family originated from Staffs.along with hundreds of other families trying to flee poverty.
I have Scottish and Irish ancestors who came to Yorkshire to work in the mines, as well as a Ukrainian branch of the family who came after the war, although their exact origins are unclear.
My grandad on mi mothers side was one of those Irish Chatholic guys. He was from Mayo in the west of Ireland on the banks of Lough Conn. Arrived in Elsecar and worked at Cortonwood and Wath Main as a tunneller. Had 8 kids - although one died at 5 years old. Three of his cousins tried to get to America on the Titanic. Lots killed in that Mayo area on the Titanic. Ive visited where he and my great grandparents lived and it's nothing more than a stone hut. Beautiful place tho. There was no work or money in Ireland at that time - that's why they left. The Fitzwilliams are aristocracy - who were Protestant and had land in Ireland. Graham Norton's family from West Melton is a result of the Fitzwilliams moving Protestants from England to settle and populate Southern Ireland.
My ancestors are also from Mayo. Callaghan, Lonegan and Caine. Also my great grandad on my mum's side who came over to Yorkshire, I guess straight after WW1.
I understood it to be due to seamstresses who moved en masse to Royston when factories closed in the Black Country. Added: Coupled with the poor transport links in Royston meaning people didn't move in or out that frequently.
Also I understand that Carlton was a welsh speaking area many moons ago manager or owner brought his own workforce to what was then a new mine.
My ancestors came from Sligo and Mayo and it seems they left during the famine. Also had family move from the Forest of Dean to work in pit at Featherstone
Bizarrely, my Grandad also came from Mayo, took a job tarmaccing with Wards at Sheffield before joining forces with PJ Burke at Wombwell. Bugger me, seems when he escaped, he must've left the door open...
Not sure about those days in 1800s i do know loads of young Irish women came to Yorkshire to work in the linen industry.. In recent times seems every mining area around here had plenty of Scots(lanarkshire) and Geordie family's among em