The Distribution of Irish Emigration in the Decade Before the Great Famine

Previous attempts at mapping pre-famine emigration from Ireland are examined and two maps based on statistics calculated by Mokyr are presented. Problems with the calculation of emigration from census information are explored and a series of maps based on information collected by the Commissioners of Inquiry into the Condition of the Poorer Classes in Ireland are discussed. It is concluded that this pre-Famine emigration bore a closer resemblance to the sustained emigration that was to be established later in the second half of the nineteenth century than to movements during the Famine.