The experience of Irish migrants to Glasgow, Scotland, 1863-1891: a new way of being Irish

This book analyses how the Irish-born, and their offspring, in one nineteenth century British city came to define and understand their Irishness through political action. It proposes that the organisation and representation of Irishness in Glasgow (and, by extension, Scotland) eventually led to a secular, even radical, ‘fusion’ of loyalties, from the time of Daniel O’Connell onwards which allowed Protestants such as John Ferguson an entry into nationalist debate. Ferguson, despite the competing claims of the Catholic Church and the drink trade, not only successfully created a Home Rule movement in the 1870s but also, in the long term, crucially fused loyalty to organised labour with his representation of Irish political identity. Based on extensive research, this work aims to give the non-Scottish reader a fuller idea of the origins of the Glasgow Irish, emphasising the great importance of Ulster connections, and to contribute to the ongoing debate on the nature of Irish political identity in urban Britain and USA.