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Irish Living In Sheffield After Escaping The Potato Famine


Guest busy lizzy

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Guest busy lizzy

I have recently discovered that there are Irish in our family and they left Ireland because of the great potato famine

They arrived in England via Liverpool and on a recent visit decided to call in the Liverpool museums for information on Irish immigration and the famine.Imagine our surprise when there was not any information in the museums at all and even the curators could not help us and could not explain why there was not,All we found was a modern day art interpretation of the Irish leaving Ireland,.even the book shops in Liverpool also could not help us with any books on the subject.It is like they don't want to recognise that this happened to the Irish

So I am asking the informed people on this great site if they know any information about the Irish potato famine and how they fared when arriving in Liverpool and how they got to Sheffield?Do they know of any books or productions made?

Thanks for any help given and I want to wish all Irish around the world Happy St Patrick's day

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The lack of information may be a reflection of the shame associated with the way the victims of the famine were treated by the authorities. Given that the people of Ireland at the time were subjects of the Crown they were treated abysmally.

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Guest busy lizzy

I agree with you,it is just a shame that no information can be found on a subject that does involve a lot of our ancestors

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Happy St. Patrick's Day....Well, my family also came over from Ireland at the height of the famine and I suggest you have a "google" and look for St. Vincent,s Church. There's plenty in there about the Irish Community.

Incidentally, having believed my family had suffered in the Potato famine and been treated "abysmally by the authorities",shipping over to Liverpool, living in Manchester and York before settling in Sheffield I eventually found out the truth....which was very different from what I had imagined!

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I have a branch of my family called Skehan/Skeen ended up in Tinsley & Attercliffe via Manchester and have always been fascinated by the topic.

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Guest Barbara M

My husband's family came over from Birr County Offaly & settled in the area around St Vincents church, Hoyle Street & are buried in St Michaels , Rivilin , a good site for info is Roots Chat & click on Ireland then the county if you know which one they came from.

Hope this helps.

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If you are still seeking information re potato famine I think the best place is the Ulster American Folk Park in Omargh. I went there about 4 years ago. Although a lot is regarding American Emigration it does cover emigration to Britain too. My ancestor however came over because of slump in Linen trade. Others came over to dig canals, roads, railways. Like the Scottish crofters they would come over earn a bit of money to send back to the farm and when prosperous enough go home and marry. For a variety of reasons some never went home.

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Guest Toms lass

Hi my family also came over from Ireland at that time. They went to St.Vincents and lived in the crofts, look on sheffield pictures

they are slums with more than one family in a house. Some of the family are in St Michaels Rivelin, very good details on this site.

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It does seem strange that no one has written about the history of the Irish community in Sheffield. Anyone got any photos and stories?

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Some of my family are Irish and came here via Manchester and Leeds. The Gate pub on Hollis Croft seems to have been run

by one member of the family or another for decades before it closed.

As with some other's here, quite a few of them are buried at Rivelin.

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St. Michael's burials can be found on the Sheffield Indexers web site, along with parish records for St. Marie's and St. Vincent's RC Churches.

I have been researching Catholic families of Hopkins and Noone who lived near St. Vincent's. Many of these families arrived in Sheffield before the potato famine.

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Happy St. Patrick's Day....Well, my family also came over from Ireland at the height of the famine and I suggest you have a "google" and look for St. Vincent,s Church. There's plenty in there about the Irish Community.

Incidentally, having believed my family had suffered in the Potato famine and been treated "abysmally by the authorities",shipping over to Liverpool, living in Manchester and York before settling in Sheffield I eventually found out the truth....which was very different from what I had imagined!

This is a very interesting piece on St Vincents

http://www.sheffieldindexers.com/Memories/CherishedMemories_HistoryofStVincentsSheffield.html

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I rather suspect my relatives the Dolan Family came to Sheffield as a result of this famine. The 1861 census for them shows that one child is born in Ireland the year before it started (1845-1852).

I haven't pinned down when they came to Sheffield but the next child was born in Sheffield in 1849. So it must have been between 1845 to 1848 that they left.

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I was convinced my Irish ancestors came over with the famine. I couldn't have been more wrong.

My g/g/grandfather , born in County Monaghan ,was in the "Queen's Bays" and spent his military service all over Britain and Ireland.... serving the "Queen", as her Government put down threatened rebellions. That's how he came to be stationed at the Barracks... from where he retired. He then started a Blacksmith's business in the Crofts whilst his twin brother , who had also joined the colours, ran a pub.

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I too have Irish in my ancestry, from Sheffield, I believe they arrived via Manchester. SNEYDE an unusual name, but virtually no references, particularly as it can be spelt in various ways! they also kindly changed their name to ROWLEY in 1871 &1881. THOMAS SNEYDE 1818 & MARGARET MCCARDLE 1823 both born Ireland.

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IRISH DISTRESS- Feb 6th 1847
Collections were made last sabbath, in the Townhead street Chapel, for the relief of our starving fellow-countrymen in Ireland, when the sum of £20 was contributed.
Some of the friends had previously subscribed to the general fund, or the amount would have been larger.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE INDEPENDENT
Sir:-In my successful canvas of the Wicker district for the subscriptions to the Irish Relief Fund, I recommend to manufacturers the desirability and the advantage, which would arise from subscriptions being made amongst their workmen and was glad to find in every case, the men expressed great willingness to comply with the suggestion; and I understand the Sheaf Works and many other extensive factoris are adopting the plan which, if generaly taken up throughout the town, will produce a very large amount, with very little inconvenience to many donors.
By recommending this plan through the medium of your valuable paper, will no doubt induce many others, who have not yet thought of it, to follow so good an example, and oblige yours truly.
Castle Hill Feb 4th 1847 WILLIAM STEER.

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