Experience of Irish immigrants in Scotland

• Employers were keen to get Irish workers
• They worked for less wages, were obedient and anxious to learn about the work being undertaken
• Some Scots so through the stereotype of the Irish that they had a tendency to drunkenness and violence and believed they were nice people
• Many saw that it was the influence/ behaviour of poorer Scots that resulted in Irish people behaving badly
• The Protestant Irish faced nothing like the level of discrimination endured by the Catholic Irish and assimilated more easily into Scottish society
• Mixed marriages between Catholics and Protestants became commoner as the century progressed, particularly in smaller communities where the choice of marriage partners was less
• The Catholic Church took steps to develop Catholic organisations and institutions (eg Celtic FC) to develop a distinct Catholic community
• There was competition for jobs
• The Irish were willing to work for lower wages than the Scots so employers were keen to take them on (Scots blamed them for lowering wages)
• Major cities suffered from housing shortages made worse by the arrival of Irish Immigrants and therefore, there was competition for housing
• Scots often overlooked that the Irish often lived in houses they had rejected
• The Irish were seen as drunken, idle, uncivilised and undermining the moral fibre of Scottish society