After the period of the Irish Famine, nearly a quarter of the people in Ireland had left for America. Most of the Irish coming to America had been poor and could not afford to travel further inland. Thus, most of the Irish settled in the cities near the ports where they arrived. Those that had raised enough money to meet the expense of traveling and buying land moved to Illinois which later became the state with one of the largest number of Irish population. Most of the Irishmen working in America had been living and laboring under very harsh conditions. Consequently, several secret unions formed with the intention of fighting unjust employers but the most important of the factions had been discovered and later disassembled.

The Irish regarded America as being a place where one could fulfill all of his or her dreams. In reality, America had been very different from the home country of the Irish. In America, the Irish did not have to pay unjust taxes and did not have to deal with the British landlords back home which had been merciless when considering the pressure they put on peasants.

In spite of the rather beautiful perspective of a trip to America, matters had not always been pleasant for the Irish immigrants. A large amount of Irish immigrants flowing into America during the second half of the 19th century had been recruited to fight in the U.S. army during the Civil War. Most Americans saw the Irish as being low-class inexperienced laborers coming into the U.S. To steal jobs from honest Americans.

America had not been the only country which the Irish chose to go to in order to escape their financial problems. In the early 19th century, the...

When devising the plan, the British analyzed the conditions in Ireland which lead to the fall of the country's economy.
Ireland's population had been increasing dramatically and the food supplies (including the potato supplies, regardless of the fact that the Irish Famine had been years away) had been diminishing as a result.

Another reason for which the British chose to transport part of the Irish population to Canada had been that the Northern American country needed to have its army ranks reinforced. The British feared a potential attack of Canada coming from the American states.

The Irish coming into Canada encountered severe conditions with the Canadian winter and the rugged terrain being difficult for them to live in. Yet, the Irish Famine made even more Irish people started to come into Canada.

Today, the Irish stand out as one of the major ethnic groups in both the United States and Canada. The people in the U.S. with full or part Irish descent are the second largest ethnic groups and they are surpassed only by the German-Americans. The cities in the U.S. which have the highest percentage of Irish-Americans living within their territories are: Boston, Chicago, New York City, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Kansas City, Savannah, and Georgia. One of the main reasons for which the Irish chose to leave their country has been the British persecution and the poverty which existed in Ireland. Today the Irish leaving their country in favor of the U.S. do so mainly because of the unstable conditions in Ireland as they fear the Irish Republican Army.