Irish Immagrants

            Ever since the legendary voyages of St. Brendan, who is alleged to have discovered America, Irish people have gotten a reputation as tireless travelers. For over a thousand years, they have wandered the globe, more as crusaders and adventurers than as colonists have. The motivation for these travels varied significantly depending on the historical era involved. Through out history Ireland has gone through many problems dealing with many situations. These problems have forced Irish to leave their homelands and inspired them to leave for new hopes and dreams.
             The earliest Irish emigrants were religious missionaries whose exile was voluntary and inspired by proselytizing zeal. These missionaries like others traveled to new lands to find religious acceptance and or freedom. In the nineteenth century, the vast majority of Irish emigrants were forced to leave the country by economic or political circumstances. Also, the "famine decade" from 1845 to1855 witnessed the largest mass exodus of Irish people in recorded history. Even today, Ireland has one of the highest rates of migration of any country in the European Union. .
             It would be wrong to believe that economic need is the only element of current emigration. Some Irish exiles have chosen to leave in order to fulfill their educational or occupational potential in new environments. As a result of their extensive travels, Irish people and their descendants may be found all over the world today. It is estimated that there may be as many as 60 million people of Irish descent living outside the country at present. In North America alone, over 40 million people claim Irish "roots". Many of these are the emigrants who left to advance themselves and who have more than less prospered. .
             During the famine years, Ireland's net population loss was about 2.5 million. Of this figure, about 1.0 million people starved to death while about 1.5 million people emigrated.