In the years between the Great Famine of the 1840s and the First World
War, Ireland experienced a drastic drop in population: the percentage of
adults who never married soared from 10 percent to 25 percent, while the
overall population decreased by one third. What accounted for this? For
many social analysts, the history of post-Famine Irish depopulation was
a Malthusian morality tale where declining living standards led young
people to postpone marriage out of concern for their ability to support
a family. The problem here, argues Timothy Guinnane, is that living
standards in post-Famine Ireland did not decline. Rather, other, more
subtle economic changes influenced the decision to delay marriage or not
marry at all. In this engaging inquiry into the "vanishing Irish,"
Guinnane explores the options that presented themselves to Ireland's
younger generations, taking into account household structure,
inheritance, religion, cultural influences on marriage and family life,
and especially emigration.
Guinnane focuses on rural Ireland, where the population changes were
most profound, and explores the way the demographic patterns reflect the
rural Irish economy, Ireland's place as a small part in a much larger
English-speaking world, and the influence of earlier Irish history and
culture. Particular effort is made to compare Irish demographic behavior
to similar patterns elsewhere in Europe, revealing an Ireland anchored
in European tradition and yet a distinctive society in its own right.
Originally published in 1997.
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