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Caring for migrants : policy responses to Irish migration to England, 1940-1972
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Ewart, Henrietta (2012) Caring for migrants : policy responses to Irish migration to England, 1940-1972. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.
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WRAP_THESIS_Ewart_2012.pdf - Submitted Version Download (1908Kb) | Preview |
Official URL: http://webcat.warwick.ac.uk/record=b2680570~S1
Abstract
Large-scale interstate migration raises questions about where the responsibility
for migrant welfare lies, whether with the sending state and its institutions, the
receiving state or both. Across the middle decades of the twentieth century,
around half a million people left Ireland, the majority for England. This study
analyses the policy responses of governmental, Catholic church and voluntary
organisations in both countries to Irish migrant welfare. Using records from
Irish and English diocesan archives and the National Archives of Ireland and
England the study identifies the policy claims that were made to church and
state in the two countries and the responses that resulted. The majority of
migrants were young, single and migrating alone. A distinctive feature was that,
for much of the period covered, female migrants outnumbered males. The
young age and gender of these migrants made moral welfare a major concern.
The Irish Catholic hierarchy, led by the Archbishop of Dublin, Dr John Charles
McQuaid, accepted responsibility for Irish migrant welfare and understood their
needs through a discourse of ‘faith and morals’. This interpretation led to
solutions designed to support religious faith and practice delivered by Catholic
priests and lay volunteers. Both the Irish government and British institutions
(state and voluntary) accepted the centrality of Catholicism to Irish identity and
the right of the Catholic church to lead welfare policy and provision for Irish
migrants. No alternative understanding of Irish migrant needs within a secular
framework emerged during this period. This meant that whilst the Irish
hierarchy developed policy responses based on their assessment of need, other
agencies, notably the British and Irish governments, did not consider any
specific policy response for Irish migrants to be required.
Item Type: | Thesis (PhD) | ||||
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Subjects: | D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain J Political Science > JV Colonies and colonization. Emigration and immigration. International migration |
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Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Irish -- England -- History -- 20th century, Ireland -- Emigration and immigration, Great Britain -- Emigration and immigration -- Government policy | ||||
Official Date: | November 2012 | ||||
Dates: |
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Institution: | University of Warwick | ||||
Theses Department: | Department of History | ||||
Thesis Type: | PhD | ||||
Publication Status: | Unpublished | ||||
Supervisor(s)/Advisor: | Luddy, Maria | ||||
Sponsors: | Arts & Humanities Research Council (Great Britain) (AHRC); British Association for Irish Studies | ||||
Extent: | viii, 332 leaves. | ||||
Language: | eng |
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