The Coatbridge Irish

The Famine & Migration
Seasonal Irish workers, especially from Donegal and neighbouring Ulster counties had regularly to and fro'd from Ireland to Scotland prior to 1840, but few observers could have predicted the massive influx that occurred as a result of the Great Hunger of 1845 to 1851.

By 1848, the inflow of Irish into the Broomielaw, Glasgow, was estimated at over 1,000 per week. Having been forced by starvation and poverty to leave their homes and undertake an often hazardous journey by boat, thousands headed towards villages and towns in search of a better life, either in mining, iron production or general labouring.

Industrial Revolution
Coatbridge, although not a burgh until 1885 was an ideal location, it was only 10 miles from Glasgow, and in the throes of significant industrial growth, and had already been transporting local coal to Glasgow via its own transport system, The Monkland Canal, where Irish labourers had contributed significantly to its construction.

A combination of a natural resource, Blackband Ironstone, and the Iron smelting process saw the production of iron accelerate around the 1830's with the Baird family at the centre of this industrial growth.

This rapid growth in industry was paralleled by a dramatic increase in population, as people poured in from starving country sides elsewhere. It increased steeply from 1831, slackening off its pace by 1850, and picking up in the last two decades of the century.

Although mainly Irish, there was also an influx of Highlanders, English, and others from within Scotland. This complex mix of differing cultures inevitably created social problems, of crime, excessive drinking, sectarian violence and industrial conflicts( Coatbridge- Three Centuries of Change. Peter Drummond and James Smith). Poor housing, cramped conditions and subsequent ill health were also contributing factors.

Irish Influence
Andrew Miller in Coatbridge Its Rise and Progress circa 1863 describes at the

"Blast furnace men have always been easily distinguished from the rest of the community, by the peculiar red and scorched appearance of their faces, caused by the intense heat to which they are exposed, a heat which creates in them a great thirst, and often a desire to quench it in something stronger than water. Many of them thus acquire habits of intemperance, and with all their good wages, they are generally, as a class, comparatively poorer than many of the labouring classes with scarcely half their incomes. At many of the works the great majority of the men now employed at the furnaces are Irish."

Janet Hamilton in her poem, OOR LOCATION: (Janet Hamilton Selected Works) vividly describes the industrial & social situation of the day.

A hunner funnels bleezin’, reekin’,
Coal an’ ironstone, charrin’, smeekin’;
Navvies, miners, keepers, fillers;
Puddlers, rollers, iron millers;
Reestit, reekit, raggit laddies,
Firemen, enginemen, an’ Paddies;

The Expansion of Coatbridge
The increase in population resulted in Coatbridge obtaining Burgh status in 1885.The influx of people saw the need for the construction of Church and School alike. In 1839 there was the UP Church, Gartsherrie Church, 1841 St Johns Episcopal Church and as a result of the influx of Famine Irish to Coatbridge, St Patrick's Chapel was built in 1848 with additional buildings for manse and school. In 1860 The Evangelical Union Church was also built.

According to the 1851 census, the Irish born population of Scotland was 7.2%, whilst the Irish born in Coatbridge made up 35.8% of the population. These figures excluded the offspring of Irish born migrants and Handley argues that the true figure of Irish at this time is in fact much greater. By 1901, the percentage of Irish born had fallen to around 15%, but was still the highest of all the major towns in Scotland. The thousands of siblings born to Irish parents would ensure that the Irish influence would remain prominent. The Irish in Coatbridge have been a significant influence on the town's social, political and cultural life and this influence remains strong in the new millennium where many Irish religious and cultural traditions are still maintained.

Coatbridge Irish Communities
In the late 19th century, major Irish enclaves were to be found close to many Iron foundries, such as Brown Square at Langloan, Merryston Square, Steel St(name changed to Lang St), and in later years, the Slap - up, off Dundyvan Rd, Irish Land at Coatdyke and Paddy's land which bordered Portland St and Kildonan St.

It has been said in the past that there is a separate Coatbridge accent. There appears to be general less use of the Scots tongue, compared to our near neighbours in Airdrie, Bellshill or Baillieston. It has also been suggested that the significant Irish population in the late nineteenth century did make a phonetic impression on the language of the general population. E.g. the tendency to stress the 'a' vowel differently, e.g. Stair (sterr), Hair (herr), fair (ferr) etc . Another notable language trait practised commonly in Coatbridge is the use of the ' reaffirmative ' after a sentence, e.g. I need to go up the street tomorrow so I do, Tommy Tango's is always open so it is. This use of the reaffirmative is still extremely common in the North of Ireland today, particularly in Ulster.

Irish Roots
The majority of the Irish that settled in the town appear to have migrated from the northern most counties of Ireland, i.e. All over Ulster, several other counties through the Irish Midlands and out towards Mayo and Sligo in the West. This is consistent with the pattern of migration, given that the northern most ports of embarkation were principally Derry and

Major industry has long since gone from Coatbridge, but the presence of Irishness and families of Irish descent significantly shapes the town and its surrounding areas to this day. Many families are still knowledgeable as to their Irish townland or county of origin, and, although there are now numerous cultural and national influences in Coatbridge and its surrounding villages, including indigenous Scots, Polish, Italian, Lithuanian, English, Indian and Pakistani, Irish cultural facets, idioms, symbols, forenames, surnames and sporting affiliations still predominate for a huge number of the local Irish descended population.