The Great Famine in Ireland · Summer Term

Emigration and the Coffin Ships

The journey of millions of Irish people to North America and the UK.

About This Topic

During the Great Famine of the 1840s, around one million Irish people emigrated to North America and the UK on 'coffin ships', overcrowded vessels where typhus and scurvy claimed up to 30 percent of passengers. Push factors included potato blight, mass evictions by landlords, and inadequate British relief, while pull factors promised jobs in factories, railroads, and farms abroad. Students differentiate these drivers and analyze how Atlantic voyages brought higher risks than shorter crossings to Britain.

This topic aligns with NCCA standards on eras of change and conflict, and continuity over time. It shows how Famine emigration created a global Irish diaspora, with communities in Boston, New York, and Liverpool preserving language, faith, and traditions. Primary sources like emigrant diaries and passenger lists help students trace personal stories and assess long-term impacts on Irish identity worldwide.

Active learning suits this topic well. Sorting push/pull factor cards in groups builds decision-making skills, while mapping migration routes reveals patterns. Role-playing shipboard life fosters empathy for hardships, and debating destinations sharpens analysis. These approaches turn distant events into relatable human experiences.

Learning Objectives

• Differentiate between the 'push' and 'pull' factors that motivated mass emigration from Ireland during the Great Famine.
• Analyze how the experiences of Irish emigrants differed based on their chosen destination, such as North America versus Great Britain.
• Explain the lasting impact of Famine-induced emigration on the formation and characteristics of the global Irish diaspora.
• Evaluate the primary challenges and dangers faced by emigrants during the Atlantic voyage on coffin ships.

Before You Start

The Great Famine: Causes and Immediate Effects

Why: Students need a foundational understanding of the Famine's causes, such as potato blight and landlord evictions, to comprehend the reasons for emigration.

Life in 19th Century Ireland

Why: Knowledge of the social and economic conditions in Ireland before and during the Famine provides context for the 'push' factors driving emigration.

Key Vocabulary

Push Factors	Reasons that compel people to leave their home country, such as famine, poverty, or political unrest.
Pull Factors	Reasons that attract people to a new country, such as job opportunities, land availability, or perceived freedoms.
Coffin Ships	Overcrowded and unsanitary vessels used to transport emigrants, often characterized by disease and high mortality rates.
Diaspora	A dispersion of people from their original homeland, often maintaining cultural connections to their place of origin.

Active Learning Ideas

Sorting Activity: Push and Pull Factors

Prepare cards listing factors like 'potato blight' or 'jobs in America'. In small groups, students sort them into push or pull categories and justify choices with evidence from readings. Groups share one example per category with the class.

⏱ 30 min·Small Groups

Generate mission

Role-Play: Coffin Ship Journey

Assign roles such as passenger, captain, or doctor. Students improvise scenes based on historical accounts of disease and rations, recording key challenges. Debrief in whole class to connect to push/pull factors.

⏱ 45 min·Small Groups

Generate mission

Mapping Exercise: Diaspora Routes

Provide blank maps of Ireland, UK, and North America. Small groups plot emigration paths, mark coffin ship wrecks, and note settlements using atlases and sources. Present findings to highlight destination differences.

⏱ 40 min·Small Groups

Generate mission

Formal Debate: Destination Choices

Divide class into teams arguing for North America versus UK based on risks and opportunities. Teams prepare evidence, then debate in rounds. Vote and reflect on emigrant perspectives.

⏱ 50 min·Whole Class

Generate mission

Real-World Connections

Historians use passenger lists from ships like the 'Mary Ann' (1849) to trace family histories and understand migration patterns, aiding genealogists and descendants in North America and Australia.

Urban planners in cities like Boston and Liverpool have had to adapt infrastructure and services to accommodate large influxes of immigrants throughout history, a challenge still faced by global cities today.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

All passengers on coffin ships died.

What to Teach Instead

Mortality was high but many survived to build new lives. Group analysis of ship manifests and survivor letters corrects this, showing resilience and community formation through shared discussions.

Common Misconception

Emigration happened only to America.

What to Teach Instead

Most went to the UK due to proximity. Mapping activities in small groups reveal this pattern, helping students compare experiences and avoid overemphasizing transatlantic journeys.

Common Misconception

Push factors were just hunger; pull factors were adventure.

What to Teach Instead

Evictions and policy failures dominated pushes; economic needs pulled. Role-plays simulate choices, allowing peer debates to clarify desperation over voluntarism.

Assessment Ideas

Exit Ticket

Students will receive two cards, one labeled 'Push Factors' and one 'Pull Factors.' They must write one specific example of each that relates to Irish emigration during the Famine and explain why it fits its category.

Discussion Prompt

Pose the question: 'Imagine you are an Irish emigrant in 1850. Would you choose to go to New York or Liverpool, and why?' Students share their reasoning, considering the risks and potential rewards of each destination.

Quick Check

Present students with a short primary source excerpt describing conditions on a coffin ship. Ask them to identify two specific hardships mentioned and explain how these hardships contributed to the high death rates.

Frequently Asked Questions

What were the main push and pull factors for Irish emigration during the Great Famine?

Push factors included potato crop failure, starvation, evictions by landlords, and limited relief from Britain. Pull factors offered industrial jobs in UK cities, land in Canada, and railroads in the US. Students can explore these through sorting activities to see how desperation outweighed opportunity in decisions.

Why were emigrant ships called coffin ships?

Coffin ships earned their name from horrific conditions: overcrowding, poor sanitation, and diseases like typhus killed thousands mid-voyage. Historical records show 20-30 percent mortality rates. Examining letters and logs helps students grasp the human cost beyond statistics.

How did the Great Famine shape the Irish diaspora?

It scattered over a million people, creating vibrant communities in Boston, Liverpool, and Toronto that preserved Gaelic culture and Catholicism. Today, 70 million claim Irish descent globally. Source analysis reveals ongoing influences on politics, music, and identity.

How can active learning help students understand emigration and coffin ships?

Hands-on methods like push/pull sorting, route mapping, and role-plays make abstract factors concrete and emotional. Small group debates on destinations build critical thinking, while simulations evoke empathy for emigrants' fears. These engage 5th years kinesthetically, improving retention of complex historical cause-effect relationships over lectures.