ok, I have been wondering this question for a while, it's about the population in Ireland.
I noticed that Ireland has fairly low population compared to other countries, the whole population on the island is not even half to San Francisco metropolitan, or 1/5 of New York. Some states in US has probably more Irish people than Ireland itself.
It seems that Ireland didn't enjoy the postwar baby boom as other European countries, but can anyone explains to me the reason?
OK....I came back onto the Forum because I got a message about this question.
First of all, you can't really compare the Republic of Ireland with anywhere in the USA.
Ireland is mostly rural and has very few cities with a population of 20,000 or more.
Ireland has an area of 27,133 square miles, slightly larger than West Virginia.
The estimated population for 2011 is 4,670,700, with an average population density
of
164.2 people per square mile.
Almost one quarter of the population live in the capital city of Dublin.
The New York Metro area has a population density of
2,812 people per square mile.
(that sounds like a nightmare to me!
)
Between 1845 and 1852 there was a potato famine in Ireland, which killed more than one million people.
Because of the famine another one million people emigrated, most of them to America and the UK.
So Ireland lost a quarter of it's population 160 years ago.
No, Ireland did not have a "post-war baby boom" because Ireland did not take part in WWII.
Ireland had only recently won independence from Britain, and had only a small Defence Force,
which was mobilized to protect Ireland when the State of Emergency was declared at the outbreak of WWII.
Today, Ireland has Defence Forces of approximately 10,000 Active Duty Military, and about 13,000 Reserves.
Northern Ireland is not included in any statistics here, as it is part of the United Kingdom.
Re your comment about some of the States having more Irish than Ireland....it depends what you mean by "Irish".
....I think you are referring to people of Irish ancestry.
Many Americans of Irish descent call themselves "Irish" when they may be 3 or 4 generations apart from their Irish ancestors.
Most of them have never been to Ireland, and don't know what part of Ireland their ancestors were from.
To the Irish, an Irish person is someone born in Ireland, or is a Citizen / Resident of Ireland.
That's why, if an American goes to Ireland and says "Hey - I'm Irish!" he will be greeted with a quizzical smile and raised eyebrows......and maybe the question "and where in Ireland were you born?"
(Just ask Kathleen or Elizabeth what happened in Atlanta at the Órlagh concert!
)
