2. Today many people are opposed to immigration; this was also
true in the past. The Irish were not always welcomed in Scotland,
for various reasons.

3. When many people think of
Ireland, they think about
the religious divide in the
north.
This divide followed the
Irish to Scotland, with
immigrant groups split into
Protestant and Catholic.

4. Most Irish immigrants were
Catholic and were spread
across Scotland.
Irish protestants tended to
settle in the west coast,
especially Ayrshire, parts of
Lanarkshire and Glasgow.
The violent divides of the ‘old
country’ still existed.

5. Like today, many Scots
opposed immigration.
There were many reasons
for this, mostly to do with
the workplace.
Scots were worried that
the Irish would take their
jobs or reduce average
wages.

6. Other Scots believed that
the Irish were violent and
had poor morals.
Many others opposed
Catholicism, meaning they
opposed mass Irish
immigration. The Irish
religious divide did not help
here.

7. However not all Scots
opposed Irish immigrants.
Employers thought they
could be good workers.
Others welcomed the
Protestant Irish more than
Catholics.