Welcome
The Economic and Social History Society of Ireland was formed in 1970 to promote the study of economic and social history in Ireland.
The benefits of membership, which include a subscription to the print and electronic versions of Irish Economic and Social History, are detailed at Membership Information.
The benefits of membership, which include a subscription to the print and electronic versions of Irish Economic and Social History, are detailed at Membership Information.
News
ESHSI Distinguished Lecture 2026
We are honoured that the society's 2026 distinguished lecture will be delivered (online) by Prof Tyler Anbinder of George Washington University, in recognition of his significant contribution to the historiography of the Irish diaspora in America.
The lecture is entitled "The Surprising Socio-Economic Mobility of New York’s Great Famine Refugees" and will take place online at 4pm GMT (11am EST) on Thursday 5th March 2026.
Register for and join the event here:
https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/b5eb730e-d223-4bca-8966-0d932331480b@eaab77ea-b4a5-49e3-a1e8-d6dd23a1f286
The Surprising Socio-Economic Mobility of New York’s Great Famine Refugees
In 1845, a fungus began to destroy Ireland’s potato crop, triggering a famine that would kill one million Irish men, women, and children—and drive over one million more to flee for America. Ten years later, the United States had been transformed by this unprecedented migration, nowhere more than New York: by 1855, roughly a third of all adults living in Manhattan were immigrants who had escaped the hunger in Ireland. According to the American press, the “Famine Irish” were consigned to the lowest-paying jobs and subjected to discrimination and ridicule by their new countrymen. Even today, the popular perception of these immigrants is one of destitution and despair. But it turns out that the Famine immigrants did far better, far more quickly, than we have previously realized. In this lecture, historian Tyler Anbinder will discuss his research on the Famine refugees who settled (at least initially) in Manhattan and how it upends what we thought we knew about the Famine Irish in New York and beyond. The Famine Irish in America, Anbinder argues, enjoyed much more upward mobility than either contemporaries or subsequent historians have understood.
ESHSI Distinguished Lecture 2026
We are honoured that the society's 2026 distinguished lecture will be delivered (online) by Prof Tyler Anbinder of George Washington University, in recognition of his significant contribution to the historiography of the Irish diaspora in America.
The lecture is entitled "The Surprising Socio-Economic Mobility of New York’s Great Famine Refugees" and will take place online at 4pm GMT (11am EST) on Thursday 5th March 2026.
Register for and join the event here:
https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/b5eb730e-d223-4bca-8966-0d932331480b@eaab77ea-b4a5-49e3-a1e8-d6dd23a1f286
The Surprising Socio-Economic Mobility of New York’s Great Famine Refugees
In 1845, a fungus began to destroy Ireland’s potato crop, triggering a famine that would kill one million Irish men, women, and children—and drive over one million more to flee for America. Ten years later, the United States had been transformed by this unprecedented migration, nowhere more than New York: by 1855, roughly a third of all adults living in Manhattan were immigrants who had escaped the hunger in Ireland. According to the American press, the “Famine Irish” were consigned to the lowest-paying jobs and subjected to discrimination and ridicule by their new countrymen. Even today, the popular perception of these immigrants is one of destitution and despair. But it turns out that the Famine immigrants did far better, far more quickly, than we have previously realized. In this lecture, historian Tyler Anbinder will discuss his research on the Famine refugees who settled (at least initially) in Manhattan and how it upends what we thought we knew about the Famine Irish in New York and beyond. The Famine Irish in America, Anbinder argues, enjoyed much more upward mobility than either contemporaries or subsequent historians have understood.
Archive
New Researcher Prize 2022
The Economic & Social History Society of Ireland are pleased to announce we will once again be offering a new researcher prize at the annual conference in October 2022. This will be awarded to the graduate student(s) who present the best paper as judged by the panel. Full details here
New Researcher Prize 2021 - Winners
The society were delighted to award Noel Carolan (DCU) & Abigail Fletcher (Edinburgh) as joint winners. Full details and special commendations here
Obituary: Frank Carney
David Dickson, Cormac Ó Gráda and Peter Solar have written an obituary for Frank Carney, and economic historian of the pre-Famine era, who died in 2021. Read it here.
Connell Lecture 2020-2021
Jane Humphries (LSE and Oxford) delivered this year's Connell Lecture on Friday 4 June 2021. A recording of her lecture is available here.
Irish Economic and Social History, Vol. 47 (2020)
The 2020 edition of Irish Economic and Social History, published by SAGE, is available on-line. Access volume 47 here.
Have you got economic and social history news relevant for the society?
Please visit the ESHSI News Blog and contact the editor.
The Economic & Social History Society of Ireland are pleased to announce we will once again be offering a new researcher prize at the annual conference in October 2022. This will be awarded to the graduate student(s) who present the best paper as judged by the panel. Full details here
New Researcher Prize 2021 - Winners
The society were delighted to award Noel Carolan (DCU) & Abigail Fletcher (Edinburgh) as joint winners. Full details and special commendations here
Obituary: Frank Carney
David Dickson, Cormac Ó Gráda and Peter Solar have written an obituary for Frank Carney, and economic historian of the pre-Famine era, who died in 2021. Read it here.
Connell Lecture 2020-2021
Jane Humphries (LSE and Oxford) delivered this year's Connell Lecture on Friday 4 June 2021. A recording of her lecture is available here.
Irish Economic and Social History, Vol. 47 (2020)
The 2020 edition of Irish Economic and Social History, published by SAGE, is available on-line. Access volume 47 here.
Have you got economic and social history news relevant for the society?
Please visit the ESHSI News Blog and contact the editor.
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Registered in Dublin, Ireland
(Companies Registration Office register number: 774857)
c/o Professor Catherine Cox,
UCD School of History
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