The great exodus from estuary parishes

HISTORIAN Paul Markham, who hosted an American Wake in Kilmurry McMahon last Thursday night, has calculated that approximately 10% of the population of two adjoining parishes has emigrated inside the last three years.

 

He has hosted a number of American Wakes in recent years in the restored Rambling House. Last week’s was for Rose of Clare Mary Gilligan, who is emigrating to Australia.

“The population of Kilmurry McMahon and Labasheeda is approximately 900 people. Coolmeen/Cranny is about 800, which is in the region of 1,700 between the two parishes,” Mr Markham explained.

“Easily, there’s 10% of that figure gone away. Definitely the majority of them are in Australia. There are a few in England and Canada but mostly in Australia,” he said.

Although he hasn’t kept an exact count of his emigrant list from the three Shannon Estuary parishes in 2012, Mr Markham says his figures suggest that well over 150 people, mostly aged in their early to late 20s, have emigrated.

“I had a full list of the names about a year ago but I didn’t update it since. There must have been about 110 names on that at least between Kilmurry McMahon, Labasheeda and Coolmeen. It has gone up another 50 or 60 anyway,” he believes, noting that many of those who have emigrated in the last three years, are seeking Australian citizenship.

“You also have some families who have emigrated in their entirety. There isn’t anything here at the moment,” he noted.

Mr Markham has conducted some research into the names of emigrants who left Kilmurry McMahon between 1856 and 1867. He has found at least 41 people emigrated to Australia alone during that period.

In late 2011, a survey in Kilmihil revealed at least 87 people had emigrated from the West Clare parish inside the previous two years. The vast majority of those emigrants were aged between 20 and 30. Approximately 50% of the emigrants from Kilmihil now live in Australia, while the remainder are based around the globe in the UK, Europe, the US, Canada, South Korea and New Zealand.

The collapse of the construction industry is a major factor in the high emigration figures from West Clare.