The Irish Conquered the World With Plentiful Cheap Labor and Pints of Guinness

Published: Dec. 29, 2022, 7:35 a.m.

b'When people think of Irish emigration, they often think of the Great Famine of the 1840s, which caused many to flee Ireland for the United States. But the real history of the Irish diaspora is much longer, more complicated, and more global. Today\\u2019s guest, Sean Connolly, author of \\u201cOn Every Tide: The Making and Remaking of the Irish World,\\u201d argues that the Irish exodus helped make the modern world.

Starting in the eighteenth century, the Irish fled limited opportunity at home and fanned out across America, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. These emigrants helped settle new frontiers, industrialize the West, and spread Catholicism globally. This led to the commodification of Irish culture, best exemplified by the ubiquity of the Irish Pub and Guinness, the popularity of River Dance, and annual Saint Patrick\\u2019s Day parades.

As the Irish built vibrant communities abroad, they leveraged their newfound power\\u2014sometimes becoming oppressors themselves.'