I'd like to add another element to the mix of reasons that rinsed so many
Scots through Ireland.

Before the clearances and, perhaps, before some of the bad deeds by
Perfidious Albion mentioned by Paul, Scots (and Englishmen) were indeed encouraged to
move into northern Ireland to take up land left behind by Irish Catholics
killed, chased south, or emigrating entirely in the face of Cromwell's military
sacking of the Island.   In one of the earlier uses of the word, this was
commonly referred to as "plantation."

Departure from Ireland then also stemmed from a number of causes: including
Presbyterians feeling the heat from the Church of England; adventurers lured by
the New World; those left behind by periodic crises in the wool and linen
trades; etc..   I believe that many from each category took advantage of the
indenturing system that permitted emigration with little or no up-front funds.

Like so many of us, nearly all of those sides (and most of the periods) are
represented in my family history.

Jack Fallin

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