Emigration to America is on the rise as rural young follow the flight of family and friends

 Dublin, 6 April 1923 - Emigration to the United States is on the rise. In the first three months of this year, over 800 men and women presented their passports to the American Consulate in Dublin, up from 400 for the corresponding period in 1922.

This does not tell the full story of the current exodus, however. These emigrants came solely from the provinces of Leinster and Connaught, as the other provinces are dealt with in Belfast and Queenstown.

The Irish Times is today reporting that the age range of those seeking to emigrate was between 18 and 30 years and they were drawn mainly from the farming and labouring communities. The majority hailed from the west and they were divided equally between men and women.

Speaking to a reporter from The Irish Times, a shipping agent in Dublin confirmed that more than half of those set to emigrate have had their passages paid for by friends and relatives already based in the United States. ‘Over half the emigrants from this country”, the agent added, ‘are from the west of Ireland, and girls - principally country girls - are in the majority. The men are mostly young.’

[Editor's note: This is an article from Century Ireland, a fortnightly online newspaper, written from the perspective of a journalist 100 years ago, based on news reports of the time.]