Read about Irish emigration and identity, then practise key vocabulary and narrative tenses.
Read the text, then answer the comprehension questions.
Ireland has a long history of emigration. During the Great Famine in the 1840s, potato crops failed and many people faced hunger, poverty and disease. More than a million people died, and many others left for Britain, North America or Australia, hoping to build safer lives.
The Irish diaspora stayed connected to Ireland through letters, music, religion, family stories and later through newspapers and community organisations. In cities such as New York, Boston and Liverpool, Irish emigrants formed neighbourhoods where they could support each other and keep traditions alive.
Emigration did not end in the nineteenth century. In the twentieth century, young Irish people continued to leave when there were few jobs at home. Later, during the economic boom known as the Celtic Tiger, some returned, while others arrived from different countries and changed Ireland into a more multicultural society.
Storytelling remains central to Irish identity. Songs, novels and films often explore leaving home, missing family and imagining a return. These stories show that migration is not only a statistic; it is also an emotional experience that shapes memory, language and belonging.
Choose the best word to complete each sentence.
1 Many Irish people to North America during the nineteenth century.
2 A is a period when many people do not have enough food.
3 The Irish includes people of Irish background living around the world.
4 Ireland’s western is famous for cliffs, islands and rough seas.
5 Oral kept family memories alive across generations.
6 An Irish can sometimes reveal where a speaker comes from.
7 Language, music and memory can all shape a person’s .
8 Many emigrants left because they hoped for a better .
Choose the best tense form for each sentence.
1 By the end of the famine, many families their villages.
2 By 1900, millions of Irish people to other countries.
3 When the ship in New York, passengers were exhausted.
4 Many young people left because they for better work.
5 Irish music became popular abroad after emigrants new communities.
6 Modern Ireland a lot since new industries arrived.
7 If young people moved abroad today, they in touch online.
8 The writer family stories before she visited Ireland for the first time.
Write 90–120 words about someone leaving home, moving to a new place or returning after a long time. Use at least three narrative tense forms.
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