Andy Bielenberg

Social geography of Ireland:

Was there a Protestant exodus from the south of Ireland in the early 20th Century?

Andy Bielenberg has undertaken the most in-depth demographic analysis of the decline in the Southern Protestant population, in early 20th Century Ireland. He concludes there was a much smaller rate of population decline as a result of targeting during and after the Revolutionary era, than the late Peter Harte argued. Bielenberg concludes that although the Irish Revolution was a catalyst and accelerated Protestant emigration from Southern Ireland, forced departures were a relatively small part of the story. Economic and cultural reasons also featured, and were often more relevant reasons for leaving.

First given during the 2015 Summer talks series in the National Library. Bielenberg’s talk frames much of the public discourse in 2016,  as we commemorate the centenary of the 1916 Rising and the Battle of the Somme.

Listen to his podcast here now

Listen to all the podcasts from our expert talks in the National Library of Ireland here