The Industrial Elite in Ireland from the Industrial Revolution to the First World War

Abstract

Since Ireland remained relatively unindustrialised compared to Britain and the more developed European economies in the nineteenth century, the size of its industrial middle class remained small. Nonetheless, industrialisation proceeded in east Ulster, in particular, and, in a more limited way, at a localised level in other cities, towns and a few scattered industrial communities that typically developed around a single mill, factory or mine. The emergence of an industrial working class was the most significant social outcome of these developments. In all, there were about half a million people occupied and connected with industry in Ireland by the beginning of the twentieth century, when it accounted for roughly 20 per cent of GDP.1 The sizable group associated with Irish industry was as highly stratified socially as the agricultural and service sectors. This chapter focuses specifically on the industrial middle class, more particularly the industrial elite.