Ceist Eile

Ceist Eile is in development. Features, questions and prices may change while we refine it.

Subjects · Leaving Cert History

Leaving Cert History: Irish diaspora 1840–1966

How often Irish diaspora 1840–1966 comes up on the History papers, every year it was asked, and questions to try.

HL Asked on 10 of the last 10 Higher Level papers, most recently in 2026. banker

OL Asked on 10 of the last 10 Ordinary Level papers, most recently in 2026. banker

Irish diaspora 1840–1966, Higher Level(6 marks)

Quick ones on Irish diaspora 1840–1966.

(a)Which year of the Famine is remembered as 'Black 47'?
  1. 1845
  2. 1847
  3. 1851
(b)Which New York immigration station opened in 1892?
  1. Angel Island
  2. Grosse Île
  3. Ellis Island
(c)Annie Moore, the first immigrant processed at Ellis Island, came from which county?
  1. Cork
  2. Galway
  3. Dublin
Show the answers

(a) 1847

(b) Ellis Island

(c) Cork

Your turn: Higher Level questions on Irish diaspora 1840–1966.

Higher Level

Asked on 10 of the last 10 Higher Level papers, most recently in 2026. banker

Every paper, year by year

YearWhere it came up
2026Ireland Topic 4
2025Ireland Topic 4
2024Ireland Topic 4
2023Ireland Topic 4
2022Ireland Topic 4
2021Ireland Topic 4
2019Ireland Topic 4
2018Ireland Topic 4
2017Ireland Topic 4
2016Ireland Topic 4

Links open the State Examinations Commission’s paper for that year.

More Irish diaspora 1840–1966 questions

Irish diaspora 1840–1966, 2 marks

Henry Ford's father emigrated from which Irish county?

  1. Kerry
  2. Mayo
  3. Cork
Show the answer

Cork

William Ford left Ballinascarthy, Co. Cork, during the Famine. His son Henry founded the Ford Motor Company, which opened a factory in Cork in 1917.

Irish diaspora 1840–1966, 2 marks

Roughly how many people emigrated (net) from Ireland in the 1950s?

  1. About 1.5 million
  2. About 400,000
  3. About 50,000
Show the answer

About 400,000

Economic stagnation drove mass emigration, mostly to Britain. The crisis led to the First Programme for Economic Expansion in 1958 under Lemass and Whitaker.

Irish diaspora 1840–1966, 2 marks

JFK's great-grandfather Patrick Kennedy emigrated from which county?

  1. Wexford
  2. Kerry
  3. Clare
Show the answer

Wexford

Patrick Kennedy left Dunganstown, Co. Wexford, for Boston around 1849. His great-grandson JFK visited the ancestral home in 1963.

Ordinary Level

Asked on 10 of the last 10 Ordinary Level papers, most recently in 2026. banker

Every paper, year by year

YearWhere it came up
2026Ireland Topic 4
2025Ireland Topic 4
2024Ireland Topic 4
2023Ireland Topic 4
2022Ireland Topic 4
2021Ireland Topic 4
2019Ireland Topic 4
2018Ireland Topic 4
2017Ireland Topic 4
2016Ireland Topic 4

Links open the State Examinations Commission’s paper for that year.

More Irish diaspora 1840–1966 questions

Irish diaspora 1840–1966, 2 marks

Which disaster caused mass emigration from Ireland after 1845?

  1. The Land War
  2. The Civil War
  3. The Great Famine
Show the answer

The Great Famine

Potato blight destroyed the crop that most of the poor depended on. About a million people died and a million more emigrated.

Irish diaspora 1840–1966, 3 marks

What name was given to the overcrowded ships that carried Famine emigrants?

  1. Emigrant packets
  2. Coffin ships
  3. Steerage clippers
Show the answer

Coffin ships

Conditions on the Atlantic crossing were filthy and disease spread easily, so many passengers died at sea or in quarantine on arrival.

Irish diaspora 1840–1966, 3 marks

Which island became the main United States immigration station in 1892?

  1. Ellis Island
  2. Liberty Island
  3. Long Island
Show the answer

Ellis Island

Newcomers to New York were checked there for illness and questioned before being admitted. Millions of immigrants passed through it.

Other History topics

All of Leaving Cert History