The Irish Memorial / Leacht Cuimhneachain Nan Gael
So many died on the filthy, fever ridden ships taking the Irish to the New World that the vessels were called “Coffin Ships”. The worst conditions were found on British owned ships. For every death on American ships, three died on British ships. Where there was one diseased person on American ships, there were five on British ships. In 1847 there were 20,365 recorded deaths out of 98,105 emigrants on British ships arriving in Canada. However, emigration for the Irish was their only chance at survival.
The Irish Memorial / Leacht Cuimhneachain Nan Gael
So many died on the filthy, fever ridden ships taking the Irish to the New World that the vessels were called “Coffin Ships”. The worst conditions were found on British owned ships. For every death on American ships, three died on British ships. Where there was one diseased person on American ships, there were five on British ships. In 1847 there were 20,365 recorded deaths out of 98,105 emigrants on British ships arriving in Canada. However, emigration for the Irish was their only chance at survival.