Why did Irish people emigrate to Scotland in the MIddle Ages?

Question

My real surname indicates both Irish and Scottish ancestry and geneolgists tell me that my forbears originally came from Ireland but settled in Peebleshire around 1100 A.D.
Why might this have been? The name is Dunn.

Answer 1

Northern Ireland and Scotland are geographically very close to each other. It is no surpise that families would have migrated throughout the ages seeking better living conditions, through marriage etc.

At one time Northern Ireland and the western part of Scotland formed a kingdom known as Dal Riata. It reached its height in the 6th century AD, and basically disappeared under the pressure of Viking intrusion. Before the Viking era, movement between what is now Ireland and Scotland would have been very simple.

There is some disagreement as to the early history of Dal Riata (also referred to as the Dal Riata Scots) but the links below should fill in the blanks as far as your question is concerned.

Answer 2

First of all, Jason has mixed up his time periods. Scots Covenanteers moved to Ulster, or Northern Ireland, in the 16th and seventeenth centuries.

The Middle Ages occurred between the 7th and 12th century CE. Edward the Bruce (1275-1218), the brother of Scotland's Robert the Bruce, was invited by the tribal kings of Ireland to become the High King of Ireland. Other Scots, such as some of the Kennedys, left Scotland for Ireland during the fifteen and sixteenth centuries.

Answer 3

There was a lot of to-ing and fro-ing between what are now Scotland and Ireland. Some of it was voluntary, and some (especially 16th-17th century) was by coercion.

The Scots originated in Ireland, and later colonised the west of Scotland. They formed alliances with the Britons (whose capital was at Dumbarton) and with the Picts in the north east.

Eventually, they were all brought together under one king (Malcolm Canmore) and the Scottish nation was founded.

Answer 4

Because Oliver Cromwell paid his army by giving them land in Ireland instead of cash. this meant that thousands of mainly catholic native Irishmen had their land seized and handed over to Cromwell's soldiers. a lot of these displaced citizens were forced to look for land and woirk elsewhere and so crossed the sea to Liverpool & Scotland. But that was more recent than the middle ages obviously, the next great influx of Irish came with the potato famine in 1845. Check link below for what happened in 1100

Answer 5

Hunger might be the answer. The Irish had a lot of problems keeping fed, part of why they spread out around the world and became known as "wild geese", and not counting their oppression by various British governments...

Answer 6

Ireland had not floated so far away from the coast of Scotland.

Answer 7

Have a look at the links posted below,
http://www.houseofnames.com/fc.asp?sId=&s=Dunn
http://www.youririshroots.com/
http://rmhh.co.uk/ireland.html
http://www.heraldry.co.uk/scottish_clans_heritage.htm
I hope these help you.

Answer 8

they might not of been able to swim any further than Scotland.