ABSTRACT
Investigations of diasporas lend themselves, among other things, to the reconstruction of various networks and connections that could act not only as powerful influences on the settlement decisions and socioeconomic fortunes of migrants but also provide elements of familiarity and cultural meaning through which their primary social relationships and understandings of personal and group identities could be delineated
within destination socIeties. This study explores the character and significance of such networks for Irish migrants and their descendants in two cities in North America: Toronto in Canada and Buffalo in the United States. In addition to outlining ways in which the Irish formed and made use of various kinds of network to understand 'their place' within these urban environments, this work seeks to fill important comparative and transnational gaps in studies of the history of Irish migration.
