As a port town, and more importantly, as a major sea crossing linking Ireland to Scotland, Larne has something of a cosmopolitan flavour, containing a significant number of people who were born not only outside of Co. Antrim, but outside of Ulster and Ireland as well. Some common groups found in port towns were those of the Coastguard and Lighthouse services and there were also employment opportunities for unskilled labourers.
Seasonal migration was also a feature of life in Ulster in the nineteenth century and beyond. Ireland, Scotland and the north of England have comparable economic bases (agriculture, shipbuilding, textile manufacture and, to a certain extent, mining) and skills or experience were readily transferable from one area to the other. The movement occurred in both directions so researchers based in England and Scotland are faced with the problem ‘Born Ireland’ just as we encounter ‘Born England/Scotland in Irish listings. One of the shortcomings of census returns is that while the county of birth is ordinarily shown, usually only the country is given in those cases where the birth took place outside of the country of residence. There is, therefore, a sizeable number of people for whom we have no more detailed information about their place of origin than England or Scotland or elsewhere.
Given the quotidian nature of seasonal migration, it is no surprise to see large numbers of unattached men and women of English and Scottish origin living in Larne. Perhaps they had found employment in the town. Perhaps they had an intended destination, but settled in Larne itself and never went any further. Perhaps they were just passing through. The presence of quite a large number of children, who were born in either England or Scotland, suggests something more permanent than the transient migratory labourer described above. Were these families who moved to Larne of English or Scottish origin or were they the children of Irish parents returning to Ireland after living away for a number of years? Surnames can be useful in unravelling this question and cross-referencing with the censuses of 1891 and 1901 for England and Scotland might also throw light on this matter, but ultimately it is difficult to be certain.
Census returns may only give us a snapshot of life in 1911 and a brief insight into the lives of our ancestors, but what a fascinating insight it is.