THE Irish Post can reveal the Top 10 most popular and least popular places for Irish people who choose to live in London.
While there are few surprises in the top areas, Croydon is revealed as the seventh most popular place for people to settle according to property lettings website rentonomy.
However Irish communities have mushroomed in Greenwich (up 48 per cent), Sheen (39 per cent) and Canning Town (38 per cent), as well as Clapham (33 per cent).
“There are no real surprises in the top 10,” said artist Bernard Canavan, a respected voice on London’s Irish history.
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“There’s a belt of Irish people running through Brent, Camden, Islington and Cricklewood, but the emergence of Croydon is interesting. The only explanation I can think of is that accommodation is cheaper and you can get into the city very fast.”
Canavan said he doesn’t expect the top 10 areas to change dramatically in the coming years, despite an obvious shift south of the river.
He said: “Cricklewood, Willesden, West Hampstead, Irish people traditionally settled in the north west postcodes for work reasons, there was easier access to the motorways to the north so people settled north.”
He added: “There has been a notable shift south, but it will probably take 20 or 30 years before the numbers of Irish people living in the north west start to drop off.”
Explaining the evolution of Irish emigration in the city, Mr Canavan said many thousands of Irish settled in the east end working on the docks before settling in large numbers in the northwest.
Top 10 most popular destinations
[table], , ,Total Population, Irish residents (2011 Census)
1, Willesden Green, NW10, 91997, 2709
2, Cricklewood, NW2, 66968, 2651
3, West Hampstead, NW6, 63903, 2196
4, Islington, N1, 91056, 2009
5, Kenton, HA3, 69554, 1807
6, Colindale, NW9, 60545, 1674
7, Croydon, CR0, 154233, 1570
8, Shepherds Bush, W12, 48949, 1525
9, Fulham, SW6, 65149, 1519
10, Lower Holloway, N7, 48157, 1472 [/table]
10 least popular destinations
[table], , ,Total Population, Irish residents (2011 Census)
10, Knightsbridge, SW7, 19852, 182
9, Collier Row, RM5, 18344, 170
8, Old Bexeley, DA5, 20824, 167
7, Chislehurst, BR7, 17300, 144
6, Belvedere, DA17, 17104, 132
5, South Bexleyheath, DA6, 9846, 128
4, Biggin Hill, TN16, 19293, 125
3, Clayhall, IG5, 17014, 123
2, Erith Marshes, DA18, 4939, 48
1, Redbridge I, G4, 8912, 41 [/table]
