Irish-American immigration. 19th-century illustration of emigrants leaving Queenstown in Ireland for New York in the USA. Queenstown is the former name of the port of Cobh in southern Ireland. In the late 19th and early 20th century, millions of people emigrated from Europe and elsewhere in search of a new life in the USA. Over 4 million migrated from Ireland, with around 436,000 of those emigrating in the 1870s. This wood engraving was published in the 26 September 1874 issue of 'Harper's Weekly'.