SETTING IN TIME AND PLACE

Angela's Ashes takes place primarily in Limerick, Ireland, during the 1930s and 1940s. Ireland won independence from the United Kingdom after the guerilla war from 1919 to 1923 between British security forces (RCI) and the Irish Republican Army (IRA). Ireland's capital is Dublin. Northern Ireland, however, along with England, Wales, and Scotland, is still part of the United Kingdom. Although the Irish war of independence was considered a nationalist war, religious hostility between Protestants (aligned with the English) and Catholics (the majority religion in Ireland) likely played a role as well.

Following the stock market crash on Black Tuesday, October 29, 1929, in the United States, the world was thrust into a deep depression. Ireland, poor and primarily rural, suffered from particularly low return rates for its crops and livestock during those years. Because of widespread poverty, many Irish citizens emigrated to the United States, where opportunities seemed greater despite the Great Depression and where many had relatives.

The McCourts already lived in the United States in 1929, feeling firsthand the effects of the Great Depression. Like many other Irish immigrants at the time, Malachy Sr. was unemployed for long stretches of time. The decision to return to Ireland was prompted mostly by Angela's grief and distance from family.

The effects of the Great Depression lasted until the outbreak of World War II in 1939. Ireland remained neutral during the war. The English war effort created a need for workers in munitions factories, and a large number of Irish citizens moved to England to seek employment. Malachy Sr. moved to England as well but, unlike his neighbors, rarely sent money home. He spent it on alcohol, as he usually did.