Tenants still hold land at the will of the landlords, with little or no rights. The areas most affected are in the west where the Irish language and the old traditions flourished before the famine. The number of Irish speakers decreases from four million in 1845 to two million in 1851. Poverty and the Irish language become linked in the imagination of many, which hastens its decline. A new conservatism in all areas of life follows upon the dominance of larger farmers.
Religious observances become more rigid, social intercourse more commercial.
By 1861, two-fifths of Irish land is held in farms of 100 acres or more. The livestock export trade expands and an urban professional and merchant class emerges to service it. Subsistence potato farming continues in the west, as does seasonal migration to the east or to England. Those who do have farms pass them down to one son, as opposed to the sub-division common before the famine. This may mean that the other members of the family have no means of livelihood and cannot marry, or might be forced to emigrate.