The aims and objectives of this work are to consider the socio-economic conditions prevailing in county Tipperary during the period in question. The affects on those residing within the county, both rural and urban, and to try and understand how socioeconomic conditions had such an influence in the perpetration of crime and the resulting cases of transportation. The investigation of why, when and how convicts were transported to Australia from the late eighteenth up to the middle of the nineteenth century has been looked at in depth by both historians and those hoping, to trace their convict ancestral roots. Some have studied conditions on the ships, some have studied the colonies and others such as A.G.L Shaw1 have studied the whole transportation era itself. However for the purposes of this thesis it was decided to focus on one particular era 1836-1853 and on one county, namely Tipperary. This period was selected because not only was Tipperary badly affected by agrarian agitation and faction fighting, more so than any other, but also by the Famine a combination of which led to high incidents of transportation. This thesis provides an analysis of some of those transported, looks at their backgrounds and establishes the link with the socio-economic conditions, which in so many ways shaped the lives and futures of those affected by these conditions. The colonies will also be looked at, in light of what awaited those who were transported along with a brief glimpse of how they fared.