What does the phrase to hell or Connaught mean?

Answer 1

Connacht is the province that makes up much of the west of Ireland. It has a lot of spectacular scenery and is quite rugged. As such, the land is not great for growing things on making it difficult for certains types of farming, compared to more fertile parts of Ireland. Many parts of it are not highly populated due to it being more difficult to live in.

In the 1650s, Britain's Oliver Cromwell was trying to take over land from Irish people and give it to British settlers. They got much of the good land in Ireland. Cromwell is said to have tried to send some of the Irish people to the less fertile areas in Connaught using the phrase "To Hell or to Connaught". So as well as its historical significance, it is a phrase indicating bad options or difficult situations, like other phrases such as "Hobson's choice" or "Between a rock and a hard place" or "Out of the frying pan and into the fire".