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Generation Emigration

Generation Emigration

The Irish Times forum by and for Irish citizens abroad

Monthly Archives: March 2013

plane Coming home – the big decision for emigrants

Why would an Irish emigrant move back to Ireland, with its long recession and lousy weather? More than 100,000 have returned since 2008. So what brought them home?

Philip 005a From Mullingar to Melbourne in 1983

Emigrants never forget the date or day they leave home, writes Philip Lynch

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA ‘Moving home was harder than I thought’

I imagined time would have stood still since I left, that friends and family would be hanging on my every word about my life abroad. I was wrong, writes Rachael Cahill

damien fox ‘I’ve felt the effects of emigration my entire life’

As the child of Irish emigrant parents living in America, I have witnessed the homecomings and farewells and the longing for home that has plagued them since they left Ireland, writes Damien Fox

shed Short story about losing a friend

Today’s Weekend Review features a short story called Scratch by Ben Simmons, about the heartache of feeling left behind as loved ones emigrate

michael garvey I went home. Not to America, but to Kerry

Where I will be in six months or a year, I do not know. Perhaps I will have to emigrate. For now though, I am in Kerry and I am writing, writes Michael Garvey

departuregates620 Emigration may have yet to peak

Many in employment would consider leaving for a better job abroad, writes Dr Irial Glynn of UCC

Andy Devane with his artwork in Rome. Photograph: Barry Cronin The Roman Irish

Andy Devane asks five long-term Irish residents about life in the Italian capital and the realities behind la dolce vita

canadaemigrants How new Irish arrivals are faring in the US, Canada and Australia

In the last of a series of articles on recent emigration trends, our correspondents report on the recent Irish arrivals in the US, Canada and Australia

raphoe From Dingle to Donegal: the communities left behind

A special Generation Emigration series continues in The Irish Times today, analysing which towns and counties have lost the most young people to emigration, with case studies from Kerry and Donegal

paddy tshirts St Patrick’s Day in Douglas, Ontario

It’s fifteen below zero and my hands are numb, the street is packed and the music is blaring for the annual nighttime parade in Ottawa Valley, writes Niall McArdle

president and christy St Patrick’s Day coverage on RTÉ
  • News
  • March 17, 2013, 12:00

A programme ‘celebrating Irishness and its impact across the world’ will stream on RTÉ online tonight, featuring interviews and performances at Áras an Uachtarain from some of Ireland’s best musicians and minds

Paul Mitchell from Ireland watches the St. Patrick's Day Parade in New York St Patrick’s Day Down Under: Beyond the glad tidings

As a long departed Irish expat I now harbour mixed feelings about St Patrick’s Day, writes Philip Lynch in Tasmania

plane Going north: new trends in emigration

Canada’s up. Australia’s down. The age profile of emigrants is rising, as is the number of families emigrating. Part one of a Generation Emigration special looks at changing migration patterns

origin Origin: short animation about emigration
  • News
  • March 15, 2013, 21:00

VIDEO: IFTA-nominated film tells the story of ‘a young man on the brink of emigration, but as he races through the streets of Dublin he comes to realise the spirit he is leaving behind’.

Birmingham Promoting Ireland abroad on St Patrick’s Day

This weekend, emigrants should make the most of the worldwide interest in all things Irish to champion the country in the places where we live, writes Niall McArdle

londonparade What expats are doing for St Pat’s

St Patrick’s Day means much more to emigrants than it does to people in Ireland. Several Irish people abroad tell Ciara Kenny what they’ll be doing on March 17th

GOAL Syria 1 of 7a Spending St Patrick’s Day in Syria: an opportunity to reflect

This weekend my thoughts will be of home on the Aran islands, but I’ll also reflect on how lucky I am in comparison to the people I work with in Syria, writes GOAL distribution manager Dave Terry

presidentandhansarda St Patrick’s Day message from the President: ‘We remember especially our Irish community abroad’
  • News
  • March 14, 2013, 11:19

President Michael D Higgins says he is grateful to the diaspora ‘for their continued connection and contribution to the country so many of them still call home’

St Patrick's Day St Patrick’s Day celebrations: share your plans

Do you celebrate our national day and use it as an opportunity to promote Ireland, or are you indifferent to it? Share your plans with us.

Would-be emigrants queueing for information at the Working Abroad Expo in Dublin. Half of would-be emigrants have full-time jobs, survey shows
  • News
  • March 11, 2013, 10:55

Some 44 per cent of those surveyed at the Working Abroad expos last week were over the age of 30

The Royal Dragoon Guards on tour in Helmand province in Afghanistan The military emigrants: ‘I’ve lived in Canada and in a hole in the ground’

On a tour of duty to Afghanistan, two Irish members of the British army talk to Ciara Kenny about life as soldiers and their reasons for joining up

Elaine Bannon thumb Inspirational Irish women abroad

On International Women’s Day, three Irish emigrant women share their stories with Catriona Doherty

carlynnmcc1thumb Is there any hope for young people who want to stay?

The majority of our best brains (and best friends) are packing their bags and carrying their fine educations to faraway lands. Is there any hope for those of us who want to stay here, asks Carlynn McCarthy

erin thumb Seeing beyond stereotypes and getting to know a new place

When you truly live in a new place rather than just pass through, you become acquainted with it in a slower, truer, more intimate way. It’s the great privilege of emigrating anywhere, writes American immigrant in Dublin Erin Fornoff

Sarah Griffin: 'I like the gap that has grown now between me and Dublin: it is full of stories and growth and age.' Photograph: David Monahan ‘Making a new home does not take away the home you had’

It’s springtime again in San Francisco and I can not summon, even on the toughest days, the homesickness that defined me for my first summer away, writes Sarah Griffin, with portrait photographs by David Monahan

marycoleman1a ‘Emigration was supposed to be the easy way out’

Leaving Ireland takes organisation, planning and most of all, courage – as speech and language therapist Mary Coleman has discovered since making the decision to go

paul lynch a Building a sustainable future in housing

WILD GEESE: Paul Lynch, Natural Building Company, Finland: Business specialises in restoration of traditional log houses, some dating back 300 years

Debate winners Kate Brady with Liam Brophy and John Engle (centre). Photograph: Charles McQuillan/Pacemaker. The emigration debate: should I stay or should I go?

At the final of the annual Irish Times Debate in Belfast last weekend, 12 of the country’s best student debaters argued the motion that “This house would emigrate”. Here, some of the speakers summarise their arguments for and against emigration, with a video of the highlights.