Irish in Berlin: Share your experiences

It is nine years now since I left Drogheda to return to my native Germany after two very happy years there.

Ever since I have been under the spell of everything and everyone Irish - I even wrote about how the experience of working as an au pair in Ireland changed me forever for Generation Emigration last year.

I consider myself lucky to have had the opportunity to incorporate this interest in Irish history, literature, politics and current affairs into my research at university: I wrote my Bachelor thesis on “Irish Women between Nationalism and Feminism on the Example of the Easter Rising” and my Master’s on the “Role of Religion during the Troubles in Northern Ireland”.

When I first moved to Berlin for my Master's in British Studies in 2010 I did not feel much of an Irish presence in the city, but with the years Berlin seems to have become more interesting and attractive to the Irish: between 2006 and 2013, Irish net migration to the German capital rose by 261 per cent, and in 2015 there were 2,586 Irish citizens registered in Berlin.

This Irish presence in the city, even though still quite small, becomes increasingly visible: the events on and around St Patrick’s Day are becoming more and more distinct and numerous by the year; since 2014 we have an official Gaelic Athletic Association Club in the capital, and there was an amazing turnout for the Berlin-Ireland Pro-Choice Solidarity March on September 24th this year.

Athough the interest of the Irish media in these developments has been quite significant in recent years, not much is known about who the Irish in Berlin actually are, why they came here and what they are doing in Berlin. This is why I decided to do my PhD on Irish and British migration to Berlin.

If you are Irish and have moved to Berlin between 2006 and 2016 and are still living here, please take the time (20-30 mins max) to fill in my questionnaire, or forward it to any other Irish or Britons living in Berlin. I am interested in your reasons for coming to the city, your experience of living in the German capital and how, or rather where, you see your future.

More information can be found on the welcome screen of the questionnaire, at https://umfrage.hu-berlin.de/index.php/215928?lang=en . Thank you.

Melanie Neumann is a PhD student at the Centre for British Studies, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. She can be contacted at neumanme@hu-berlin.de