Returned Irish emigrants asked to share experience of coming home

Recently returned Irish emigrants are being asked to share their experiences of coming home in a survey launched by Crosscare Migrant Project.

Crosscare is the social support agency of Dublin’s Catholic Archdiocese.

The survey, which is launching today at Wood Quay Offices in Dublin where Crosscare Migrant Project, in conjunction with Dublin City Council’s Social Inclusion Unit, is hosting a special event entitled ‘Moving to Ireland’.

It will begin with a special screening of the new independent documentary Coming Home.

It charts the journeys of five Irish emigrants, across four continents, as they decide to return and live out their remaining days in Ireland. Made by Cathal Kenna, it explores each emigrant's personal journey, tracing their initial departure from Ireland stretching back to the years of mass emigration from Ireland in the 50's and up to the more recent wave of emigration in 2008.

After the screening the producer and some of the cast will be present for a Q&A session, followed by inputs from Ciara Kenny of The Irish Times' Generation Emigration and Sarah Owen of Crosscare Migrant Project. They will speak on their work with Irish emigrants.

The audience will be made up of recently returned Irish emigrants and new migrants living in Ireland. They will be invited to share their experiences on their transition to Ireland.

Launching the first Ireland-wide survey of returned emigrants Ms Owen said: "Through our work with Irish organisations worldwide, we are aware of increased numbers of people thinking about coming home, particularly from Australia and Canada.

“We know that people are worried about the cost of moving home and getting children into school before they return. We’re asking people who have come back in the last two years to share their thoughts and experiences to help others prepare for their move home.”

The Crosscare Migrant Project is a Dublin based non-governmental organisation funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and the trade emigrant support programme to work with intending and returning Irish emigrants.

The emigrants survey is live at: www.surveymonkey.com/r/returnedirishFor further details on the Coming Home film see www.cominghomedocumentary.com and detail on the project itself is atwww.migrantproject.ie