FROM THE ARCHIVES:Estimates of the number of illegal Irish emigrants in the US by the late 1980s ranged from 40,000 up to 250,000. This is an extract from a series of articles by Pádraig Yeates which explored their experiences and situations. – JOE JOYCE
BRIAN IS 40, but looks older. He had his own business in Donegal, but now he and his wife Mary work long hours whenever and wherever they can to support their four children.
Keeping a family when you are illegal is expensive in New York.
Anne used to be a secretary in Portlaoise, now she waitresses in Connecticut and lives in fear of the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (INS). But her husband George is doing well as a building subcontractor in partnership with a Brazilian, who is also illegal.
Unfortunately, they have now reached a stage where further expansion of the business is hampered by their lack of a green card.
Anne and George have two children, and she is expecting a third. The youngest will, hopefully, be born in the United States, and be an ultimate passport to legal entry for the rest of the family.
If young illegals are the most obvious and high-profile product of the Irish recession in the United States, there are also growing numbers of families with a second generation growing up in the shadow of illegality.
Usually despair at the worsening economic situation at home and fear for their children’s future provide the motive for tearing up roots and seeking a new start.
Brian and Mary were literally driven to it, though Brian admits he always wanted to try life in America. From 1982, the family business began losing money.
“The final straw was when we applied for the dole,” Mary recalls.
“We had made £4,000, but owed £20,000 in debts. We were turned down because of the operating profit we had made. We could have appealed it, but took a decision to seek our fortune in a foreign land.”
Says Brian: “It was either that or live on the dole for 20-odd years. And children of people on the dole generally end up on the dole as well, so it wasn’t a hard decision to make.”
He came over first in late 1984. Mary joined him with their three boys and one daughter six weeks later, just in time for Christmas. Brian had lined up a job as a barman, and found an apartment in the Bronx.
“It was the greatest culture shock to see so many non-white people,” says Mary.
“The children would come with the different names and we knew they were Chinese or Italian. They adjusted much better than we did.
“Our third child was invited to a party, and I was trying to ask if his friend was like us, without asking if he was white.
“I met the mother then and she was black and she seemed a very nice lady. I picked him up later and found she was keeping house for a white family. The children never speak in racial terms, which we think is wonderful.”
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