Madam, - It is with shock that the undersigned have heard about the prospective closure of the Irish Centre for Migration Studies at University College Cork. Over the years, this centre, most ably directed by Piaras Mac Einrí, has done invaluable research on migration and asylum issues for academic, government, EU, non-governmental and other organisations.
It supplied first-class qualitative, quantitative and policy information, otherwise often unavailable, which was vital for research and policy purposes. Indeed, Mr Mac Einrí was presented with the MAMA Guinness Award in May this year in recognition of his work at ICMS. Many of us in both the academic and NGO spheres have come to rely on the ICMS for research consultancy, information and guidance without which our research would have been much the poorer.
Studies conducted at the centre have resulted in policy reviews, comparative migration data and migrant life-narrative archives. Surely this is the time in Ireland to study migrations, not to stop studying them. Further, the practical support the centre offered to immigrants, both in Cork and nationally, has been crucial to helping them cope better with the challenges of in-migration to Ireland.
We are conscious of the financial constraints imposed on the higher education sector as a result of current funding cuts. However, we are also aware that UCC (like other universities) continues to use private funding to continue prioritised operations outside its direct teaching remit. The centre has itself also been able to generate research grants to fund projects and would no doubt be in a position to go on doing so.
If it closes this centre, the university will have cut these funding sources, dismissed the pioneering work done by Piaras Mac Einrí and the Centre's staff, and deprived the academic, policy, NGO and statutory communities of a vital source of research and knowledge. We very much hope this does not indicate a narrowing of Irish attitudes towards migrants, and we call upon the UCC authorities to reconsider their decision on this important national and international resource. - Yours, etc.,
Prof THOMAS J.
ARCHDEACON,
Department of History,
University of Wisconsin;
Prof TERENCE BROWN,
Department of English,
Trinity College, Dublin;
Prof TADHG FOLEY,
Department of English,
NUI Galway;
Prof MARY HICKMAN,
Director, Institute for the
Study of European
Transformations,
London Metropolitan
University;
Prof LYN INNES,
School of English,
University of Kent;
Prof RICHARD JENKINS,
Department of
Sociological Studies,
University of Sheffield;
Prof MICHAEL KENNEALLY,
Chair in Canadian-Irish
Studies, Concordia University,
Montreal;
Prof LIAM KENNEDY,
School of Modern History,
Queen's University Belfast;
Dr ROB KITCHIN,
Director, National Institute of
Regional and Spatial Analysis,
NUI, Maynooth;
Sr STANISLAUS KENNEDY,
Immigrant Council of Ireland;
ELIZABETH MALCOLM,
Gerry Higgins Professor of
Irish Studies,
University of Melbourne;
Prof KERBY MILLER,
Middlebush Professor of Irish
and Irish-American History,
University of Missouri;
CHARLES E. ORSER, Jnr,
Distinguished Professor
of Anthropology,
Centre for the Study of
Rural Ireland,
Illinois State University;
Dr BRAD PATTERSON,
Director, Irish-Scottish
Studies Programme,
Victoria University
of Wellington;
Prof BRONWEN WALTER,
Anglia Polytechnic University.
(The above are among 60
international academic
signatories to this letter.)