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Next Entries »Golf tournament to benefit Irish in Britain
Thursday, January 4th, 2007A major golf tournament in Ireland next year will benefit elderly Irish in Britain. The Safe Start Agency is joining with the Union of Irish Golf Societies and the Irish Post newspaper for a tournament that will involve 250 teams playing a championship course in each of the four provinces. Monies raised will go toward an expansion of services designed to prevent isolation of the elderly Irish in Britain. The Safe Start Foundation is an employment, training and accommodation charity. Based in Cricklewood, it was started in 1988 by Irish emigrants and is funded by Dion.
More information in the Carlow Nationalist.
Taoiseach speaks on Irish in Britain
Thursday, January 4th, 2007The Taoiseach has spoken about such issues as free travel for pensioners, RTE broadcasting abroad, and support for returning emigrants in an interview with Britain’s Irish Post.
On free travel, Mr Ahern said that extending free travel to Irish pensioners resident in Britain “remains a priority of this government”, but he did not give a timeline. He did note that from early 2007, an all-island free travel scheme would be in place for pensioners North and South. He added that extension of the free travel was “about recognising the debt of gratititude we owe to the Irish in Britain who helped to build the successful country we now have”.
He also said that EU laws prevent extending the entitlement to free travel only to Irish-born people living abroad as it would be contrary to legislation prohibiting discrimination on the grounds of nationality; it would also be against EU law to extend the scheme to people receiving Irish pensions outside the state.
On the issue of supporting older Irish people who are interested in returning to Ireland, Mr Ahern highlighted the role of member agency Emigrant Advice. He noted the updated information guide “Returning to Ireland” which is available through Irish immigrant centres abroad, embassies and consulates, as well as information providers in Ireland such as Citizens Information Centres, FÃ?S offices, and Social Welfare offices.
Regarding the potential for RTE broadcasting into British homes, Mr Ahern noted that the new Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill 2006 will be enacted early this year. He said the Bill intends for RTE to produce a service that will reflect the content of the channels currently available in Ireland; TG4 will contribute. The means of transmission (terrestrial, cable, or satellite) are not specified in the bill “and RTE will have to explore these possibilities”.
When asked about the most important issues facing the Irish government in relation to Irish people in Britain, Mr Ahern said the biggest issue is “how we cherish our senior citizens”. He noted that “many of our people were forced to leave Ireland for economic reasons and endured particular hardship and difficulties as a result.
Of course so many members of our community in Britain have done so well and there are Irish people at the top of every walk of life in Britain but we must also remember those for whom life has not been so fortunate.”
He noted that the Irish government had provided £7 million to assist the Irish community in Britain, “and the vast bulk of this funding goes to help the elderly members of our community, helping to provide advice centres, social functions, health and housing support and a plethora of other services.”
He named interaction with second and third-generation Irish in Britain as another important issue, and stressed the importance of a continuing connection with Ireland.
Mr Ahern also noted the importance of the Irish in Britain in contributing to Ireland and Anglo-Irish relations.
The Taoiseach concluded the interview by saying that the Irish in Britain are not forgotten: “There can be few houses in Ireland where a candle is not lit to remind them of loved ones abroad and it is this link between home and our community abroad which is ever enduring.”
Read the entire interview at the Irish Post newspaper site.
Irish-born Londoners decline in number
Wednesday, November 15th, 2006The number of Irish-born people among London’s 7.3 million people now stands at 114,000, according to the Office for National Statistics. This makes the Irish the third-largest migrant group in the city, but is a dramatic fall from 1997, when there were 185,000. The Irish were at that time London’s largest migrant group.
Indian-born residents now comprise the largest migrant group, with a population of 206,000, up from 144,000 in 1997; Bangladeshis came next, at 133,000.
Similarly to Ireland, the number of Eastern Europeans has risen dramatically; there are now 70,000 Poles in the city, nearly all of whom have arrived in recent years.
The number of foreign-born people in London rose from 1.63 million in 1997 to 2.28 million in June of this year.
More information on the Independent (UK) website.
Film to focus on 1970s-era emigrants in Britain
Tuesday, September 26th, 2006Colm Meaney will be one of the featured actors in “Kings�, a film focusing on a group of Irish emigrants living in London. Based on Jimmy Murphy’s play “The Kings of the Kilburn High Road�, the film focuses on several friends who emigrated to England in the 1970s; they are reunited at the funeral of one of the gang, who has been killed by a train. The Irish-produced film will be shot around Belfast, Dublin and London. It will be bilingual in Irish and English. The ensemble cast also includes Donal O’Kelly, Brendan Conroy, Donncha Crowley, Barry Barnes and Seán Ó Tarpaigh.
http://www.filmboard.ie/stop_press.php?press=461
Irish homeless in London figures fall
Monday, August 14th, 2006The number of Irish people sleeping rough in central London has fallen to about 100 this year – a figure that IrishExaminer.com said was an all-time low. This is down from 600 in 1999. The figures come from the Simon Homeless Agency, which credits increased Dion funding for the reduction.
Outgoing ambassador on British-Irish relations
Wednesday, August 9th, 2006The outgoing British ambassador to Ireland, Stewart Eldon, has an opinion piece in the Irish Times outlining progress in the Irish-British relationship. Interestingly, he doesn’t mention emigration; he focuses on what the two nations have in common, including trade links, joint efforts on the North, young Irish people’s attitudes toward the UK, the Irish Government’s commemoration of the Battle of the Somme, cooperation on law enforcement. He concludes that while Ireland and Britain will always be rivals on the sports field, “that rivalry is now counterbalanced by greater understanding of each other’s sensitivities and a recognition that both sides have something real and important to contribute, across the board.â€?
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