The DVD is a production of the Irish Elders Now project, which is aimed at building a substantial video and oral record of a generation of Irish migrants to Britain whose stories and experiences have been underrepresented in other official records.

For more information and to order the DVD, visit the Irish Studies Centre website.

The report found that the oldest foreign born populations tend to be from Europe, with those born in Hungary (64 years) and Italy (63.1 years) having the oldest median ages. Those from Greece, Germany and Ireland have median ages of about 60. The median age for the US population as a whole is 36.7, while the total foreign-born population has a median age of 40.2.

Immigrants from Ireland have a poverty rate of only 5%; those from Ireland and the Netherlands were the least likely to be poor. In contrast, 51% of Somali residents live in poverty, along with about a quarter of those born in Iraq, the Dominican Republic, Jordan and Mexicio.

In a separate study, the bureau has found that 12% of all Americans report Irish ancestry, or a total of 36 million in 2007.

In researching this information, I was surprised to find that the Irish don’t even make it into a list of the top 25 countries of birth for immigrants in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, as evidenced by this graphic on the New York Times website.

Related web pages:

• US Census Press Release: Census Bureau Data Show Characteristics of the US Foreign-Born Population
• Fact sheet on the Irish population group using 2000 Census Demographic information

Read the full story at the Irish Times website.

A lunch club, not only allows organisations to improve their relations with elders but also provides an excellent social networking opportunity (for some elders, isolation is a stark reality within their lives) as well as offering an access point for various community services, i.e. Health, Benefits, etc.

It’s a really comprehensive guide, covering organisational issues, finding premises, training volunteers and staff, nutrition and menus, promotion, record keeping, finances, and suggested meals.

See the Guide on the FIS website.

Some of the contributions focus on individual stories of emigration and Irish and Canadian life, while others focus on the Irish history and heritage of the Ottawa area. Irish immigration to the area began in the early years of the 19th century, with sponsored immigration schemes; judging by this book, the Irish heritage of the area is rich and deep.

The book also contains about 60 recipes, including such traditional favourites as barm brack, colcannon, champ, porter cake, beef stew, and many soda bread recipes. A treat!

For more information, visit the website for the Irish Society of the National Capital Region.

Pictures of the launch event are also available. (scroll down in the centre section until you see the link to the June 8 event.) You can also hear contributors to the book at The Gaelic Hour website.

Would you like to share what your group is doing? Drop a line to noreen@ean.ie and I’ll share it with Ean members.

There are a number of interesting exhibitions that those interested in emigration might be interested in, no matter what part of the world you find yourself in this summer.

Dublin: Strangers to Citizens: The Irish in Europe 1600-1800 is continuing at the National Library of Ireland through December 2008. It’s a fascinating look at a little-known aspect of Irish emigration history.

Liverpool: Fis 2008 celebrates Irish culture and explores links between Ireland and Liverpool. It’s taking place at the Novas Contemporary Urban Centre on Greenland Street, and will last until 7 September. For more information, see the artinliverpool website.

New York: Catholics in New York 1808-1946 at the Museum of the City of New York explores the social and political history of the establishment of the Catholic Church in the city. Much of the exhibition focuses on the experience of the immigration Irish and later generations. It’s on until December 31. See more at the museum’s website.

New York: “To Love Two Countries: Ireland’s Greatest Generation in America” features photos taken in New York, New Jersey, and Philadelphia by John Minihan – a portait photographer better known for his work with people like Samuel Beckett, Edna O’Brien, Ray Charles, and Al Pacino. A book accompanies the exhibition, which runs through December 2008. This exhibition was opened by the Taoiseach on his visit to New York. See the Irish Arts Center website for more information.

Galway: The Galway City Museum has two exhibitions of interest: a photography exhibition focusing on the experience of Irish emigrants in Britain, and another focusing on President John Kennedy’s ‘homecoming’ visit to Galway 45 years ago.

Turkey: An exhibition focusing on one of Ireland’s most famous 20th-century emigrants, Samuel Beckett, is on display in Diyarbakir at the Diyarbakir Chamber of Commerce and Industry. It is part of a series of cultural events marking the 2008 European Year of Intercultural Dialogue. For more information, see the Turkish Daily News website.

Boston: “Celebrating Celtic Prize Fighters: 1820-Present” is an eclectic collection of boxing photography and artifacts. Runs through September 2008 at the John J. Burns Library at Boston College. For more information, see the website.

There are 35,000 people living outside of Ireland who receive the contributory pension, according to the paper; the contributory pension is made to eligible people 66 or over who have paid social insurance PSRI contributions. The pension amounts to €223 per week, with more if the recipient has an adult dependent.

There are a total of 237,000 recipients of this pension, with 14% of them living abroad. Most of those recipients abroad live in the UK, the US, and Canada. As these countries do not automatically alert Irish authorities when an Irish citizen dies, the Department is concerned that welfare payments may be made to people who have died. Officials are contacting 8,000 recipients they feel may have passed away or who no longer have an adult dependent.

One thousand circulars were distributed last month, for the first phase of the “life certification project”. If there is no response within a period of time, the payments will be stopped; they will be reinstated, however, if someone is taken off the list but is still alive.

Read the full story (registration required).

“Legal advice indicates that it would not be possible to extend entitlement to free travel to Irish-born people living abroad, as to do so would be contrary to European legislation, which prohibits discrimination on the grounds of nationality”.

Labour Party chief whip Emmet Stagg, however, says the Government is actually opposing a complaint made to the European committee on Social Rights, investigating whether the current denial of free travel breaches the EU’s social charter. “The Government have fought against that tooth and nail to prevent them having to grant free travel. This flies in the face of their statements in the Dail, where they are saying the EU won’t allow them to do this”.

See the report by Michael Brennan in the Irish Independent.

“We all love him”, says 91-year-old Lilly Allen in the report, by Judith Graham in a recent issue of the Chicago Tribune.

On Mr Homan’s visits to his clients, he not only checks to make sure that they are being adequately cared for by his colleagues at Wellspring Personal Care; this director of client care services uses his talents as a tenor and bodhran player to reach out to them in a different way. His colleagues praise his work:

“I saw right away that he had what we look for in social work — the essence of everything we do — the ability to connect,” said Sheila McMackin, president of the home care agency where Homan now works as director of client services.

Particularly for people with dementia or mental illness, “there’s very little sharing that goes on,” said Dr. Steven Fox, Wellspring’s medical director. “All that people will hear from professionals is ‘I have a plan for you.’ Not, ‘I’d like to spend time with you and learn more about you,’ the message Paddy gives.”

The report also carries a video, in which Mr Homan describes how his work is informed by home tradition:

Particularly in the wintertime, not many people call to people’s houses. Where I come from back home, there was a tradition of people calling to each other’s house . Now in some small way – even though I’m in a professional capacity – I somehow see it that I’m sort of carrying on that tradition as well.

 

I’ve ways been singing, and where I come from back home there’s a great tradition of singing. But there’s something – music can reach beyond any barriers that one might have. You might think you’re going into a home to say hello, you might sing a song and you’re totally going down a different route. And that’s nice.

Read the news article on the Chicago Tribune website.

Watch the video on the Chicago Tribune website.

Emigrant advocates have been campaigning on this issue for years, and while there appears to be much goodwill toward the idea among politicians, there have been difficulties in implementing a plan.  Last year, then-Minister Seamus Brennan attempted to introduce a provision that would have allowed for free travel for those abroad who were receiving an Irish pension; the EU Commission rejected the proposal as discriminatory. Currently residents of the island of Ireland are entitled to the free travel scheme once they reach 66.  

Most campaigners want to see free travel introduced for all Irish nationals who have reached pension age. The newspaper quotes a Department for Social and Family Affairs spokesperson:

“The Government will examine the introduction of free travel for Irish citizens of pension age, particularly those resident in Britain, when visiting Ireland and press the European Commission to examine a similar EU-wide scheme.”

 The paper notes the free travel campaign is backed by the Green Party, a coalition government party, and the opposition Labour Party.

 The issue was one of those that loomed largest at the Irish Pensioners Consultation and Conference Day recently organised by the Irish Elderly Advice Service at the London Irish Centre.

Read the full reports on the Irish Post website:

• New move on free travel.
• Free travel lies at heart of our Irish concerns.