Where can job seekers go now? asks Indo
Wednesday, December 17th, 2008As talk of emigration rises, the question of where Irish people can go to find work is of increasing relevance. An article in this weekend’s Irish Independent suggests any move should be made with caution. The newspaper notes that economic forecasts for traditional emigrant destinations are bleak, and with increasing mobility of other nationalities, Irish job-seekers may find increasing competition abroad.
The newspaper takes an international rundown:
Australia - the number of Irish people seeking to emigrate to Australia has increased dramatically, but the labour shortages of a year ago appear to be ending, and redundancies are increasing. The unemployment rate is currently 4.4%, but rising.
Canada - Canada’s economy has been strong, but its November job losses totaled 71,000, the highest number of layoffs in a single month in 25 years. The west of the country remains in better shape.
US - Even those who are legally entitled to emigrate may find the US tough going right now – more than a half-million people lost their jobs last month, the highest number since December 1974.
The Middle East – Dubai looks like its economy is faltering due to overspeculation, but there remain openings in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi for such professionals as engineers, architects and accountants.
Eastern Europe – One report says that there will be strong growth in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and the Slovak Republic. While many Polish expats are returning home to take up new opportunities in its growing economy, there are good jobs available even for those who don’t speak Polish. While wages are low, so is the cost of living.
Related article:
Irish Independent: Emigration once again – but where can our young job-seekers go now?
No escape from recession, says college student
Monday, December 15th, 2008There’s no escape from the recession, writes a Dublin City University student in “The College View”, a campus publication. Sabrina Ryan notes that, “Emigration has been a dominant factor in Irish society over the past four centuries for many reasons including famine, job opportunity and more recently for the experience.“
That may be changing, she notes, as the traditional emigrant destinations of the US, Britain and Australia are also threatened by recession.
Ryan interviews three emigrants:
- a man who left from Mayo in 1971 to head for Cleveland, and who returned after a brief stay to take advantage of the improving conditions after Ireland joined the EU.
- An undocumented immigrant living in the Bronx, who left for adventure and appreciates the life experience New York has given him.
- A recently unemployed cabinet-maker who is planning to emigrate to Australia. His brother left for Dubai earlier this year.
It’s an interesting insight into the emigrant experience of three different eras – made poignant by the fact that it’s written by a member of a generation that few would have believed would need to consider emigration as a matter of economic necessity.
Related link:
The College View: Au Revoir to Fair Ireland?
Fulbright scholar for UCC’s Diaspora studies MA
Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008A noted historian who has done important work on the Irish diaspora has been selected as a Fulbright Scholar and will lecture in spring 2009 at University College, Cork.
William H. Mulligan, Jr. is professor of history at Murray State University. He will work with UCC to develop and promote their new master’s degree programme in Irish Diaspora Studies. He developed and taught one of the first university-level courses on the Irish Daspora in the US. His research has focused on the nature of Irish identity in the diaspora, and more specifically, migration from copper-mining areas in Ireland to the Michigan Copper Country from the mid-19th century.
The Fullbright programme is America’s flagship international exchange programme, operating in more than 150 countries worldwide.
Related links:
- Willam H. Mulligan’s website at Murray State University
- Irish Diaspora Discussion link
- MA in Contemporary Migration and Diaspora Studies at UCC
- Press release: Mulligan selected as Fulbright Scholar
Senate Majority leader optimistic on immigration reform prospects
Friday, November 28th, 2008There has been much speculation on whether and how quickly comprehensive immigration reform might be tackled in the US. There has been widespread hope that there might be another effort at immigration reform, which would presumably benefit the estimated 50,000 Irish among the US’s 12 million undocumented, soon into Barack Obama’s new term.
An interview with Harry Reid earlier this month, by Deborah Barfield Berry of the Gannett News Service, indicates that President-elect Barack Obama and Senator John McCain, who spearheaded prior efforts at bipartisan immigration reform, have been in discussion on the issue of immigration reform. Harry Reid is the Senate Majority Leader, and the interview from which this is excerpted focused on priorities for next year.
Q: With more Democrats in the Senate and the House and a Democrat in the White House, how do you see congressional efforts playing out on such issues as health care and immigration?
On immigration, there’s been an agreement between (President-elect Barack) Obama and (Arizona Republican Sen. John) McCain to move forward on that. … We’ll do that. We have to get this economy stuff figured out first, so I think we’ll have a shot at doing something on health care in the next Congress for sure.
Q: Will there be as much of a fight on immigration as last time?
A: We’ve got McCain and we’ve got a few others. I don’t expect much of a fight at all. Now health care is going to be difficult. That’s a very complicated issue. We debated at great length immigration. People understand the issues very well. We have not debated health care, so that’s going to take a lot more time to do.
Emigrant stories make great Christmas gifts
Friday, November 28th, 2008There have been plenty of emigration-related publications this year that would make delightful Christmas gifts. Several Irish centres have produced oral histories detailing the lives of emigrants to America and Canada, as well as the stories of those who have returned to Ireland.
Here’s the rundown of this year’s publications:
“Memory Brings Us Back: Irish Stories of Farewells and Fortunes”: This film by Derek Woods is the followup to “While Mem’ry Brings Us Back Again” – the 2006 hit book, produced by New York’s Aisling Irish Centre, detailing the lives of older Irish emigrants living in America. This DVD tells the stories of ten men and women who left for America between 1929 and 1965. With music by Joannie Madden, this film is sure to be a treat.
Order both the DVD and the original book at the Aisling Irish Community Centre’s website.
“Coming Home” – Frances Browner, the editor of “When Mem’ry Brings Us Back Again”, has returned to Ireland and compiled the tales of 36 emigrants who returned to their native land thanks to the help of the Safe Home organisation. Safe Home reports that this is a hot seller for Christmas. Their website says, “Frances Browner has conducted thirty-six fascinating interviews that highlight the heartache of leaving home; the struggles and successes of survival in a new land; the joy, and sometimes trauma, of returning.”
Buy it at the Safe Home website.
“A Story to be Told”: This gorgeously produced book tells the stories of 129 emigrants to Canada in their own words. Edited by Eleanor McGrath and with photographs by William C. Smith, this book reveals the diversity of the Canadian Irish experience, telling the tales of artists, mothers, a labour leader, a bus driver, a dance teacher, an actor, an engineer, an accountant. Their Irish identities are diverse as well, with tales of people from what seems like every possible background: rural farmers; Belfast Protestants and Catholics; Lithuanian descendants; Jewish Dubliners; American-and English-born, Irish-raised emigrants.
Many of them express love for both Ireland and their adopted home of Canada: “Today I am a very proud Irish Canadian who is blessed to call two of the greatest places on the planet home”, says one interviewee in a sentiment echoed by many others – although some express greater loyalty to one country or the other. A moving book and a great addition to the increasing library of oral history books.
Order the book from the Liffey Press.
For another Canadian treat, Ottawa’s Irish Drop-In Group has created a wonderful miscellany called “Memories of the Past: Stories and Recipes from Ottawa’s Irish Drop-In Groupâ€?. The eclectic collection of reminiscences, poems, jokes, photographs and more is a splendid insight into the lives of the 40+ seniors in the drop-in group, which meets every week at Margaret Mary’s Church in the south end of the Canadian capital. This book has the most ‘home-produced’ feel, but with about 60 recipes, including for such traditional favourites as barm brack, colcannon, champ, porter cake, beef stew, and soda bread, this spiral-bound volume has much to offer.
See the website for the Irish Society of the National Capital Region.
For a musical treat (albeit a commercial one), check out “The Irish Scattering” from Galway traditional singer and musician Sean Keane. Available as both a CD and a DVD, the music tells diverse tales of Irish emigrants through the centuries, including the travels of Irish monks, Irish settlers in Montserrat, Irish soldiers abroad, and the Ulster-Scots in America. The CD features 16 songs; the DVD of the live performance features 28 songs with music and dancing from some of Ireland’s finest practitioners.
Buy it at Sean Keane’s website.
Any suggestions? Post them in the comments below.
Deportations from US increasing
Wednesday, November 19th, 2008The number of undocumented Irish people being deported from the United States has been increasing steadily, according to news reports.
So far this year, there have been 58 people deported from the US; This contrasts with a total annual figure of 53 in 2007, and 41 in 2006.
This increase in Irish deportees is in line with rising figures for total deportations from the US, as the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials increase enforcement and coordinate with other agencies.
See the full article in the Evening Herald.
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