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Emigration “a rite of passage”, says columnist

By Noreen Bowden | October 7, 2008

A columnist has an intriguing perspective on emigration in today’s Irish Times. Quentin Fottrell left Ireland for London after graduation and returned in 1999. He says that “emigration is not something that should be feared”:

“It is the best way of finding out that it’s like in the big bad world and can provide work experience you could only otherwise dream of. For the last big wave of emigrants in the early 1990s, before Ireland evolved into a multicultural society, it was also a chance to see how the other folk live.”

He also says, “Emigration is as much an Irish rite of passage it is a necessary evil”.

Nearly a quarter-million emigrants returned in the ten years up to 2006, Fottrell notes, acknowledging the pull of family and home.

As the perspective of an educated person who emigrated by choice and was able to return home, it’s an interesting read.

See the full article in the Irish Times.

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