Independent explores lure of Spain
Tuesday, January 15th, 2008The Irish Independent says there are an increasing number of Irish families moving to Spain, with 78,000 Irish people registered as living there. Journalist Niamh Horan says the Irish-born are lured by cheap and convenient flights, warm weather, an inexpensive lifestyle, and the widespread use of English.
Additionally, some claim they are finding they are having to give up few of their comforts. Patrick Hughes, MD of an estate agency selling to Irish people, says, “There’s no sacrifice. We have RTE here. We can get the Irish papers every day; it’s like home from home, except warmer and more comfortable… You live the same here as you do at home”.
The one caveat expressed in the article is that children tend to become more independent and grow up more quickly in Spain.
The Irish in Spain have been in the headlines over the last two weeks with the disappearance of Amy Fitzpatrick, who went missing from Mijas on New Year’s Day. Her family has lived in the Costa del Sol for about a year.
See the full article in the Irish Independent, “Boom in Irish families living Spanish dream“.
Irish activist challenges Republican candidate
Friday, January 11th, 2008A New-York based, Mayo-born bar owner and immigration activist has made national headlines in US newspapers for his questioning of presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
Ciaran Staunton, of the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform, poised the opening question at the “Ask Mitt Anything” event, held in New Hampshire shortly before the primaries were held this past Tuesday.
Mr Staunton noted that Mr Romney had had a strong record on immigration as governor of Massachusetts, but then asked him why he had changed. He spoke of the estimated 50,000 Irish undocumented, noting that many are the parents of American-born children, adding, “When you sit down tonight, Gov. Romney, will you do me a favor, please remember that they are human”.
Mr Staunton was jeered by Romney supporters. Mr Romney replied that he loved legal immigration but that he wants to end illegal immigration: “They should get in line if they want to become a citizen”.
Mr Staunton told the New York Daily News that Mr Romney had been generous in funding immigration centres in Massachusetts in the past, but has now done an “about-face in his immigration policies”.
The Irish Echo says the publican, who owns O’Neill’s Irish Bar in midtown Manhattan, denies his challenge was out of order. “Sure I’m a pillar of society”, the paper quotes him as saying.
Meanwhile, the Irish-American Republicans group has endorsed Senator John McCain for president.
Read the coverage of the event:
Irish Echo
New York Daily News
USA Today
Emigrant film dominates Irish awards
Friday, January 11th, 2008The emigrant-themed film Kings has dominated the nomination for the Irish Film and Television Awards. The film, which tells its story mostly through Irish, depicts the troubled lives of a group of Irish emigrants who left Galway for London in the 1970s. It received 14 nominations, including the categories of best Irish film, best actor (Colm Meaney), best supporting actor (Donal O’Kelly and Brendan Conroy) and best screenplay (Tom Collins). The awards ceremony will be held on 17 February.
The film, based on Jimmy Murphy’s play “Kings of the Kilburn High Road”, has also been put forward by Ireland to the Oscars for consideration for the best foreign language-film. The film is getting mixed reviews in the US, however. Several commentators have noted their opinion that the film is too confined by its theatrical roots.
Visit the IFTA website.
Read the reviews on the Reuters and Boston Globe websites.
Never too late to emigrate?
Wednesday, January 9th, 2008Here’s one for the record books: a 102-year-old man has decided to begin a new chapter in his life – by emigrating from England to New Zealand. Erik King-Turner has been married for twelve years to his New Zealand-born wife, Doris. The couple, who have been living in Hampshire, met when Doris was researching her family history in England.
Mr King-Turner said his wife was getting homesick, and that he thought it might be “rather fun to move to New Zealand”, according to a report in the BBC.
His wife added, “He’s very easy to get on with and he settles down very quickly, so I think he’ll quite enjoy it out there.”
The couple began their sea journey to their new home last week.
Read the full report in the BBC.
Migration Studies in Ireland: Trinity, March 2008
Tuesday, December 18th, 2007‘Migration Studies in Ireland: An Interdisciplinary Postgraduate
Conference’ will be held in Trinity College, Dublin on March 27-28, 2008.
Organisers have issued a call for papers from postgrad students working on questions of migration, race, rights, public policy, inter/transculturalism
and the use of audio and visual media in social research. They welcome input from the fields of sociology, anthropology, cultural studies, linguistics, geography, education, social policy, lens-based practice, film and media studies, race, ethnicity and gender studies, among others.
This is the inaugural conference but will it occur annually and rotate location between the following convening partner institutions: University College Dublin (UCD); National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM); University College, Cork (UCC); Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT); University of Limerick (UL); Dublin City University (DCU); Trinity College Dublin (TCD).
Abstracts should be sent to migrationstudiesireland@gmail.com no later than January 20.
US National Migration Week, Jan 6-12
Tuesday, December 18th, 2007National Migration Week will take place in the US from January 6 – 12. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has published a website with resources for the week at the usccb.org website.
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