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Monday, May 11th, 2009Today’s Irishman’s Diary in the Irish Times offers a fresh take on the utility of an Irish passport, with Tom Clonan’s surprising story of what happens when an Irishman, a Saudi, an Iranian and an American go for a walk on a bustling day in Istanbul.
Read the story on the Irish Times website.
“I Only Came Over for a Couple of Years” records experience of London Irish
Monday, May 11th, 2009Yet another oral history project detailing the experience of elderly Irish emigrants has come to your correspondent’s attention. “I Only Came Over for a Couple of Years”, a documentary that was completed in 2005, is now available on DVD from the Irish Studies Centre of London Metropolitan University. The film is a collection of interviews of Irish elders who came over to London between the 1930s and 1960s.
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.
Ireland’s Hidden Diaspora examines abortion trail
Monday, May 11th, 2009“Ireland’s Hidden Diaspora: The ‘abortion trail’ and the making of a London-Irish Underground, 1980-2000” by Ann Rossiter tells the story of the London-Irish women who have supported many of the Irish women who have travelled to Britain for abortions.
The book, which was launched in Dublin on Wednesday by Senator Ivana Bacik, is an oral history record of the Irish Women’s Abortion Support Group and the Irish Abortion Solidarity Campaign. Author Anne Rossiter is a Limerick-born campaigner who has lived in London for 25 years.
Related web pages:
Irish Times: The kindness of strangers who helped Irish women abandoned by the State
Federation of Irish Societies: Book Launch: Ireland’s Hidden Diaspora
NY GAA not benefitting from Ireland’s downturn
Wednesday, May 6th, 2009The Irish Times takes a look at the New York GAA scene in the context of Ireland’s falling economy, as Mayo prepares to make the trip to play New York in the opening round of the Connacht championship.
The article notes:
It used to be an economic downturn in Ireland was at least good for something; the GAA in New York. When players here were laid-off or couldn’t find work they typically looked to America, and particularly New York, where the promise of employment and a vibrant GAA scene – along with several other perks – was more than enough to entice them across the Atlantic.
These days things are a little different
The article notes that stricter immigration laws have kept New York’s GAA scene from booming as it might have in tough economic times of the past. There has been talk of an increased numbers of players coming, but “it’s really only dribs and drabs”, according to NY GAA chair Larry McCarthy.
They key to the NY GAA’s future growth? The twelve underage clubs in the New York area, according to McCarthy, which bring players up from under-10s to minor grade. But McCarthy notes that that the dominance of American sport is a challenge in attracting young people, and many young people lose their connection to their GAA clubs when they go away to college.
Related web page:
Irish Times: New York build on underage structures
Recruiters warn of brain drain
Wednesday, May 6th, 2009Brain drain will spread across the economy in the next few years, according to recruitment experts interviewed in the Irish Independent.
A recruiter with Merc Partners claims that caps on banker remuneration may “lead to a brain drain of bank executives. The cap also makes it very difficult to attract talent from outside Ireland.”
A recruiter with CPL notes that “highly skilled graduates . . . will not stay here if there are not good opportunities and a good quality of life”. She added that their healthcare business had seen increased inquiries into emigration to Britain and Australia.
The issue is even more pressing for those in architecture and law, according to a director with Deloitte: “Certainly in the short-term, anyone who has studied architecture and law will have no choice but to emigrate.” Adding that civil engineers and quantity surveyors will also be forced to emigrate, the recruiter said, “This will include experienced and non-experienced people as these sectors have been hit drastically.”
The evidence for such an increase is mixed, however, with many commentators noting that the global nature of the downturn is keeping many at home, despite a rise in media coverage and increased public interest in emigration. It will be difficult to get an accurate picture until the CSO releases its annual Population and Migration Estimates later this year.
Related web pages:
Irish Independent: Ireland faces massive bank brain drain as wages fall
Armenia looks to Ireland as model for diaspora connection
Tuesday, May 5th, 2009Ireland has been cited as a major influence in the development of Armenia’s relationship with its diaspora, in an article in the Wall Street Journal.
Armenia is running a number of initiatives aimed at enhancing its relationship with the diaspora. The Wall Street Journal reports, “In October, Armenia set up a Ministry of Diaspora modeled after the Irish government’s diaspora service, among others. About six million ethnic Armenians are estimated by diaspora organizations to live abroad. The country is trying to leverage the wealth and experience of Armenians abroad, says Diaspora Minister Hranush Hakobyan. ”
President Serge Sargsian had three principles in mind with the creation of the Diaspora Ministry, according to Ms Hakobyan, as quoted in the New-York based Armenian Reporter:
(1) Preservation of Armenian identity (hayabahbanum) in all its forms. By preservation of Armenian identity we mean the Armenian family, Armenian culture, faith, and our mother tongue. If these four great pillars remain steadfast and strong, then we will be able to resolve the many issues of our preservation.
“(2) Discovering and tapping into the potential of the diaspora to help empower the homeland and bring about progress. This means that in different countries throughout the world where we have powerful, resourceful, established specialists, scientists, businesspeople, and cultural figures, all their energy and focus must be directed to the empowerment of the homeland.
“(3) Repatriation. By repatriation we don’t only mean physical return. We mean the return of the mind and heart, which will then bring the physical return with it. In repatriation (hayrenatardzutiun) we must see a return to Armenianness (hayatardzutiun). The more people there are who want to return to their roots, the more it will help to strengthen the homeland.”
The Minister described her work to the Armenian Reporter :
“I want to say three things for your readers to know,” Ms. Hakobyan said. “The Diaspora Ministry is the home of every Armenian. They can come here and they can be assured to receive any assistance that they might need.
“Secondly, I want them to know and understand that the ministry does not govern; it cooperates with them, consults with all the structures and organizations in the diaspora, and adopts decisions which are acceptable to the diaspora.
“Thirdly, we have to have staff at the ministry who are diaspora Armenian. Therefore we are waiting for the best specialists from the diaspora to come and work with us. There is a UN program – I have signed an agreement with the UN office, for them to finance those diaspora Armenians who wish to come at work at the ministry for up to six months. [See http://www.undp.am/?page=Jobs for details.]
“I want to stress for all of us Armenians, our mind, conscience, soul, work, potential, financial resources, professional power must be directed toward the empowerment of the homeland. When Armenia is strong, then every Armenian man and woman decides to remain Armenian. People politely listen to those who weep and cry, and then they walk away. They sit down and talk to the strong. I want all of us to remember that we are no longer the Armenians of the 20th century, beaten, starving, weak. We are the Armenians of the 21st century, strong, energetic, with a view to the future.”
Related web pages:
- Wall Street Journal: Slump hits Armenia Despite Its Isolation
- Armenian Reporter: Hranush Hakobyan: “The Diaspora MInistry is the home of every Armenian” – An interview with the new minister
- ArmenianDiaspora.com: Armenia Diaspora Conference website