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Monday, December 3rd, 2007Ean has published its annual report, detailing its activities over the last year, including work on the curriculum project, assisted holidays, our revamped website. It also includes information on issues affecting emigrants including political participation, radio aimed at the Irish overseas, the undocumented in the US, the Habitual Residence Condition, and more.
ÉAN CONFERENCE 2007 part 1
Monday, December 3rd, 2007You can listen to this podcast of our 2007 Éan Seminar, which took place on 1 December in Dublin’s Temple Bar Hotel. We decided to provide a podcast in order to make the event accessible to our members and any interested people around the world. (The link to the podcast is at the bottom of the page.)
Your comments are welcome! Feel free to use the comment box at the bottom of the page!
Session 1: Focusing resources
Moderator: Seamus Scally
Chairman’s Address: Alan Hilliard. “There’s gold in them thar hills”
See the text of this speech.
Keynote Speaker: Brian Harvey. “The Goodbody’s value-for-money report on Irish emigrant services”.
See the written summary of the speech.
Discussion time
Report on curriculum project: Noreen Bowden
See the accompanying Powerpoint presentation.
Report on assisted holiday pilot project: Karen McHugh
See the accompanying Powerpoint presentation.Â
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Who are the speakers?
Rev. Alan Hilliard is a Dublin Diocesan priest and a native of Coolock. He took up the post of director of the Irish Episcopal Commission for Emigrants in 2003. He is also chair of Emigrant Advice Network and sits on the board of Emigrant Advice. Previous to his work as director Fr. Alan spent time working as Emigrant Chaplain and establishing the Irish Chaplaincy in the parish of Bondi in Sydney, Australia. On his return from Sydney Alan took up the post of Pastoral Care Manager for the Special Olympics World Games 2003. Fr. Alan was involved with the establishment of a new parish in Lucan South, County Dublin. The parish opened a new Church in September 2000. He was also based as a priest in Ringsend, Dublin as well as teaching in Dublin Vocational Schools for seven years.
Brian Harvey is an independent social researcher who works for voluntary and community organizations in both parts of Ireland, Britain and continental Europe in the areas of social policy, poverty, equality, community development and European integration.
Noreen Bowden has been the Director of Ean since 2006. Prior to joining Éan, she spent six years at Irish Emigrant Publications in Galway, where she was General Manager. Noreen has an MA in Irish Literature and Culture from Boston College, where her research focused on emigrant literature. Noreen became involved in migrant issues while spending six years volunteering for the Irish Immigration Center in Boston.
Karen Mc Hugh has a long history of working with the Irish in Britain. As a qualified Social Worker, she has worked with some of the vulnerable sections of the the Irish community throughout London. She worked as the Director of the Brent Irish Advisory Service (BIAS) for nearly 10 years and continues to have a role there as Fundraiser for the organisation. Karen is also involved with Cricklewood Homeless Concern and the Irish Traveller Movement in London. In May of this year Karen commenced work with EAN to develop an Assisted Holiday Programme and will facilitate the organisation of up to 5 holidays in 2007/2008. Karen is fully committed and passionate about supporting the Irish in Britain.
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ÉAN CONFERENCE 2007 part 2
Monday, December 3rd, 2007
Session 2: Strengthening ties
Moderator: Pascal Mooney
Patsy McGarry: “The Irish abroad and the media”
Philip Orr: “The experience of Irish soldiers abroad”
Noreen Bowden: “Political participation: An international perspective”
See the accompanying Powerpoint presentation.
Discussion time
Paula Lally “The emigration of people at risk”
See the accompanying Powerpoint presentation.
About our speakers:
Patsy McGarry has been the religious affairs correspondent with the Irish Times since March 1997. He has been with the paper since 1994; A graduate of NUI, Galway, the Ballaghadereen, Co. Roscommon native worked until 1987 with the pirate radio station Sunshine Radio in Portmarnock, Dublin. He then went on to freelance with Magill Magazine, RTE and the Irish Press group; he set up the newsroom at the first independent radio station in Ireland, Capital Radio (now FM104). Just prior to joining the Irish Times, he worked with the Irish Press Group and then Independent Newspapers.
Philip Orr is a freelance writer, researcher, and former theatre studies teacher. He is currently working on a project for the Centre for Contemporary Christianity in Belfast on deprivation in Loyalist working-class communities. He has written about several topics but has a particular interest in the Great War in Irish history; his publications on that topic include, “The Road to the Somme�, Blackstaff Press, 1987 (due to be reissued next year) and “Field of Bones�, Lilliput Press, 2006, which tells the story of the 10th Irish division at Gallipoli.
Noreen Bowden has been the Director of Ean since 2006. Prior to joining Éan, she spent six years at Irish Emigrant Publications in Galway, where she was General Manager. Noreen has an MA in Irish Literature and Culture from Boston College, where her research focused on emigrant literature. Noreen became involved in migrant issues while spending six years volunteering for the Irish Immigration Center in Boston.
Paula Lally is an information worker with Crosscare Migrant Project; she joined what was then Emigrant Advice in July 2005. Specialising in emigration and return migration, she wrote the books “Going to the USA�, “Going to the UK�, “Going to Australia�, “Going to Canada�. Each was subtitled “A practical guide to emigrating�; they were published in November 2007.
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UCD institute to focus on Diaspora
Saturday, December 1st, 2007University College Dublin has announced that the new John Hume Institute for Global Irish Studies will focus on changing the way Ireland and the Disapora are understood.
UCD officials say the institute will build on Irish diaspora scholarship to achieve a new level of public dialogue within the global Irish community on the meaning Irishness and major global issues of mutual interest and concern. It will also provide a public outreach programme that will focus on the Irish community and Irish diaspora groups abroad.
A press release from the University says:
The creation of the John Hume Institute for Global Irish Studies will yield very significant and highly visible benefits for Ireland, which will grow in understanding of itself and its distinct role in the wider world through deeper understanding of its diaspora. It will equally benefit the global Irish community through the greater recognition of its unique historic contribution which the Institute will bring more fully into the light.
Tradition informs work of Chicago emigrant
Thursday, November 22nd, 2007A heartwarming tale about an Irish immigrant in Chicago: Paddy Homan, a 32-year-old Cork-born tenor, uses his musical talents to cheer the elderly and disabled clients he visits in his day job as a social worker.
“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.
Irish farmers heading for New Zealand?
Wednesday, November 21st, 2007A New Zealand real estate business is targeting potential Irish buyers for rural properties, particularly farmers who are interested in moving.
Bayleys Canterbury director Shane O’Brien says that Irish farmers are looking toward New Zealand because they see farming in Ireland as unsustainable long term. Instead they are looking to Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
“New Zealand is their preferred choice because Canada has quite a different style of farming and Australia can be quite extreme in terms of drought. New Zealand has a very similar style of farming and when you convert pounds or Euros to New Zealand dollars the land is still relatively affordable,’’ Shane O’Brien says.
The company says interest among farmers in Northern Ireland is particularly high.
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