‘Are you staying or going?': The question all Irish emigrants eventually face
piece by Mark Paul
, London Correspondent, in which he says, 'Over the decades the area had been a magnet for Irish immigrants, but the community aged. Younger London Irish now favour Hackney or Clapham. Meanwhile, Archway's green army went grey.'
While Mark's piece centres around Martin Fallon, an 'old boy from Ireland' who died in May, he speaks to locals in the traditional London-Irish community about how things have evolved. It's interesting to consider the changing face of the Irish community in London, especially since – for the most part – the whys of leaving their homeland are generally the same after all this time.
For Peter Flanagan, he says
that when he first moved
to the UK, he expected to stay about six months. Now, after six years, however, he's wondering will he ever leave. Having bought his first home in the English capital, though, he feels that's probably an indication – and not a conscious decision – that he's here for good. Despite this, Flanagan says: 'My real fear is staying in the UK so long that I go full Pierce Brosnan. So far removed from my place of origin that I become an awkward facsimile of myself. Half-remembered visions of my childhood blurring with drunken fever dreams. Perched on a barstool in a silk cravat, waxing lyrical about the old country to anyone who will listen. 'I do miss Éire,' I'd slur. 'My father built our family home from clay and sticks on the banks of the river Liffey. I often wonder if it's still standing.''
Something students considering a move to the US should bear in mind are new visa requirements introduced this week. In a statement on Monday, the US embassy in Dublin said the US State Department is 'committed to protecting our nation and our citizens by upholding the highest standards of national security and public safety through our visa process'.
READ MORE
The embassy said visa applicants will be required to list all social media usernames or handles for every platform they have used from the last five years on their visa application form so these accounts can be vetted. Taoiseach Micheál Martin condemned the new requirements as 'excessive' and said that they will cause 'fear and anxiety' among young people.
Read more about the changes here
.
Columnist Laura Kennedy says there is always
one question she is asked
as an emigrant in Australia: 'Are you staying or going?' And while it may be a nudge from loved ones to get you home, it eventually becomes a real question in need of a serious answer.
This month, she also looked at
what Irish people are good
at – digesting dairy, drinking and, of course, emigration. Our shortcoming? Pollen. And, by God, her allergies are not holding back in the hay fever capital of Canberra. As autumn hits down under, it's not letting up either. She writes: 'It does make me miss Limerick a bit, though, and its chaste plant-life that has the decency to die – or to play dead – once autumn shuffles in.'
Adrian O'Sullivan, from Cork, has no plans to leave Berlin, which he first visited in 1988 as an 18-year-old. Speaking to Frank Dillon,
he says he's noticed
subtle changes over the years. 'When I came here first, what I often remarked upon was that, for Germans, everything is absolutely forbidden unless it is allowed whereas, for the Irish, everything is allowed unless it is absolutely forbidden. Sometimes Irish people have come here thinking they can do things the same was as they can in Cahersiveen, but that doesn't work.'
Wicklow woman Orla McLaughlin lives in Venice and says she
felt connected to the city
from early on. She misses friends and family in Ireland, however, and returns once or twice a year, 'though it was easier when the children were younger. You inevitably miss out on some milestones and sharing some of your own too.'
Finally, if, when you ask yourself should you stay or go, you decide a return to Ireland is on the cards,
you may want to check out our guide
on how to go about buying property in Ireland from abroad.
Thanks for reading.
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Irish Times
5 hours ago
- Irish Times
Letters to the Editor, August14th: On MetroLink arguments, calling time on the Angelus, and immigrants and jobs
Sir, – In response to Michael O'Leary's letter (August 13th) he makes very valid points about cost- analysis when progressing with a substantial investment such as MetroLink. However, using his own logic on the unsuitability of Irish Times columnists to comment on transport projects, I would posit it's unlikely he's speaking from personal experience about public transport. His assertion that the airport is 'well served' by bus connections is simply not true. Passengers often have to wait and queue for long periods of time to access services into the city centre at peak times. Several times I have tried to board connections in the city centre to take me to the airport only to be told by the drivers that their buses are full – try explaining the lack of transport options to German or French travellers similarly marooned at Customs House Quay, worried that they may miss their flights. READ MORE The truth is that the travel connections to and from Dublin Airport fall woefully short of that which is available in most other European cities. Shovelling a few million more passengers through the airport, as Mr O'Leary also suggests, without tackling this key issue first, will only exacerbate this national embarrassment. – Yours, etc, DAVID CLARKE, Edinburgh, Scotland. Sir, – Michael O'Leary paints MetroLink as an overpriced airport shuttle (Letters, April 13th). It's not. It will link 15 stations, 127 schools, three universities, five hospitals, and put over 175,000 people and 250,000 jobs within walking distance of a stop. With only about 18 per cent of passengers expected to use the airport station, its real value lies in serving as a clean and efficient transport backbone for Dublin's growing population. – Yours, etc, Dr CIARÁN O'CARROLL, Lecturer in Sustainability, TU Dublin. Sir, – Yes. We do not need a metro to the airport. I travel to Dublin by train, get the Luas into town and get the 16 or 41 bus to the airport from the city centre. Great service. I could also get the airport bus from Heuston Station to the airport every 15 minutes or so. Possibly the bus service could be expanded with better buses and with more frequency. Of course, Paddy wants to drive to the airport, and would drive into the bag drop area if allowed. Maybe better links to Cork and Shannon should be considered, possibly a train or metro directly to these airports as it would be easier to build. Imagine trying to build a metro to Dublin Airport now that the area is fully built up. Even upgrading the existing rail network across Ireland to the cities would make sense. Why does the world evolve around Dublin people? The rest of the country deserves the same attention. Michael O'Leary is correct. – Yours, etc, TREVOR MOORE, Co Carlow. Sir, – Michael O'Leary does not have 'humble' opinions. In fact, his opinions are quite the opposite. – Yours, etc, SHEA CARROLL , Dublin 8. Sir, – Regarding Justine McCartney's support for building the MetroLink ('Michael O'Leary and Dermot Desmond's MetroLink comments show you can be rich and wrong,' August 8th), may I suggest that criticism of this stance by multimillionaire airline chiefs currently desperate to abolish passenger caps, increasing fossil fuel consumption, is a great compliment? – Yours, etc, ROBERT WALSH, Fulham, London. Sir, – I read a letter in today's Irish Times by a certain Michael O'Leary. I simply thought if only more could think like that, we might be in a better place. – Yours, etc, ANTAINE O'DUIBHIR, Ranelagh, Dublin 6. Sir, – Michael O'Leary's letter was an entertaining read. Please give him his own column. – Yours, etc, SADHBH NÍ SEACHNASAIGH, Galway. Is time up for the Angelus? Sir, – Isn't it time to remove the Angelus from RTÉ's airwaves? Friday is the 75th anniversary of the first broadcast on Radio Éireann. A lot has changed in Ireland since 1950, and the Angelus has run its course. It may have been revamped a few times in recent years, but these efforts have been the last sting of a dying wasp. At its best the Angelus is one minute less advertising. At its worst it is 60 seconds of repetitive sound. Ultimately, though, the Angelus is a throwback to a bygone era, to the stern religious society of the past. It does not ring true in the Ireland of 2025. The removal of the Angelus may be denounced as 'cancel culture' by some. But many others wouldn't even notice its absence. And that speaks volumes. – Yours, etc, WILLIAM BURKE, Blackrock, Cork. Reporting Gaza death tolls Sir, – A recent letter (August 12th) questioning why CNN and Channel 4 no longer add 'Hamas-controlled' to mentions of the health ministry in Gaza does itself a disservice in raising misdirected concerns. It notes 'it is a matter of established fact' that the health ministry is run by Hamas officials, but it too is an established fact that the figures they present are reliable. Gaza's health ministry – which is part of the Palestinian Ministry of Health, encompassing both Gaza and the Palestinian Authority (PA) – has proven largely accurate in tallying Palestinian death tolls in conflicts over the past 17 years, and its data is used by the UN and others, including both the US and Israel. Throughout the current Israeli bombardment, the health ministry has regularly released lists of the full names (which include both the deceased's father and grandfather's names), ID numbers and addresses of the victims of the conflict. However, the letter writer is correct in questioning the acceptance of these figures as the 'full and unvarnished truth' in light of the several studies showing that they are likely a gross undercount. The Lancet estimated in February 70,000 deaths from traumatic injuries in the first year of the conflict alone, and a June study by researchers from the University of London, Princeton and Stanford estimated 75,200 war-related deaths up to January 2025. It is also worth noting that the health ministry figures count only those killed by bombs or bullets who are registered in hospitals, and not those under the rubble, or cut off from emergency services, nor those who have died and will die from other causes related to Israel's blockade of food and medical supplies, and its destruction of the health system. On the subject of clarifications, it may be more pertinent to call for prefixing the pronouncements of the Israeli government with a descriptor such as 'war-crimes accused', or a caveat that human rights groups, from Amnesty to Israel's B'Tselem, UN experts, lawyers and genocide scholars have determined it is likely conducting a genocide. Noting the Israeli government's record of false statements about its killing of journalists, emergency workers, or its bombing of hospitals could also be useful when featuring its quotes. And rather than worrying about the accuracy of these figures, one should perhaps wonder in what other conflict in which a side has killed more than 60,000 people – including over 230 journalists, 400 aid workers and 18,000 children, and 168 people have died of malnutrition as a result of the purposeful starving of the trapped population – would a person be more concerned with casting doubt on death tolls than putting a stop to them. – Yours, etc, CHRISTINE MAGUIRE, Whitehall, Dublin 9. School holidays Sir, – Having read 'The Debate: Are school holidays too long?' (August 12th), it crossed my mind that it is always teachers who think that the school holidays are not too long. I wonder why? – Yours, etc, JOHN WALSH, Shannon, Co Clare. Immigrants and jobs Sir, – Fintan O'Toole reminds us of where we were as emigrants and where we are today as an immigrant nation (' We in Ireland forget how recently we were the 'crap-job' migrants ', August 12th). We should treat immigrants in Ireland with the protections we hope for Irish emigrants wherever. Is there no intergenerational memory? – Yours, etc, BOBBY GILMORE SSC, (Director of Irish Emigrant Chaplaincy 1978-92), Navan, Co Meath. Sir, – Each morning on my daily walk I meet an elderly Irish man with a walking stick being led by his carer from Peru. They strike me as having a respectful and caring relationship and without the carer he could not take a walk. Fintan O'Toole refers to this job as 'crap'. Meaning worthless. While I do agree with most of his views and consider him a gifted writer with an extensive vocabulary, I am greatly disappointed with his choice of the word crap. I agree that these jobs are low paid and mostly done by foreigners, but it is an insult to refer to them in this way. I do hope none of these foreigners read The Irish Times to discover how 'worthless' their jobs are. If this were a report card. I would say 'could do better'. – Yours, etc, KATHLEEN FORDE, Whitehall, Dublin 9. Sir, – Fintan O'Toole brilliantly summarises the immigrant dilemma. I look forward to seeing Conor McGregor and his friends serving me my burgers and delivering my next pizza when they fulfil their 'Ireland for the Irish'. In the meantime, I appreciate all the contributions of those who have chosen to make Ireland their home. – Yours, etc, TONY HAMILL, Stillorgan, Co Dublin. Camogie bogey Sir, – Having spent last Sunday at Croke Park, I agree with Dermot Ashmore's complimentary observations on the merits of camogie (Letters, August 12th). 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It fits into a standard parking space and its weight is about half that of a Range Rover. Finally, its height is only about 18cm more than the saloon equivalent. Yet my car is classified as an SUV alongside very large cars such as Range Rovers, Volvos and Porsches simply because it is a little higher than the saloon. Few people mention the advantage of an SUV which is that older people like me with mobility problems find entry and exit easier with a higher vehicle. I would wholeheartedly welcome an accurate and scientific means of determining whether a car is an SUV, and I would also welcome a taxation system for cars based on a combination of dimensions, weight, fuel consumption and pollution. – Yours, etc, MICHAEL HARRINGTON, Beara, Co Cork. Stalling infrastructure Sir, – Your editorial ('The Irish Times view on infrastructure delivery: radical solutions are needed,' August 11th) rightly highlights dysfunction in Ireland's infrastructure delivery, but its roots lie in a relentless focus on economic gains at the expense of social, environmental and legal commitments. Judicial reviews are not the problem; they are a symptom of this imbalance. Renewable energy policy is a case in point. Low ambition, weak policy, and disregard for best practice have made Ireland the slowest in the EU for project consents. Offshore wind has been stalled by departmental inefficiencies and failure to engage with legal and public concerns, ensuring years of further delay. This is not the fault of 'objectors' but of poor governance. It is time to move beyond the narrow economic mindset, stop pandering to foreign direct investment (FDI) interests, and deliver competent, lawful planning in the true national interest. – Yours, etc, MICHAEL O'MEARA, Fenor, Co Waterford. Is this a record? Sir – Your excellent world weather summary (August 12th) shows that 10 cities reached 100 degrees Fahrenheit or higher yesterday. This must (unquestionably) be a record! Don't tell Mr Trump. – Yours, etc, BRENDAN CASHELL, Co Louth. Sir, – Allow me to wade in. I have a yellow-skinned fleshy tuber in my possession. Is this a Record? – Yours, etc, JAMES KINSELLA, Arklow, Co Wicklow. Sir, – I note the current run of letters on records has been continuing for quite a while, perhaps longer than any previous times. If this is in fact the case, would that be a 'broken' record? – Yours, etc, DAVID DORAN, Bagenalstown, Co Carlow. Bowel screening Sir, – Reading the letter from Michael Gleeson on bowel screening (August 12th) reminds me that there is equality legislation in this country (Equal Status Act), the purpose of which is to prevent discrimination in the provision of goods and services against nine categories of people in our society. One of these categories is discrimination on the grounds of age . – Yours, etc, MARY DALY, Rathfarnham, Dublin.
Irish Daily Mirror
8 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Roy Keane to become granddad again as daughter expecting child with England star
Manchester United legend Roy Keane is set to become a grandad again after his daughter and her England footballer fiancé announced they are expecting their first child. 54-year-old Keane already has three grandchildren, with the youngest born in April earlier this year. Now the former Republic of Ireland captain's family is set to expand even further, with Keane's daughter Leah announcing that she is pregnant with her first child. Leah, who is engaged to Southampton defender and England international Taylor Harwood-Bellis, announced the happy news on her Instagram page on Wednesday as she posted a cute video compilation, with the caption reading: "Half of me, half of you." The video included a number of sweet clips including Leah revealing to Harwood-Bellis that she was pregnant, along with her trip to the doctors to get her first scan. Friends and family were quick to congratulate the happy couple, with Leah's sister Caragh writing: The best news ever, so happy for you both. Can't wait to meet the little one." Harwood-Bellis, 22, proposed to Leah on a yacht off the stunning Amalfi Coast in Italy last June and got the answer he wanted. Later in the year, the couple shared snaps of the precious moment, with Leah gushing: "I can't wait to marry you." The couple's relationship hit the headlines during the November international break when Harwood-Bellis was called up by England for the games against Ireland and Greece in the Nations League last year. Roy Keane's daughter Leah is expecting a baby with fiancé Taylor Harwood-Bellis Pundit Keane himself chatted about his future son-in-law during ITV's coverage of the Ireland match at Wembley in November. Harwood-Bellis certainly made his mark during his senior international debut by netting the final goal in England's 5-0 win. When pushed on his future son-in-law's goal, Keane replied: "It's bittersweet for me this. "It is not done and dusted yet. Things can change very quickly in the Keane household, let me tell you. Over the last few months he has got a goal threat, even playing for Southampton. It is nice for him. "It's good for him, it's good for him to make his debut, like I say he has a goal threat. He's a nice kid, his family have done a great job, he is a really nice kid.' Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here.
Irish Times
9 hours ago
- Irish Times
The Irish Times view on climate policy: Government must avoid backsliding
Methane arising from agriculture and the fossil fuel industry is a notorious greenhouse gas, contributing significantly to global warming. While it breaks down relatively quickly in the atmosphere – unlike carbon dioxide – it is a serious threat to climate stabilisation. The quicker it is reduced, the more global average temperatures can be cut. Much can be done to reduce methane releases in oil and gas production, but it is much more challenging in agriculture. Livestock exporting countries like Ireland and New Zealand are supporting a new approach to classifying methane which is gaining political traction. This is based around achieving national 'temperature neutrality', also known as 'no additional warming'. The Government has yet to take a formal position on the concept. Significantly it got the backing of the Climate Change Advisory Council, its key advisory body. It chose to interpret Ireland's legally-binding climate neutrality obligations in terms of temperature neutrality – rather than the more onerous target of 'net zero emissions'. An international study , published in the Environmental Research Letters journal this week, has questioned this approach. It says that it 'grandfathers high emissions from wealthy, livestock-exporting nations', shifts the burden of cutting emissions to others, and limits space for lower-income countries to grow food systems. The approach fails on food security grounds, with trade data showing most exports serve high-income markets. This risks locking in inequality and misses 'a critical opportunity to reduce peak warming'. READ MORE The most concerning finding was highlighted by lead researcher Dr Colm Duffy of the University of Galway: 'If every country adopted a temperature neutrality target, we'd seriously jeopardise the Paris agreement's goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees or even 2 degrees.' The Government is in a bind on this. How methane is regarded in policy terms has big implications for carbon budgets up to 2040, which must be signed off on soon. Climatologist Prof John Sweeney has argued that the shift, which reduces the required emissions reduction target, is not aligned with scientific recommendations and could hinder Ireland's ability to meet its climate goals. The study emphasises that governments must set targets that are internationally credible and farmers need to be supported within a national framework, rather than targeted for blame. The bottom line is that Ireland will not meet the global climate challenge by redefining climate targets. Ireland has yet to deliver an honest appraisal of what a genuinely climate-neutral, sustainable and resilient agricultural sector could look like in coming decades. Avoiding this issue would amount to backsliding on vital climate action.
