IRISH EMIGRATION –THE LURE OF A FRESH START

Why do people emigrate from their home country? Why do they leave everything and everybody
they hold dear to live far away from their homes as strangers and “foreigners”? What about the
huge emotional suffering such a decision must make on anyone who contemplates such a move?
Families are broken as family members leave and are often not seen again for years or decades or
maybe they are never seen again. Immigrants must start all over again to make new friends, to learn
about a new place and often they need to learn strange and unusual customs and behaviours. And
then there is always the matter of language. Not all English speakers speak the same language! This
fact alone can make one feel very isolated and separate from the people you are mixing with in a
new country. Business practices are often different and new ways of working need to be developed.
Regulations can be strange and seem difficult to become accustomed to as are many of the issues
people find important, which maybe you personally do not think are important.

One of the most difficult challenges can often be the fact that you need to develop new allegiances
and support for sport teams you might never have heard of before, or which you always competed
with.

So why do it? Why make one of the most dramatic and life changing decisions you may ever make in
your life?

There are many reasons why people emigrate, but the one reason which almost certainly must be
the primary reason is that people want a better life, a new start and an opportunity to find
happiness and meaning in a new place which promises all of this. If one looks deeply into the
psychology of making this life changing decision it has to be because one hopes for positive change.
The decision rests upon the perceived promise that it will “all be worthwhile in the end”. Money
might be the motivator, but this is usually tied in with a desire for an improved quality of life.

Does this promise come true for Irish immigrants? And was this true for generation of migrants?

The overwhelming consensus is that for most Irish immigrants to Australia, the move has been
worthwhile and although some miss Ireland passionately, not many would pack it in and return
“home”.

Ireland has a long history as the place people leave to find new worlds and opportunities. Many
would say that America’s success was built on the back of hard working Irish immigrants who had
nothing to lose and everything to gain in their new home. Australia is no different. It is largely a
country which has grown and prospered because of a largely immigrant population for whom there
was only option – work hard to survive and hopefully succeed beyond your wildest dreams. For the
first 200 years after the first fleet of convicts arrived in Australia the Irish were Australia’s second
largest ethnic group. This is the reason that so many million Australians can lay claim to Irish
ancestry and this is why it is fair to say that the Irish have been major players in the development of
the Australian continent.

The Irish economy has survived the ravages of the 2008 worldwide economic crash and currently is
in a relatively strong position providing opportunities for job seekers in most sectors of the
economy. However the number of Irish people leaving Ireland remains high, despite these
improvements in the economy and the fall in unemployment. The unemployment rate this year in
Ireland has dropped to a six-year low of 9.5 per cent.

~1~ Lex Faure

Figures published by the Irish Central Statistics Office at the end of September 2015, show 35,300
Irish people emigrated in the 12 months to April 2015, a 13 per cent drop on the previous year when
40,700 Irish nationals left. A total of 80,900 people of all nationalities moved out of Ireland in the
year to April 2015, 1,000 fewer than the previous year. What is interesting is that for the last three
years 14 per cent more people are immigrating to Ireland. Total immigration for the last year, which
included 12,100 returning Irish nationals, was 69,300. Combining the number of emigrants minus
the number of immigrants, the net outward migration figure is 11,600, down 45 per cent on the
previous year.

Australia has always absorbed a large number of Irish emigrants. The attractions are obvious, warm
sun, well-paying jobs, well run social welfare programs and plenty of benefits which potential
emigrants see as leading to an improved quality of life and family friendly living.

The statistics are interesting. Irish immigration to Australia peaked in the last decade after the
economic downturn in Ireland in 2008. By 2012 the green invasion to Australia had soured to 18,200
eager Irish folk in search of a fresh start. It certainly was a hope that the grass was greener under the
Australian sun.

Interestingly, the lure of work down under seeks to have slowed down, and according to statistics
provided by Australian Immigration, there has been a dramatic fall in the number of Irish seeking
work there. In the 12 month period to June 2014, the numbers fell by almost 43%. The figures from
2011/12, 2012/2013 and 2013/2014 were 19,492, 11,817 and 6,763 respectively. This is a big tumble
and indicates one of two things. Either job seekers have focused their attention elsewhere in the
world, or things are no longer seen as being so bad back home and people are not being tempted to
leave Ireland in the same numbers as before.

Australia is still one of the most popular countries in the world for Irish migrants to settle in. A recent
United Nations international migration report shows that 77,513 people born in Ireland were living
in Australia in 2013. What is significant however is that this number is 155,476 less than the number
of Irish living in Australia in 1990. Economic pressure at the end of the eighties forced many to flee
Ireland in search of jobs and an improvement in lifestyle.

But these figures are in stark contrast to the Irish presence in Australia in the 1800’s. In 1871 more
than one in four residents of Victoria were born in Ireland and the Victorian community alone
numbered 100,468. Of course these settlers have long become integrated into the Australian
population and would no longer show as immigrants. What is inescapable is that the Irish make up a
very important and significant part of the Australian community.

So why are the Irish still heading to Australia?

There are a number of reasons. Some are emotional bonds with Australia that go back generations
and are based on links which have been in place since the 1800’s.

Australia provides a warm welcome to Irish immigrants. The visa system is geared towards
encouraging young Irish qualified and skilled people to find a friendly and warm potential home
where they can work in their chosen professions with high salaries, good benefits and many
advantages which they may perceive that they do not have “back home”.

Australia actively encourages people in education, medical fields and in industry to move to Australia
with attractive job offers and an opportunity to become actively involved in the economy and life of
Australia.

~2~ Lex Faure

Ireland is not benefiting from the loss of a skilled and educated generation. Australia benefits from
the vast amounts spent educating professionals who often leave the country shortly after becoming
qualified, and the loss to Irish economy can be counted in billions of pounds. So the Irish
government has embarked on a major campaign to lure Irish emigrants back home, while also
providing opportunities and an environment where potential emigrants are being encouraged to
dedicate themselves to improving the Irish economy and opportunities for those who stay behind.
And the campaign is working. Emigration has slowed down dramatically, and a new trend is
emerging with many emigrants deciding to come back to Ireland.

Of course this is not a simplistic matter and many dynamics influence the decisions of immigrants
once they are established in a new country. People have families, friends, work colleagues, homes
and interests based upon where they are living. It is not easy once you have made your home in a
new country, to uproot yourself again and return to the country which you would have originally
convinced yourself you needed to leave. The emotional issues are huge and most do not even want
to start down this road which becomes an emotional rollercoaster journey as soon as you start
thinking of returning home.

The truth is – your home is where you are living, where you are settled and where you have
established yourself. So maybe one of the most important truths an immigrant can embrace is that
nationalism gives you roots and meaning in who you are, but a new country can (and usually does)
become your future and defines who you will become. No one should deny their past, but it is just as
true to say we must never deny our present and our future either.

Irish-Australians are making a huge contribution to Australian life, and have done so for centuries.
They have shaped the political, economic and cultural life of all people living on the continent. The
Australian way of life is built on immigration. Which in no way denies the importance of the
indigenous cultures, but they have become overwhelmed by the huge number of immigrants who all
bring another facet to the Australian way of life. Australia is like a massive Impressionist painting. If
you look too closely all you see are lots of different coloured dots. Walk a little away from the detail
and you see a magnificent picture which only exists because of the diversity of all the dots. Without
so many different dots of colour, there would be no masterpiece.

Written by:
Lex Faure
lex@carpedp.com
4th October 2015

~3~ Lex Faure