Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: "William Mulligan Jr."
Subject: Book Announcement: Postcolonial Identities: Constructing the "New
Irish"
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This book has come to out attention.=20

Jean =93Ryan=94 Hakizimana and Michael Hayes Postcolonial Identities:
Constructing the "New Irish" Cambridge Scholars Publishing

http://www.c-s-p.org/Flyers/Postcolonial-Identities--Constructing-the--Ne=
w-I
rish-.htm

The stranger, the foreigner and the pilgrim are all familiar figures in
literature, philosophy, theology and mythology. This figure - travelling =
the
world in search of refuge and sanctuary =96 is one which has had a =
particular
resonance for many millions of Irish people in recent centuries. This =
book
is a window on a new aspect of the Irish experience that is the =
=93strains=E9ir=94
or pilgrim. It is one man=92s story of exile and renewal in a world =
where the
concepts of home, place and diaspora are all changing at frightening =
speed.
Jean =93Ryan=94 Hakizimana=92s story is the story of an artist, the =
colours of
whose palette reflect the multicultural tapestry that is Irish society
today. It is a narrative that involves a journey halfway across the =
globe, a
portrait of the =93modern=94 world incorporating exile, starvation, and =
genocide
before the final =93liberation=94 that is the healing process of =
painting.
Traumatised from the horrific childhood experiences he witnessed during =
the
genocides of Burundi and Rwanda in the mid-1990s it was almost a decade
later and at a distance of many thousands of miles that African artist =
Jean
Ryan once again found the will to paint.=20

This book sheds light on the diaspora experience of the =93new=94 Irish, =
the
refugees and asylum-seekers who are changing the face of many of =
Ireland=92s
villages and towns that until recently had been emptied by widespread
emigration. The economic =93miracle=94 that has transformed Ireland in =
the past
decade has been accompanied by much rhetoric regarding multiculturalism,
integration and dialogue with the newer peoples and cultures that now =
live
in Ireland. As of yet, however, there has been few attempts to chronicle =
or
engage in dialogue with the many different aspects of the diaspora
experience that define these =93new=94 Irish, the young Irish who will =
carry a
renewed and exciting new Irish identity into the future. One of the =
greatest
challenges facing Irish society and the indeed the Irish educational =
sector
is how best to harness the benefits of the wide range of cultural
experiences, values and peoples that are now part of the Irish cultural
fabric. This book is one of the first attempts at such a new an exciting
intercultural dialogue in Ireland. It is only through such a process of
dialogue that we may uncover a =93new politics of truth=94 (Foucault, =
1977), a
new discourse and a more productive understanding of the relationship =
that
now exists between the various strands of Ireland=92s multicultural =
society.

Jean =93Ryan=94 Hakizimana is a 29-year-old artist. Born in Rwanda, his =
parents
were Burundian - his father a Hutu and his mother a Tutsi. The Burundian
genocide of the early 70's forced their family to flee into Rwanda, and =
they
were assisted in their escape by an Irish priest, Fr. Ryan. Eternally
grateful for his help, the parents gave their youngest son the middle =
name
'Ryan' in honour of this priest's generosity. In the early 90's the =
family
returned to live in Burundi, but it wasn't long before tragedy struck =
for a
second time. In 1993, following the assassination of Hutu president =
Melchior
Ndadaye, a bloody ethnic conflict erupted in Burundi when extremists in =
both
the Tutsi and Hutu communities began killing one another. Many thousands =
of
people were murdered including Jean Ryan's father and two sisters. In =
1999,
after many years moving from one refugee camp to another, Jean Ryan was
forced to join a rebel army. Shortly after his conscription into this =
group
his mother was killed and he found himself imprisoned by the Rwandan =
army in
one of its most notorious underground systems in the Rwandan capital =
Kigali.
He suffered both psychological and physical torture here but eventually
managed to escape from prison and make his way to Tanzania. He has lived =
the
precarious existence of an asylum-seeker ever since and after travelling
almost halfway across the world he made his way to Ireland where he =
arrived
with just body and soul intact. Upon arrival in Limerick he had no =
family,
no English, and no certainty about his future. Now living in Limerick, =
Jean
Ryan uses his paintings to tell the story of his troubled past and the
difficulties experienced by asylum-seekers all over the world.=20

Dr. Michael Hayes works as a Lecturer (part-time) at the University of
Limerick where he lectures on a number of History, Politics and Social
Studies courses incorporating Traveller, Roma and Migration Studies. He
completed a PhD. on the subject of Irish Travellers and the Irish =
settled
(non-Traveller) community=92s perception of this minority. He has =
published
many books about the socio-cultural history and development of a number =
of
different (traditionally nomadic) groups within the Irish Traveller
community The Candlelight Painter (2004); Parley-Poet and Chanter =
(2004);
Canting with Cauley (2005); Counter-Hegemony and the Postcolonial "Other
(2006); Irish Travellers: Representations and Realities (2007) etc. He =
has
been involved in community work with Travellers, asylum-seekers and =
other
marginalised groups both in Liverpool, England and in Limerick, Ireland =
for
the past twelve years.=20

William H. Mulligan, Jr., Ph.D.
Professor of History
Graduate Program Coordinator=20
Murray State University
Murray KY 42071-3341 USA=20
Office: 1-270-809-6571
Fax: 1-270-809-6587=20
=20
=20

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: Article,
The most popular tax in Europe? Lessons from the Irish plastic
bags levy
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The most popular tax in Europe? Lessons from the Irish plastic bags levy
Journal Environmental and Resource Economics
Publisher Springer Netherlands
ISSN 0924-6460 (Print) 1573-1502 (Online)
Issue Volume 38, Number 1 / September, 2007
Pages 1-11

SpringerLink Date Saturday, January 13, 2007

Frank Convery1, Simon McDonnell1 and Susana Ferreira1(1) School of
Geography, Planning and Environmental Policy, University College Dublin,
Richview, Clonskeagh, Dublin, 14, Ireland


Received: 2 May 2006 Accepted: 20 October 2006 Published online: 13
January 2007
Abstract There have been occasional ad hoc efforts to influence consumer
behaviour by the imposition of product taxes that reflect external costs
imposed by such products that are not initially included in their price. In
the spirit of this idea, in 2002 Ireland introduced a 15 Euro cent tax on
plastic shopping bags, previously provided free of charge to customers at
points of sale. The effect of the tax on the use of plastic bags in retail
outlets has been dramatic-a reduction in use in the order of 90%, and an
associated gain in the form of reduced littering and negative landscape
effects. Costs of administration have been very low, amounting to about 3%
of revenues, because it was possible to integrate reporting and collection
into existing Value Added Tax reporting systems. Response from the main
stakeholders: the public and the retail industry, has been overwhelmingly
positive. Central to this acceptance has been a policy of extensive
consultation with these stakeholders. The fact that a product tax can
influence consumer behaviour significantly will be of interest to many
policymakers in this area. This paper analyses the plastic bag levy success
story and provides insights and general guidelines for other jurisdictions
planning similar proposals.

Keywords Environmental taxes - Product taxes - Plastic bag tax - Litter -
Ireland

Simon McDonnell
Email: simon.mcdonnell[at]ucd.ie

References

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: Article, 'The Lost Tribes Of Ireland' Diversity,
Identity and Loss Among the Irish Diaspora
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The latest issue of Irish Studies Review has a number of items of interest.

I will first draw attention to the first article in the issue - Brian
Walker's wide-ranging review of recent work on the Irish Diaspora. After
that scrabbling-for-a-foothold Introduction he looks at the historiography
and the debates in the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Great
Britain.

Usual between the lines conditions apply.

P.O'S.


'The Lost Tribes Of Ireland'
Diversity, Identity and Loss Among the Irish Diaspora
Author: Brian Walker (Show Biography)
DOI: 10.1080/09670880701461787

Published in: Irish Studies Review, Volume 15, Issue 3 August 2007 , pages
267 - 282
Subject: European Studies;

No abstract

Opening paragraphs

Introduction

St Patrick's Day (17 March), when Irish people celebrate their national
saint, is one of the most widely marked, national annual anniversaries in
the world. This is not surprising when we consider that although Ireland
today has a population of around 6 million, it is reckoned that there are 70
million people throughout the globe who can claim Irish ancestry: in the
USA, 40 million Americans are estimated to have Irish origins. As an
indication of the significance of the international Irish dimension we may
note that both former President Bill Clinton and Prime Minister Tony Blair
have important Irish roots. Although the story of Irish emigration is often
associated primarily with the time of the Great Famine in the 1840s, in fact
emigration has been a major factor of Irish life from the eighteenth to the
twentieth centuries. It is reckoned that during the eighteenth century some
250,000 people went to the American colonies from Ulster. Post-Irish
independence in 1921 emigration continued: between 1926 and 1961 nearly
900,000 people left the new state, chiefly for Britain.1 This essay will
examine the Irish diaspora by looking at the main recipient countries for
this emigration. It will be concerned with exploring the diversity and
identity of this group, looking in particular at significant absences in
both the academic and public perceptions of the Irish diaspora.

My approach to the subject will be informed by comments from two important
sources. The first comes from the leading historian of the Irish diaspora,
Donald Akenson, who in his classic pioneering study of 1993 insisted that
when we consider the Irish abroad what we mean is all those born in Ireland
or their descendants, whatever their religion or politics.2 The second comes
from a notable address by President Mary Robinson, 'Cherishing the Irish
Diaspora', which she delivered to a special joint sitting of the two Irish
houses of parliament in 1995. She stressed not only the spread of Irish
people in the world but also the diversity of the country of Ireland which
provided this flow of people. She reminded her listeners of the varied
groups, including not only Celts but also English and Scottish settlers and
others, which had inhabited Ireland over the centuries. She warned that: 'if
we expect that the mirror held up to us by Irish communities abroad will
show a single familiar identity, or a pure strain of Irishness, we will be
disappointed. We will overlook the fascinating diversity of culture and
choice which looks back at us.'3

Such an approach may seem obvious. In practice, however, much of the
material written on the Irish diaspora has not accepted this line of
enquiry. It is fair to say that there has been wide acceptance of a single,
unitary Irish diaspora and identity abroad which has encompassed primarily
the Catholic and nationalist sections of the Irish overseas. In part this is
because Irish identity has been expressed most conspicuously by some members
of these groups and because today the population of the island of Ireland is
around 80 per cent Catholic. In part also it is because public and academic
appreciation of the Irish diaspora has not taken the broad approach
advocated above. In recent years, however, there has been a growing
awareness of the diversity of the Irish overseas and their different
experiences, including the very sizeable number of Protestants and
non-nationalists who make up this diaspora.4 This study will examine the new
academic and public understanding of the diverse character of the Irish
diaspora which has emerged. It will show how various sections of the
diaspora had been lost or ignored - hence the 'lost tribes of Ireland' - and
how this new approach is helping to lead to their recovery.

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: Article,
Archaeological Explorations of Cultural Identity and Rural
Economy in the North of Ireland: Goodland, County Antrim
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This item has only just turned up in our alerts - some database change will
have triggered this.

It connects with a number of IR-D members interests, and seems worth listing
now.

P.O'S.

Horning, Audrey J. "Archaeological Explorations of Cultural Identity and
Rural Economy in the North of Ireland: Goodland, County Antrim."
International Journal of Historical Archaeology 8.3 (2004): 199 - 215.

Renewed examination of an enigmatic settlement site perched atop a cliff
above Murlough Bay in Goodland Townland, County Antrim, Northern Ireland
calls into question long held ideas about Gaelic rural economy on the eve of
the Ulster Plantation by reintroducing the complex cultural and political
relationships between the north of Ireland and the Scottish isles. Long
interpreted as temporary post-medieval booley huts associated with seasonal
transhumance, recent re-evaluation of the site suggests instead that
Goodland represents a permanent seventeenth-century Highland Scottish
village. Although the medieval linkages between the north of Ireland and the
Scottish isles have long been acknowledged, twentieth-century sectarianism
has subjugated awareness of the Highland (Roman Catholic) Scots focusing
upon the legacy of the in-migration of Protestant Lowland Scots during the
Ulster Plantation. Material evidence at Goodland re-introduces the Highland
Scot to the contested landscape of contemporary Ulster identity, while also
facilitating analysis of continuity, change, and cultural complexity in the
rural economy of early modern Ireland.
ER -

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: Book Announced, Anthony McNicholas, Politics,
Religion and the Press: Irish Journalism in Mid-Victorian England
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The following item, has fallen into our nets...

It looks like a really useful addition to the research literature on the
Irish of Britain...

P.O'S.

McNicholas, Anthony =20

Politics, Religion and the Press
Irish Journalism in Mid-Victorian England

Erscheinungsjahr: 2007

PUBLISHER
PETER LANG AG
International Academic Publishers
Moosstrasse 1
CH-2542 Pieterlen / Switzerland

Oxford, Bern, Berlin, Bruxelles, Frankfurt am Main, New York, Wien, =
2007.
370 pp.
ISBN 978-3-03910-699-8 pb.

From the publisher's web site...

The decade of the 1860s was a turbulent period in Irish politics, both =
at
home and abroad, and saw the rise and apparent failure of the separatist
Fenian movement. In England, this period also witnessed the first =
realistic
attempt at establishing a genuinely popular press amid Irish migrants to
Britain.
This was to be an ideological battle as both secular nationalists and =
the
Roman Catholic Church, for their very distinct reasons, desperately =
wished
to communicate with a reading public which owed its existence in large
measure to the massive immigration of the years of the Famine. Based on
extensive archival research, this book provides the first serious study =
of
the Irish press in Britain for any period, through a detailed analysis =
of
three London newspapers, The Universal News (1860-9), The Irish =
Liberator
(1863-4) and The Irish News (1867). In so doing, it provides us with a
window onto the complex of relationships which shaped the lives of the
migrants: with each other, with their English fellow Catholics, with the
Catholic Church and with the state. A central question for this press =
was
how to reconcile the twin demands of faith and fatherland.

Contents: An Uneasy Union: The English Catholic Church at Mid-Century - =
The
Universal News: Co-operation - The Universal News: Compromise - The
Universal News: Confrontation - The Universal News: Shareholders, =
Writers
and Writing - The National Brotherhood of St Patrick and The Irish =
Liberator
- The Irish Liberator - Working Men, Rebels and Revolutionaries - An
Independent Irishman: Martin A. O'Brennan and The Irish News - The Irish
Press in Mid-Victorian England.

The Author: Anthony McNicholas holds a Ph.D. in Communications (2000) =
from
the University of Westminster where he is a Senior Lecturer in the
Communication and Media Research Institute. He specialises in media =
history,
both press and broadcasting.

For further information on this book click on the following link (Peter =
Lang
Website):
=A0
http://www.peterlang.com/index.cfm?vLang=3DD&vID=3D10699


=A0

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick Maume
Subject: Re: Kevin Myers on Irish Immigration
In-Reply-To:
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From: Patrick Maume
Kevin Myers was born in England of Irish parents, has lived most of his life
in Ireland and regards himself as an Irishman. Why should he be referred to
as an "Englishman" when that is not his preferred self-description?
Best wishes,
Patrick


On 9/6/07, Carmel McCaffrey wrote:
>
> I agree with Piaras on his assessment about Kevin Myers but like most
> nutters Myers can sometimes expose an uncomfortable truth - the
> discussion on immigration needs to be addressed beyond the simple and
> singular "racist" label so many want to tag it with. I worked over a
> number of summers for Aer Lingus at Dublin Airport in the 1970s and the
> immigration controls were not soft then. It was quite common then for
> Irish immigration to refuse entry to white American students who showed
> up with one way tickets. Many of these young students wanted to spend
> an 'idyllic' summer in Ireland searching for their roots and had not
> planned for their return dates - this was a less sophisticated time.
> They were usually told to buy a return ticket to the US before gaining
> entry. One really hard case for me - which I became involved in - was a
> women in her 70s who held a US passport and came in on a one way ticket.
> She was refused entry and it was obvious that this woman was ill. She
> explained that she had been born in Ireland - and had taken US
> citizenship - and did not understand that now her US passport did not
> give her resident status in Ireland. She was detained for a number of
> hours while calls here being made from Immigration at the airport to
> Dublin. I was assigned to "take care" of her while the wait went on.
> Eventually it was determined that she had a sizable bank account and
> would not be "a burden on the state" and she was formally admitted. We
> got her nursing care in a home and that is where the story ended for me.
>
> Carmel
>
>
>
>
> >
>

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: "MacEinri, Piaras"
Subject: Re: immigration
Comments: To: "Morgan, John Matthew"
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Surely it would be better to attend to the facts and arguments of the =
matter rather than simply endorsing someone else's view as 'spot-on' and =
an analysis which 'could not be more obvious'? I happen to think that it =
is a mindless, unthinking, and entirely inaccurate analysis. It is =
'obvious' only in the sense that it reflects a degree of ignorance and =
prejudice which is unfortunately widespread here and elsewhere, but that =
doesn't mean it is true.=20

Anyone who wishes is of course free to disagree with my analysis - isn't =
that the point of an academic discussion list? But it would be polite, =
as well as intellectually more defensible, to give reasons.

Piaras

-----Original Message-----
From: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
To: IR-D[at]JISCMAIL.AC.UK
Sent: 06/09/2007 18:17
Subject: [IR-D] immigration

Ireland is a very small island and extraordinarily vulnerable these days
to the effects of industrial expansion, tourism, road projects and, for
certain, immigration. Myers is spot on--not particularly to his credit,
since his analysis could not be more obvious, as he himself notes.

JMorgan





















Jack Morgan
Research Professor of English
University of Missouri-Rolla
Rolla, MO. 65401

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Muiris Mag Ualghairg
Subject: Re: Kevin Myers on Irish Immigration
In-Reply-To:
MIME-Version: 1.0
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Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Content-Disposition: inline

Surely if she had been born in Ireland then she was an Irish Citizen
regardless of having an American passport, unless of course she had
made a declaration of alienation but even though you had to vow to
renounce any other citizenship to become an American Citizen at one
time, that shouldn't really have had any effect on her Irish
Citizenship unless she actually contacted the Irish government to give
up her citizenship.

On 06/09/07, Carmel McCaffrey wrote:
> I agree with Piaras on his assessment about Kevin Myers but like most
> nutters Myers can sometimes expose an uncomfortable truth - the
> discussion on immigration needs to be addressed beyond the simple and
> singular "racist" label so many want to tag it with. I worked over a
> number of summers for Aer Lingus at Dublin Airport in the 1970s and the
> immigration controls were not soft then. It was quite common then for
> Irish immigration to refuse entry to white American students who showed
> up with one way tickets. Many of these young students wanted to spend
> an 'idyllic' summer in Ireland searching for their roots and had not
> planned for their return dates - this was a less sophisticated time.
> They were usually told to buy a return ticket to the US before gaining
> entry. One really hard case for me - which I became involved in - was a
> women in her 70s who held a US passport and came in on a one way ticket.
> She was refused entry and it was obvious that this woman was ill. She
> explained that she had been born in Ireland - and had taken US
> citizenship - and did not understand that now her US passport did not
> give her resident status in Ireland. She was detained for a number of
> hours while calls here being made from Immigration at the airport to
> Dublin. I was assigned to "take care" of her while the wait went on.
> Eventually it was determined that she had a sizable bank account and
> would not be "a burden on the state" and she was formally admitted. We
> got her nursing care in a home and that is where the story ended for me.
>
> Carmel
>
>
>
>
> >
>

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: "MacEinri, Piaras"
Subject: Re: Kevin Myers on Irish Immigration
Comments: To: Patrick Maume
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Dear Patrick

That's a fair point and I may have unintentionally give the wrong impression
about this, in which case I apologise. Of course I think Kevin Myers is
entitled to regard himself as an Irishman (and I would so regard him as
well). And I didn't mean the term 'Englishman' as a form of abuse in the
first place. The reason I think it is relevant here is because he has
referred to his own birthplace and background in explaining his views about
immigration. While I disagree strongly with some of his views I can
understand that (like all of us) his background may indeed influence his
views. The term 'Englishman' was meant factually and respectfully (not that
he cannot also call himself an 'Irishman').

I think anyone who lives in this country and wishes to be part of it is
perfectly entitled to call themselves Irish - whether by descent, birth,
affiliation, adoption, commitment or whatever.

best

Piaras

-----Original Message-----
From: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
To: IR-D[at]JISCMAIL.AC.UK
Sent: 06/09/2007 21:46
Subject: Re: [IR-D] Kevin Myers on Irish Immigration

From: Patrick Maume
Kevin Myers was born in England of Irish parents, has lived most of his
life
in Ireland and regards himself as an Irishman. Why should he be
referred to
as an "Englishman" when that is not his preferred self-description?
Best wishes,
Patrick


On 9/6/07, Carmel McCaffrey wrote:
>
> I agree with Piaras on his assessment about Kevin Myers but like most
> nutters Myers can sometimes expose an uncomfortable truth - the
> discussion on immigration needs to be addressed beyond the simple and
> singular "racist" label so many want to tag it with. I worked over a
> number of summers for Aer Lingus at Dublin Airport in the 1970s and
the
> immigration controls were not soft then. It was quite common then for
> Irish immigration to refuse entry to white American students who
showed
> up with one way tickets. Many of these young students wanted to spend
> an 'idyllic' summer in Ireland searching for their roots and had not
> planned for their return dates - this was a less sophisticated time.
> They were usually told to buy a return ticket to the US before gaining
> entry. One really hard case for me - which I became involved in - was
a
> women in her 70s who held a US passport and came in on a one way
ticket.
> She was refused entry and it was obvious that this woman was ill. She
> explained that she had been born in Ireland - and had taken US
> citizenship - and did not understand that now her US passport did not
> give her resident status in Ireland. She was detained for a number of
> hours while calls here being made from Immigration at the airport to
> Dublin. I was assigned to "take care" of her while the wait went on.
> Eventually it was determined that she had a sizable bank account and
> would not be "a burden on the state" and she was formally admitted.
We
> got her nursing care in a home and that is where the story ended for
me.
>
> Carmel
>
>
>
>
> >
>

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Muiris Mag Ualghairg
Subject: Re: Kevin Myers on Irish Immigration
In-Reply-To:
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Content-Disposition: inline

Good point - I was born in England, to Irish parents, and live in
Wales, married to a Welsh woman (born in England to Welsh parents but
brought up in Wales), I use the Irish form of my name, having learnt
Irish, and my son has an Irish name, although the language of his home
is Welsh.

I self identify as Irish, even if part of the diaspora, and feel that
since my parents are from Ireland and since I am a citizen of Ireland
then that is a logical (and as a citizen a legal) definition. Whilst I
don't agree with the thrust of Kevin Myers comments I don't think it
is right to describe his as an 'Englishman'.

As regards Myers comments they remind me of comments I overheard a few
years ago in Cardiff, when a woman in her mid 60s who was obviously
acting as host to a visitor from abroad (France I would guess by the
accent) and explained, in response to the visitors questions about why
we have so many beggars in the UK, that Cardiff had lots of 'asylum
seekers' who wouldn't work and begged on the streets. She then
launched into a general attack on these people, very similar in terms
to Mr Myers. I couldn't bite my tongue and pointed out to this lady
that all the beggars she was pointing at had local or UK accents, they
were all white and locals. I also pointed out that slagging off
immigrants didn't sound so well in Wales when she had a lovely Irish
accent, I also explained that my parents were Irish and asked her if
she remembered how the Irish were treated in the 1950s and 60s and how
our community was viewed with suspicion by the host communities. She
didn't like this and tried to make out that the Irish were a different
case and said that Irish people don't beg, at which point I pointed at
one of the beggars whom I had often spoken to and explained that he
was from Ireland. And perhaps that explains something, as there are
plenty of Irish beggars in the UK (sadly) so perhaps having some
beggars from abroad in Ireland evens up the score a wee bit!

Muiris

On 06/09/07, Patrick Maume wrote:
> From: Patrick Maume
> Kevin Myers was born in England of Irish parents, has lived most of his life
> in Ireland and regards himself as an Irishman. Why should he be referred to
> as an "Englishman" when that is not his preferred self-description?
> Best wishes,
> Patrick
>

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: "William Mulligan Jr."
Subject: CFP: ASSOCIATIONAL CULTURE IN IRELAND AND THE WIDER WORLD
MIME-Version: 1.0
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Forwarded from Hibernet. =20

ASSOCIATIONAL CULTURE IN IRELAND AND THE WIDER WORLD c. 1750 - c. 1940
International Conference 16 - 18 May 2008

Call for Papers

A distinctive feature of modern non-totalitarian societies is the
flourishing, within the context of a stable state, of voluntary formal
associational life (clubs, societies, etc) as distinct from the more
traditional forms of sociability such as religious feast days and =
popular
fairs.

The Associational Culture in Ireland (ACI) project (principal =
investigator,
Prof. R.V. Comerford) at NUI Maynooth is running a three-day =
international
conference exploring the nature of associational culture in Ireland and =
the
wider world throughout the period 1750-1940.

Proposals for papers are invited on any aspect of associational culture
during this period.

The conference organisers welcome proposals for panels and individual
papers. Proposals for roundtable discussions and poster sessions are =
equally
welcome.

The deadline for submissions is 31 October 2007.=20

Proposals should include a short summary of the paper and a brief =
curriculum
vitae as well as contact details, for each contributor.
Please send proposals to: Dr Jennifer Kelly, Department of History, NUI
Maynooth, Maynooth, Co.Kildare.
Tel: (353) 1 7083200
Email: Jennifer.Kelly[at]nuim.ie


Funded by the Irish Research Council for the Humanities & Social =
Sciences.

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: "Morgan, John Matthew"
Subject: Re: Kevin Myers on Irish Immigration
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My note re Myers was addressed to what seemed an ad hominem dismissal of
Myers views by Piaras. Something the latter addresses below.

Jack Morgan


-----Original Message-----
From: The Irish Diaspora Studies List [mailto:IR-D[at]JISCMAIL.AC.UK] On
Behalf Of MacEinri, Piaras
Sent: Thursday, September 06, 2007 5:04 PM
To: IR-D[at]JISCMAIL.AC.UK
Subject: Re: [IR-D] Kevin Myers on Irish Immigration

Dear Patrick

That's a fair point and I may have unintentionally give the wrong
impression
about this, in which case I apologise. Of course I think Kevin Myers is
entitled to regard himself as an Irishman (and I would so regard him as
well). And I didn't mean the term 'Englishman' as a form of abuse in the
first place. The reason I think it is relevant here is because he has
referred to his own birthplace and background in explaining his views
about
immigration. While I disagree strongly with some of his views I can
understand that (like all of us) his background may indeed influence his
views. The term 'Englishman' was meant factually and respectfully (not
that
he cannot also call himself an 'Irishman').

I think anyone who lives in this country and wishes to be part of it is
perfectly entitled to call themselves Irish - whether by descent, birth,
affiliation, adoption, commitment or whatever.

best

Piaras

-----Original Message-----
From: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
To: IR-D[at]JISCMAIL.AC.UK
Sent: 06/09/2007 21:46
Subject: Re: [IR-D] Kevin Myers on Irish Immigration

From: Patrick Maume
Kevin Myers was born in England of Irish parents, has lived most of his
life
in Ireland and regards himself as an Irishman. Why should he be
referred to
as an "Englishman" when that is not his preferred self-description?
Best wishes,
Patrick


On 9/6/07, Carmel McCaffrey wrote:
>
> I agree with Piaras on his assessment about Kevin Myers but like most
> nutters Myers can sometimes expose an uncomfortable truth - the
> discussion on immigration needs to be addressed beyond the simple and
> singular "racist" label so many want to tag it with. I worked over a
> number of summers for Aer Lingus at Dublin Airport in the 1970s and
the
> immigration controls were not soft then. It was quite common then for
> Irish immigration to refuse entry to white American students who
showed
> up with one way tickets. Many of these young students wanted to spend
> an 'idyllic' summer in Ireland searching for their roots and had not
> planned for their return dates - this was a less sophisticated time.
> They were usually told to buy a return ticket to the US before gaining
> entry. One really hard case for me - which I became involved in - was
a
> women in her 70s who held a US passport and came in on a one way
ticket.
> She was refused entry and it was obvious that this woman was ill. She
> explained that she had been born in Ireland - and had taken US
> citizenship - and did not understand that now her US passport did not
> give her resident status in Ireland. She was detained for a number of
> hours while calls here being made from Immigration at the airport to
> Dublin. I was assigned to "take care" of her while the wait went on.
> Eventually it was determined that she had a sizable bank account and
> would not be "a burden on the state" and she was formally admitted.
We
> got her nursing care in a home and that is where the story ended for
me.
>
> Carmel
>
>
>
>
> >
>

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: Obituary, Tom Munnelly, folk song collector and archivist
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For information...

P.O'S.

A leading authority on traditional Irish songs sung in English

Derek Schofield
Thursday September 6, 2007
The Guardian

Over the last 200 years, Irish traditional music and song have been noted
and published by dedicated collectors, working mainly among ordinary people
in rural areas of Ireland - and, in the case of Francis O'Neill, with Irish
immigrants to America. A major focus of the collecting was instrumental
music, and there has also been a fascination with the songs sung in the
Irish language. Many people might assume that, by the late 20th century,
there would have been little folk music left to collect from the oral
tradition. Yet the largest collection of traditional Irish songs sung in
English was made in this period, by Tom Munnelly, who has died of cancer,
aged 63.

For more than 30 years, Tom was employed as a folk song collector, but
arguably one of his most important singers, John Reilly, was recorded before
this, when Tom was still collecting privately, in his spare time. Reilly was
an Irish Traveller living in poverty in County Roscommon when Tom first met
and recorded him in 1965. It was the first time that the ballad The Maid and
the Palmer had been collected from oral tradition for 150 years, and never
in Ireland. Reilly called it The Well Below the Valley, and thanks to Tom's
collecting, the song was given international exposure when it was recorded
by the Irish band Planxty, whose singer, Christy Moore, also recorded
several other Reilly songs, such as his version of The Raggle Taggle Gypsy.

Full text at
http://www.guardian.co.uk/obituaries/story/0,,2162974,00.html

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: Black stripes on the Celtic Tiger
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Ir-D members might find interesting this book review from last weekend's
Guardian.

Does this book by Roddy Doyle count as Orientalism?

P.O'S.


Black stripes on the Celtic Tiger

Ian Sansom admires the comedy of Roddy Doyle's take on racism in Ireland =
in
The Deportees

Saturday September 1, 2007
The Guardian

The Deportees
by Roddy Doyle
242pp Jonathan Cape =A316.99

A few years ago Roddy Doyle, sick and tired of reading and hearing about
racism in Ireland, decided to write something positive about the lives =
of
immigrants in the country. He began writing little 800-word chapters of
stories for a newspaper, Metro Eireann, set up by two Nigerian =
journalists
living in Dublin. Those chapters became stories, and the stories now =
make up
the book, The Deportees...

Full text at
http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/politicsphilosophyandsociety/stor=
y/0
,,2160069,00.html

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Dymphna Lonergan
Subject: Re: immigration
In-Reply-To:
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From someone very far away in Australia I am extremely grateful for=20
Piaras' explication of the issues involved and about the writer. I=20
wonder if that was the same writer who raised the alarm about tinkers=20
camping at the base of the Sugar Loaf mountain in Wicklow some years=20
ago:leaving their litter around and spoiling the place for the locals? I=20
was alarmed at that time that there was no rebuttal in the Press by a=20
tinker-friendly organisation or even in letters to the editor. Whatever=20
happened to the tinkers anyway?

MacEinri, Piaras wrote:
> Surely it would be better to attend to the facts and arguments of the m=
atter rather than simply endorsing someone else's view as 'spot-on' and a=
n analysis which 'could not be more obvious'? I happen to think that it i=
s a mindless, unthinking, and entirely inaccurate analysis. It is 'obviou=
s' only in the sense that it reflects a degree of ignorance and prejudice=
which is unfortunately widespread here and elsewhere, but that doesn't m=
ean it is true.=20
>
> Anyone who wishes is of course free to disagree with my analysis - isn'=
t that the point of an academic discussion list? But it would be polite, =
as well as intellectually more defensible, to give reasons.
>
> Piaras
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
> To: IR-D[at]JISCMAIL.AC.UK
> Sent: 06/09/2007 18:17
> Subject: [IR-D] immigration
>
> Ireland is a very small island and extraordinarily vulnerable these day=
s
> to the effects of industrial expansion, tourism, road projects and, for
> certain, immigration. Myers is spot on--not particularly to his credit,
> since his analysis could not be more obvious, as he himself notes.
>
> JMorgan
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Jack Morgan
> Research Professor of English
> University of Missouri-Rolla
> Rolla, MO. 65401
>
> =20

--=20

Le gach dea ghu=ED

=20

=20

=20

Dr Dymphna Lonergan

Director Professional Studies Minor

Convener Professional English (ENGL1001/A; ENGL1012; ENGL1013/A;=20
Professional Writing PROF2101; PROF8000; Story of Australian English=20
ENGL7214

=20

Research interests: Irish settlement in South Australia; Irish language=20
in Australia; Placenames Australia (Irish project)

Publication: /Sounds Irish: The Irish language in Australia=20
/http://www.lythrumpress.com.au

=20

=20

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: "William Mulligan Jr."
Subject: Re: Irish Citizenship
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Patrick does not quite have it right. One can only claim Irish =
citizenship
though an Irish-born great-grandparent if your parent had registered =
their
birth in the Foreign Births Registry before you were born. I looked =
into
this a while ago -- I have seven great grandparents who were born in
Ireland, but no grandparent. =20

Irish citizenship can be claimed if a grandparent or parent was born in
Ireland by registering in the Foreign Births Register. =20

The information is at:=20
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/moving-country/irish-citizen=
shi
p/irish_citizenship_through_birth_or_descent=20

Bill

William H. Mulligan, Jr., Ph.D.
Professor of History
Graduate Program Coordinator=20
Murray State University
Murray KY 42071-3341 USA=20
Office: 1-270-809-6571
Fax: 1-270-809-6587=20
=20
=20

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick Maume
Subject: Re: Irish Citizenship
In-Reply-To:
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From: Patrick Maume
My understanding is that the relevant Irish nationality legislation makes
anyone with a great-grandparent born in Ireland eligible for Irish
citizenship; ancestral acts of renunciations don't affect this.
I seem to remember that in the 1930s an Irish-American film star (one of
the Maureens) kicked up a rumpus because when taking American citizenship
she was asked to renounce allegiance to all foreign potentates, especially
the king of Great Britain whose subject she had heretofore been (this would
be when the Republic had not been declared & Ireland was still part of the
Commonwealth). She declared that as an Irish Republican she refused to
accept that she had been a subject of the king and demanded to be allowed to
renounce allegiance to Ireland as a sign of her affection for it.
Best wishes,
Patrick


On 9/6/07, Thomas J. Archdeacon wrote:
>
> Regarding the sick and elderly woman attempting to enter Ireland in the
> 1970s:
>
> My parents came (as single people) to the U.S. from Ireland in the 1920s.
> They became American citizens. The U.S. required a renunciation of other
> loyalties, which they gave. My assumption has been that, if I or my
> children wanted to claim Irish citizenship on the basis of ancestry, the
> Irish government today would not put the most severe interpretation on the
> renunciations by my mother and father. (At least in the case of my
> mother,
> who became a citizen before my father, the abjuration was of allegiance to
> the king of England. She was always proud that it was the king whom she
> was
> disowning). From an analogous perspective, the American government today
> would not be terribly put out if my children or I sought Irish
> citizenship,
> provided the move indicated no explicit and purposeful rejection of
> allegiance to the U.S. Indeed, the father or a former, American-born
> reporter for the NY Times told me his son was tacitly advised to carry his
> Irish to flash instead of his American if he encountered "bad guys" on his
> travels.
>
> I used the word "today" twice in the preceding paragraph to highlight the
> possibility that practices may have been different in the past. They
> certainly were in the U.S. Taking out citizenship in another country
> would
> have automatically led to the loss of U.S. citizenship. The State
> Department still warns against dual citizenship (e.g., If young and abroad
> in certain countries, you might be subject to conscription. Regardless of
> age, you might not also be allowed access to the American consulate if you
> encountered trouble with the authorities), but court decisions have made
> dual citizenship more of a possibility than it once was. Has the
> situation
> in Ireland changed over time? The recent controversies about
> non-nationals
> giving birth in Ireland may be tangentially relevant to my question, but
> the
> focus of it is on the existence of a "right of return."
>
>
>
> Thanks.
>
>
>
> Tom
>
>
>
>
>

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: "padraic.finn"
Subject: Re: Kevin Myers on Irish Immigration
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Does anybody remember The Far East, a publication, I think, of the Columban
Missionaries. Its sales were no doubt boosted by the sales in Catholic
churches in up to perhaps, the late 1970's

Despite the title, it regularly asked for donations to the "African
Missions" and was fairly explicit about the dire and urgent need to save the
souls of "black babies" by converting them to the one true church.

40 years later, teaching in an inner London Comprehensive, I come across
many pupils, mostly Nigerian, with names like Gabriel and Gerald. Clearly
they are the offspring of people who were perhaps converted by those same
missionaries. Now, some of the very same people who worried so much about
baptising people in Africa, are now those most opposed to immigration.

And this discussion is, let's face it, about skin colour. The Brazilians in
Gort, the Poles, Lithuanians, Latvians and Estonians, even Russians in
places like Galway, face nowhere near the amount of hostility faced by
Africans, Asians and Chinese.

Even if Kevin Myers earns his living as the press version of a "shock jock"
and denounces the "failures" of multiculturalism in Britain , his views are
likely to increase hostility towards Black and Asian Irish.

I heard an interview with him on RTE during the Summer, where he proclaimed
the need to preserve Irish culture. This was a supreme, though apparently
unconscious, irony because Kevin Myers has made a career of denouncing
nationalists and republicans for their reliance on pre-modern, outdated
ideologies, yet here he was arguing for the preservation of "old Ireland"
against the influx of immigrants apparently threatening to dilute or destroy
it.

Cead Mile Failte indeed!



----- Original Message -----
From: "Muiris Mag Ualghairg"
To:
Sent: Thursday, September 06, 2007 3:41 PM
Subject: Re: [IR-D] Kevin Myers on Irish Immigration


> The question of the relationship of the Catholic church and schools in
> Ireland is something that does need to be looked into. As people on
> the list know, my wife and I are seriously looking into moving to
> Ireland and I would like my son to attend an Irish medium school (a
> sector which is sadly underdeveloped in Ireland - with not much in the
> way of second level education as if just being educated in Ireland in
> a primary school is enough!). The first problem that I came across is
> that nearly all the schools I can find are tied to the Catholic church
> - and even though I am a Catholic - I don't particularly want my son
> to attend a Catholic school in Ireland. I would rather that he
> attended a non-denominational school and that the religious education
> of my son was taken care of within the parish (I like the idea of
> separation of church and state) however, this seems to be nigh on
> impossible and some of the schools that I had contacted had already
> started to ask about when my son was baptised etc. The date of baptism
> is now used over here to weed out the 'baptise the child to get him
> into a good school' catholics who have their children baptised when
> they are 3 or 4 years old in order for them to get into the local
> Catholic school. I assume that that has already started in Ireland
> otherwise the question wouldn't have been asked!
>

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Muiris Mag Ualghairg
Subject: Re: Irish Citizenship
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If a parent was born in Ireland, Irish citizenship is automatic for
the child of that parent and the birth isn't registered in the foreign
births book. All that is needed to get a passport is to send the
relevant documents proving birth and proving an Irish born person on
to the local embassy for them to send back the passport.

This, of course, is different to a number of countries, some of which
are more generous in the male line (Germany where it seems to go on
for ever in the male line) and some are less generous (the UK where
having a British born mother doesn't give you the right to Citizenship
if you were born abroad and your father was a citizen of another
country).

There was a case in the last few years of a group of people from
Argentina whose great grandparents were Irish but who couldn't get
Irish citizenship because of the lack of foreign births registration.

The difference in citizenship laws between Ireland and the UK were
exploited in recent years by illegal immigrants who had children in
Northern Ireland. Under UK law the children weren't citizens but under
Irish law at the time they were Irish citizens as they had been born
in Ireland. The EU decided that as they were Irish citizens their
parents could stay with them in the EU provided that they didn't use
any state funding and as EU citizens the children had the right to
free movement within the EU and to give this effect, being little
children, there parents would be able to move with them again provided
they weren't drawing money from the state. Ireland changed its
citizenship laws to make it that anyone born in Ireland to an Irish
parent (or I think legally resident person) would be a citizen not
just anyone born in Ireland. They also changed the rules about foreign
births, and if I remember correctly citizenship used to flow to the
grandchild of an Irish citizen automatically without foreign births
book registration, now any child born after a certain date has to be
registered in the foreign births book.

Muiris


On 07/09/2007, William Mulligan Jr. wrote:
> Patrick does not quite have it right. One can only claim Irish citizenship
> though an Irish-born great-grandparent if your parent had registered their
> birth in the Foreign Births Registry before you were born. I looked into
> this a while ago -- I have seven great grandparents who were born in
> Ireland, but no grandparent.
>
> Irish citizenship can be claimed if a grandparent or parent was born in
> Ireland by registering in the Foreign Births Register.
>
> The information is at:
> http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/moving-country/irish-citizenshi
> p/irish_citizenship_through_birth_or_descent
>
> Bill
>
> William H. Mulligan, Jr., Ph.D.
> Professor of History
> Graduate Program Coordinator
> Murray State University
> Murray KY 42071-3341 USA
> Office: 1-270-809-6571
> Fax: 1-270-809-6587
>
>
>

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: "MacEinri, Piaras"
Subject: Immigration Ireland
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Not all bad news...

From this week's Time Magazine

Piaras

Thursday, Sep. 06, 2007
Postcard: Ireland
By Laura Blue

Rotimi Adebare snaps his fingers. "The change happened just like that," =
he says, and--as he leans forward in his chair to speak, warm but =
convincing at the same time--it's easy to see why Adebari, 43, was =
elected mayor of Portlaoise, making him the first black mayor in =
Ireland. But the Nigerian =E9migr=E9 is not just representative of the =
wave of immigration that has changed Ireland so deeply over the past =
decade. He is also a sign, he says, of how willing the Irish are to give =
people like him the opportunity to succeed. "There is no doubt Ireland =
is a land of a thousand welcomes," says Adebari.

The town of Portlaoise, home to about 15,000 people, is a pleasant if =
ordinary place, a convenient base for commuters an hour outside of =
Dublin, halfway to Limerick. The signs of immigration here are =
inescapable. Town streets boast Indian restaurants, Polish delis and =
construction galore.

It wasn't always like this. When Adebari arrived in the town in 2000, =
his oldest son was the only black student at his school, and one of the =
few foreign born. "Today there are over 30 nationalities in that school =
alone," the mayor says. Portlaoise is hardly unique. In the past five =
years, hundreds of thousands of foreigners have come to Ireland, =
creating the country's fastest population increase on record. Immigrants =
have been drawn mostly by Ireland's Celtic Tiger boom through the '90s, =
strong employment and E.U. expansion that eased migration from Eastern =
Europe.

The newcomers have largely been welcomed. St. Peter and Paul's Church in =
Portlaoise is increasing the frequency of its Polish Masses. Last =
winter, the church hosted an African Mass with Nigerian music and =
traditional dress. And the parish welcoming committee, founded three =
years ago to provide social support to newcomers, this summer helped =
organize traditional Irish-dance lessons for immigrants, as well as a =
popular Indian festival, Onam, to make them feel at home.

Some see the openness as a by-product of Irish history, which has seen =
plenty of mass migration. There still are fewer people in Ireland today =
than there were before the potato famine. "The Irish have a caring =
nature," says Philip Coonan, who works with his wife Mary on the parish =
welcoming committee. "It was our inheritance in a way. I think it left a =
mark on our souls, the opportunities we got in the New World."

Yet some clearly feel Ireland may be changing a little too quickly. In =
2004, nearly 80% of voters approved a constitutional change that allowed =
for new laws to prevent foreigners' Irish-born children from getting =
automatic citizenship; a controversial exit poll after the vote showed =
that more than a third of supporters felt Ireland was being "exploited =
by immigrants."

Things were simpler in 2000, back when Adebari arrived. A convert to =
Christianity, he fled Nigeria seeking asylum from religious persecution. =
He picked Ireland, he says, because of an inspirational Irish missionary =
he knew in Nigeria. Adebari, his wife and their two sons settled at the =
time in Portlaoise to get away from Dublin's hustle and bustle. Although =
Ireland eventually rejected their bid for asylum, by then Adebari had a =
third son, born in Ireland; at the time it was enough for the family to =
claim residency rights, which would no longer be the case today.

Adebari, for his part, sees integration as a two-way street. Today his =
kids speak with Irish accents. They learn the Irish language in school =
and play Gaelic football. The mayoral duties are "mostly ceremonial," =
Adebari says. He has time enough left to run a cross-cultural =
consultancy firm, work on two separate integration projects and host a =
weekly local radio show, Respecting Difference. In the new Ireland, he =
can go far. For now, though, Adebari seems every bit the politician. =
"I'm delighted to be a vanguard," he says, "but all the kudos go to the =
people of Portlaoise."