Revisiting contemporary Irish migration: new geographies of mobility and belonging

Abstract

Though immigration has become one of the key issues facing Irish society, geographers in Ireland have been slow to respond. This is despite a long tradition of studying migration, particularly emigration, within Irish geography. This is even more surprising given recent developments within the discipline, as geography moves to assert its centrality to the study of international migration. This paper outlines the ways in which geographers in Ireland could contribute to broader debates about migration, both empirically and theoretically. It also introduces the five papers in this special issue of the journal, which provide a comprehensive overview of research on Irish migration, as well as detailed discussions of Irish migration to the UK, return migration and migration to Ireland from Poland, China and Nigeria.

Keywords:

• migration
• immigration
• Ireland

Notes

1. The majority (six of ten) of these papers explore Ireland's changing position within a global and international migration order, sending emigrants all over the globe and creating Irish communities in the UK, the US, Australia and France (Breathnach and Jackson 1991, Grimes 1991, Mac Éinrí 1991, Strachan 1991, Walter 1991). The two papers (Kockel 1991, McGrath 1991) concerned with immigration into Ireland immediately stress the quantifiably negligible impact of these movements. The final two papers (Cawley 1991, Walsh 1991) explore migration within Ireland.