Barry Devine
An Bord Pleanala
All-Ireland Young Thinker of the Year

'Romantic Ireland's dead and gone,
It's with O'Leary in the grave'
W B Yeats

What defines us as Irish? It is a combination of many things, but most fundamentally it's a common connection with that wee island on the very fringe of Western Europe. The land of our birth and ancestors, the place we were raised, or the place we have just arrived. It was said that shortly after the Normans settled in Ireland, they became more Irish than the Irish themselves. I hope history repeats itself, for the latest people to our shores.
     If St Patrick came to 21st-century Ireland would he be deported? Is it too far fetched to say he was a non-national or a migrant worker, albeit on a spiritual mission?
     Immigration, whether by Celts, Normans, Vikings or English, is not a new phenomenon for Ireland. Our patron saint St Patrick hailed from Roman-ruled Briton: he is the embodiment of what we should refer to nowadays as the 'New Irish'. Migrants are people who are innovative and entrepreneurial; they have left their homes, friends and family to try their luck in a new unfamiliar country. If they stay and flourish it is because they are resilient and resourceful. No society is stagnant and having people from other countries living in Ireland will only enrich our intellect, arts, culture and identity.
     The issue of migration has added resonance in Ireland due to its history. For many years in Ireland, people were forced to leave because of extreme poverty and religion-based violence. Irish immigrants developed large, thriving communities in the US, UK, and Australia. Those communities faced struggles and often knew what the margins of society felt like. Some such as John Fitzgerald Kennedy chased and caught the 'American Dream'.
     The trend of sending our best young talent away to foreign shores continued to the late 80's, until the advent of the much publicised 'Celtic Tiger'. A decade-long economic boom and relatively relaxed immigration laws, has morphed Ireland from Western Europe's poorest and most homogeneous country, to one of its wealthiest and most cosmopolitan.
     The romantic Irish rural way of life, as depicted in the Hollywood classic 'The Quiet Man', seems like a relic of the past when viewed against the growth of the country's urban areas and great influx of immigrants. The newest arrivals have helped boost Ireland's population to its highest level since 1861. Ireland remains nearly 95% white, but in a country that had virtually no ethnic diversity two decades ago, the change on the ground is unmistakable. The Irish economy now depends on migrant workers, whether waiters from Eastern Europe, builders from Poland or medics from Asia. Roughly 15% of the current workforce is 'New Irish'.
     The integration of so many of the nations of the world is a big challenge for Ireland, one for which we have no past model or experience, but one that we must get right. The school yard could be seen as a key battleground in the fight for integration. Education will help remove fear of the unknown, of different cultures and religions. Griffeen Valley Educate Together National School in West Dublin has children from 43 nationalities on its roll and at least 12 languages are spoken there. Ireland has changed utterly.
     The changes have extended the entire country. In the western town of Gort (population: 2,500), half the population is non-Irish, including nearly 900 Brazilians. An irony in that Gort (the Gaelige word for famine) suffered greatly during the Irish famine and had its population decimated. For those seeking an authentic view of today's Ireland, they should look at Rotimi Adebari. Last year Nigerian-born Adebari was elected town mayor of Portlaoise. This is reflective of the changes sweeping the country, where at least 1 in 10 people is foreign-born.
     Every weekday morning, come hail, rain or shine, I scramble out of my bed and make the short 15-minute walk to work in Dublin city centre. My daily route takes me down a thoroughfare called Parnell Street. For many years this was a badly neglected part of town. Not so nowadays. The street is awash with the sights, sounds and smells of the human race. The many faces of the world are well represented here. This new found vibrancy and optimism on Parnell Street could be widely attributed to one factor, immigration.
     Parts of North Dublin City are developing into the country's first Chinatown. A stone's throw away on Moore Street, among Dublin brogues that have peddled fruit and vegetables from their stalls for many generations, sit oriental restaurants and noodle bars. Welcome to the Global Village, welcome to modern Ireland. It's a much more exciting place than the grey monotone Ireland of the past.
     The 'New Irish' should blend their own norms and values with that of their new community – this way they can become fully involved in their local community, feel an increased sense of Irishness, whilst retaining their heritage and culture to pass on to the next generation. When we get to the stage that these newly arrived people are not identified primarily as immigrants or asylum-seekers, but as neighbours, workmates and friends, full integration will become a reality.
     I believe that because of my country's history we have a duty to extend a 'céad míle fáilte', or a warm welcome, to people coming to make Ireland their home. Many countries were refuges for Irish people in days gone by; we should return the favour to the 'New Irish'.

Forthcoming in the UK and Ireland

Young Scotland Programme
November 2008
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Young England and Wales Programme: January 2009
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UK Young Local Authority of the Year 2009
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Retrospective

Young Local Government Programme: Autumn 2008
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Young Scotland and Young All-Ireland Programmes
Summer 2008
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Young
England
and Wales Programme:
Spring 2008
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Young UK and Ireland Final
2008
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Young Local Authority of
the Year
2008
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News

Collette Paterson on the Young Scotland Programme
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Walter Humes on the Young UK and Ireland final
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