Eisimircigh

Emigrants

by | 2024/02/28 | Current Affairs, National News

Emigrants

There is a lot of negative public discussion about immigration these days. When a building is set aside to shelter immigrants, there are those who think it is a good idea to burn that building to the ground. Isn't that terrible? Especially when you look back at our own history. For example, there is a lot of information about emigration from our own country on the site: https://www.ucc.ie/en/emigre/history/. When John F. Kennedy was on his Presidential visit to Ireland in June, 1963, he said: Most countries export oil or iron, steel or gold, or some other crop, but Ireland has only one export and that is its people. .”

Ireland is the country in Europe most affected by emigration in the last two hundred years. In total, approximately ten million people emigrated from the island of Ireland from 1800 onwards. In the late eighties, more than half a million Irish people (~16%) left their own country. 70,000 people left in 1989 alone – a few years before the arrival of the Celtic Tiger. Then, the economy collapsed in 2008, and another 630,000 left the country between 2008 and 2015.

However, our emigrants are now almost forgotten, I think, and instead the emphasis is strongly on immigration - both legal and illegal. That is a great pity, in my opinion, and I think it is a good thing to always have both things in mind - immigration and emigration. Otherwise, we will not learn what we should do about immigration policies, when we already know it from our own history.

Long before the time of the Celtic Tiger, many people were coming across the southern border in Mexico to America in search of a new life there – and still are. It has been a bone of contention for a long time here between the political parties. Everyone agrees that there is a big problem to solve, but there are big differences between the approach of the Democrats and the Republicans in America. We saw Trump's brutal approach on behalf of the Republicans, and 5,500 children separated from their parents because of his immigration policy. Many of the parents were imprisoned, and the rest were deported to their native land. The children were taken into protective custody by the government. That is disgraceful misconduct, and a violation of human rights, no doubt. Hundreds of children are still without their parents, as a result of that brutal policy. Things are not so bad in Ireland regarding immigrants, but they are too great at the same time. If the hatred and resentment fueled by extremists against immigrants is not curbed, there is a great risk that things will get worse and people will be killed before long. What kind of solution is that? The government has an obligation to bring security matters under control without delay.

Our story

There are many Irish people who are emigrants – including my wife and myself. We didn't know in 1986, when we first went to America, that we would stay there forever. My employer in Ireland at the time – IBM Ireland – gave me a short-term job in California. It was for two years, but after a year, I was asked to come home. To tell the truth, we weren't ready to come home at the time. Sinéad was working on her PhD dissertation at the university (UCLA). So I got another job with another company. All went well! One year passed and then another, and bit by bit, almost without our knowing it, we put down tentative roots. Over time, the roots grew stronger and then we had a child. We bought our first house! Sinéad completed her studies, obtained a PhD in archeology and then got a job. I myself graduated with a master's degree in electrical engineering. It was abundantly clear to everyone else that we weren't coming back to Ireland anytime soon. Eventually, it also became clear to us that we would spend our working lives in America. Don't touch it if it ain't broke, so to speak. We were able to visit Ireland every summer for a month and finally we were able to buy a house in County Kilkenny. As we are both retired now, we are able to spend a good while in Ireland every year. Going through the immigration process was quite difficult, but the government treated us fairly. We were never discriminated against in America either, and we had the same opportunities as anyone else. I strongly believe that America has given us great opportunities, and in return we have given much more money to the government than we have received from it.

Immigration is, in fact, the lifeblood of the economy, and overall immigrants strengthen their new country in a number of ways. That is not to say that any country should have open borders, but it should not only have reasonable policies but also a welcoming society, which treats people trying to enter, and immigrants living in Ireland already.

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Urchair rabhaidh scaoilte!

Warning shots fired!

by | 2023/12/06 | National News

Warning shots fired!

It is as if many of us were dreaming but we are all awake now! We were not at all expecting what happened in the center of the capital recently.

Horrible attack

Three children and their care assistant were joining a queue outside their school, Gaelscoil Coláiste Mhuire in Parnell Square, when they were attacked by a man. He stabbed them with a knife and seriously injured two of them – a five-year-old girl and the care assistant, a woman in her thirties. They are still in hospital receiving treatment, at the time of writing. As bad as things were, they would have been much worse without the bravery shown by people, especially two immigrants.

Caio Benicio

Mr Benicio, a native of Brazil, who was working for the Deliveroo service and was driving his motorbike at the time of the attack, said he slowed down when he saw what was happening.

"It was native instinct," said Caio. “I remember taking off my helmet to protect myself and use it as a weapon. I hit the attacker in the head with all my strength. And he fell down.”

Thanks to his sharp mind and brave action, that terrible attack was stopped, and the guards arrested the attacker. The attacker himself is currently in hospital.

Leo Villamayor

A Filipino nurse was walking to the Gresham hotel, when he saw the attack. Nurse Leo Villamayor said: “I saw this little girl, she was running and then everything stopped, and she fell in a heap on the ground. She had shortness of breath and was in urgent need of medical attention. I started doing chest compressions on her. Suddenly, I heard the ambulance behind us, I heard the defibrillator, and someone pushed me out of the way. Two men put the defibrillator on her chest, and then a woman next to me took over. It was like a scene from a movie, all in slow motion.” Leo may have saved that girl's life when he immediately jumped in to help her.

Riot

Around 500 rioters gathered after the attack and caused massive damage in the city centre. And that's no coincidence! Messages went out online on social media and chat groups, wrongly saying that the attacker was an illegal immigrant - an Irish citizen, living in the country for the past 20 years, and that they should gather in the middle of the city with anti-immigration protest rally. Several police cars, three buses and a light rail train were burned. More than a dozen shops were looted. Police said they arrested 48 people, most of whom were issued summonses for riotous behaviour, assault and theft. The Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, said the government will introduce two key pieces of legislation within weeks. Police will be empowered to use facial recognition technology to track CCTV footage of the riot. They will also be empowered to prosecute the perpetrators of online hate speech.

Conclusion

You wouldn't believe something like this could happen here in Ireland. That was the instinctive response of many people. But on the other hand, there were signs that things were getting out of control in the last few years. For example, a few people were badly attacked in the summer in Dublin city centre. A Ukrainian actor was badly attacked in June just outside the Abbey Theatre. In July, an American tourist was attacked and seriously injured near his accommodation in the city centre. Afterwards, Justice Minister Helen McEntee said she had been in contact with the Garda about the investigation. "The message will be sent with a strong and firm response that we will not tolerate this bullying on our streets." When asked about the attacks on the Ukrainian actress and the American tourist, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said there would be "a strong response from the Government in terms of civil penalties and in terms of increasing Garda resources". But – they did nothing in the interim and look what happened! Right-wing extremists are radicalizing people and using the internet to incite and spread racial hatred. They organize violent protests every chance they get, including this recent protest. The government needs to be monitoring the internet to get early warning so they can protect the public from ugly violence like we've seen recently. Our government has been indifferent in carrying out its business up to now. If a strong plan is not put in place soon, things will get worse, and it will be much more difficult to solve this existential, threatening crisis then!

Plus ça change…

Plus ça change…

by | 2023/10/17 | Current Affairs, International News, National News

Plus ça change…

The more things change the more they stay the same, or as they say in French: "Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose!" Although that statement is true in the sense that human nature does not change, it is not true in the way that changes are happening now that have never been seen before. Exceptional crises are underway now and we cannot take the chance of failing to find solutions to them. For example, global warming is taking place, due to atmospheric pollution, and we can no longer ignore that problem. Often, changes, both good and bad, start in one place, and then spread to other places. Global warming started primarily in the United States with the proliferation of cars, and then as other countries became richer, they followed suit.

In the article I wrote last week, I toured back memory lane, remembering a few criticisms that my mother expressed to me on her first trip to California. She was absolutely right about the problems she focused my attention on, and her keen insight has stayed with me ever since. The amazing thing about that is that most of the same problems happened in Ireland later, starting in the reign of the Celtic Tiger and continuing to the present day. I well remember the bar man in "Tynan's Bridge House Bar" - he may have been the owner- telling me when he heard I was living in California, "We only take the good stuff from the United States, son!” I didn't have a sharp answer on the tip of my tongue, but now I have the answer. "Keep dreaming, son!" If I were to meet that guy again, I would have a lot to say to him and I would recommend he read this article! Anyway, here are a few examples of the problems that I first saw in America, but which can be seen in Ireland today.

Housing Crisis:

As strange as it may seem, it is true that there are certain problems that become worse when countries become richer. The housing crisis is one of them. When countries become richer, house prices increase. Between 1996 and 2006, prices in Ireland quadrupled! The country was then divided between the rich and the poor, on the basis of home ownership. Buying a new home has not been easy for people and especially first time buyers. Sometimes, they could not afford to buy a house at all, and therefore, they were left homeless and had to sleep on the streets.

Poverty and Immigration

Up until the time of the Celtic Tiger, the Irish used to migrate in waves with every bad economic recession in the country. Not many wanted to come into the country. Things changed completely with the arrival of the Tiger, and the waves began to move in the other direction – into the country, including refugees and asylum seekers, many of whom were destined to spend years in Direct Provision Centres. Many people also landed from other countries in the European Union, looking for work. Those numbers put a lot of pressure on the country's infrastructure, which wasn't very good in the first place. Housing matters became worse, and the Health Service Executive was also under additional pressure.

Health Care

Everyone knows that the Health Services Executive (HSE) has big problems. It is a shame that the hospitals are always overcrowded and have been so for a long time, with no viable solution yet in sight. A few months ago, there were around 85,000 people waiting for inpatient beds and almost 500,000 people waiting for an appointment at the outpatient clinic!

Drug Epidemic

Everyone has seen the headline recently: "Cocaine worth €157 million in 'biggest drug bust in state history'". The drugs came from cartels in South America and organized crime gangs from Ireland and Britain came together to share and distribute the drugs, some of them in Ireland. There is a big cocaine problem in Ireland now - even in the Gaeltacht. This is a headline in a recent tuairisc.ie article: "50-year-old man arrested and €105,000 worth of cocaine found by Gardaí". Those are just a few examples, but without a doubt people have the money to buy the cocaine, and this problem is not only in the cities, but throughout the country.

Violence and Guns

Compared to the United States, there is not a big problem with guns or violence. But it is necessary to keep a close eye on it, because the murder rate doubled last year.

Conclusion

I think certain problems arise in rich countries. There are still those who deny that we are a rich country, but I read in 'Forbes Magazine' recently that Ireland is the richest country per person, in the world! The United States is only in 9th place!!!

Unfortunately, to my knowledge, our government has not done much for a long time to address the above mentioned problems. But big changes are coming in the political sphere and Mary Lou McDonald and Sinn Féin are well-positioned coming into the next general election. If they are elected, they may be able to take a step forward, in terms of those big problems. Failing that, one day guns will be readily available in this country too!

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Fáilte Roimh Chách – Inné, Inniu agus Amárach!

Welcome Everyone – Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow!

by | 2023/08/16 | Current Affairs, National News, Politics

Welcome Everyone – Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow!

It's not too long ago when nobody would have thought that the day would ever come when people would be flooding the coasts of our country, hoping to join us. Wasn't it in the opposite way that the human flood was pouring out of us, day after day, week after week and year after year? At that time, you would only hear complaints and grievances from the poor about the poverty of this poor country. Everyone had the same tune, all claiming that our country had gone astray. The media were confirming the same attitude, saying that this country had been "banjaxed", and had gone down the toilet, into the sea.

Even our education system was aimed at getting jobs for our young people in overseas countries, and we were training doctors, nurses, priests, teachers and more, who had no chance of getting a job ONLY overseas. In addition to that, the people of this country did not care about the migration of those educated people, or about the 'Brain Drain' as it is called in English.

Undoubtedly, those who migrated did well, but of course, we should never forget the injustice done to them, when we, as a community, were unable to serve them in their own homeland. Although they managed to achieve a good career, they often shed the bitter tears of exile, because wouldn't it be much better to have the same success in their own country? They were wonderful people, who sent money home to us when it was badly needed.

Arrival of the Celtic Tiger

Big changes began in the nineties, slowly at first and then faster, until we no longer had those difficulties. Young people were going on holiday to faraway places in the world. People had cars, who once had only poor four-legged, long-eared Neids. People were going out to inns and restaurants to dine. And as well as that, people were dressed elegantly, all the time. The look, taste and smell of money was to be found, below and above, near and far, all over the country. You would no longer hear people saying on the Radio or the Television that our land had been "banjaxed", as the people who used to sing that tune were now sitting pretty, earning a pile of money over the years, from the purse of that same "banjaxed" State. To make a long story short, the news of the money was soon out on us, all over the world.

The "Black Babies"

There was only one result of that reputation for money, and that was that people came to the coasts of this country, hoping that they would get a generous share here. Those people came, one by one at first, then in small groups, and finally, they became a strong, unstoppable flood. In the beginning, we did not treat the strangers who came among us so generously, since we had no practice of such, but with the passage of time, we had to accept that we had a duty to treat them with dignity and respect. Didn't we spend many years in this country collecting pennies for the "Black Babies", but when those same Children grew up, and when they came to try and get in, well - that was a whole other story! But after a while, we were made aware that we had no other choice but to give them asylum, when such was due to them, and in addition to that, we welcomed essential workers who came to us in a strong, hopeful, unstoppable toorent, and no wonder we welcomed them, as they helped us to feed and fatten the hungry, Celtic Tiger of ours. As far as I am concerned, we should welcome those righteous people who come to us, in search of asylum, or work, and we should also be happy to grant them the citizenship of our country, if they deserve that.

Now, it wasn't just the "Black Babies" who came to our door, since as soon as the word spread that there was excellent work and jobs to be found there, people from different ethnicities started raising their sails, to make their way to this country.

Welcome to All

Although it is more difficult to deal with more people, we still have to stick to our basic principles. May we never forget the millions of us who fled this country during the Great Famine and found refuge in other countries, including Canada and the United States. No matter how hard it is, it is better to do something, in my opinion, especially in a situation like this. That's not to say that rules aren't necessary, because they are, but when anyone is admitted legally into the country, and especially those seeking asylum, we have an obligation to treat them well. When I see terrible things happening in Dublin, where a camp for asylum seekers was set on fire, or in Ballincollig in Cork, where and a former school was set on fire, which was almost ready to give asylum to refugees from Ukraine, I am both disappointed and determined. Actions speak louder than words, and it is time for us in this country to fight xenophobia, and offer a helping hand to the refugees that our government took in in the first place, to give them a new life. We have no excuses and we have to do the right thing from now on.

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Daonáireamh 2022!

2022 Census!

by | 2023/06/14 | Current Affairs, National News, Politics

2022 Census!

The figures regarding the use of the language were recently published, based on the 2022 Census. There was a 2.55% drop in the number of people speaking the language every day outside the education system, from 73,803 in 2016 to 71,968 in 2022. There was a 2.18% drop in the number of people speaking the language every week, from 111,473 in 2016 to 109,099 in 2022. I see from the government only lip service instead of a comprehensive plan to achieve an increase as opposed to a decrease of Irish speakers. These statistics are eye-opening for us, without a doubt.

I have a few words!!

The number of people who speak Irish rose by 0.6% of the population from 39.8% (1,761,420) in 2016 to 40.4% (1,873,997) in 2022. But of those people, only 10% said that they speak Irish very well , and another third saying that they speak Irish well. The rest (55%) who speak Irish said they are not able to speak it well.

In the Gaeltacht?

The number of people in the Gaeltacht who speak Irish increased, from 63,664 in 2016 to 65,156 in 2022 (an increase of 2.3%). But the number of people in the Gaeltacht who speak Irish every day has decreased from 20,586 in 2016 to 20,261 in 2022 (a 1.6% drop).

Analysis

What is going on at all? On the one hand, things seem to be improving. But on the other hand, the figures say that things are getting worse. Which is correct?

In my opinion, one need not be right and the other wrong. Analysis is necessary to make sense of these figures.

I think that the number of people who speak Irish is increasing because the revival of the language is taking place in the country and people want to improve and practice their Irish if possible. But for the most part people cannot speak Irish in the normal activities of life, because there is not enough infrastructure operating in Irish available to them. And that is the basic reason that there is a decrease in the number of speakers of Irish. Therefore, it is clear that the government's policies regarding the Irish language are not working well, despite the will of the public. What a pity that is!

Recommendations

I was at a loss as to what to do, when I received a 'WhatsApp' message from my loyal friend, Micheál Ó Máirtín. It was a sound bite from the program 'An Saol Ó Deas', with Helen Ní Shé interviewing Irial Mac Murchú. Although the number of speakers of the Gaeltacht decreased overall, the number of speakers of increased in the County Kerry and County Waterford Gaeltachts. Irial is the CEO and director of the television production company, Nemoton, and has a particular insight into the issue of Irish spoken in Gaeltacht na n'Déise in Waterford. Here is a summary of a few points he was discussing. The Gaeltacht na n'Déise was almost on its deathbed in the seventies, said Irial, when a kind of revival came. According to Irial, the cornerstone of that revival was the San Nicolás secondary school. The school was established in the fifties and in the seventies the number of pupils grew significantly. A certain generation, even though they themselves were raised in English, decided to raise their children in Irish, and there was still enough Irish in the environment that it worked out well. After a while, the stain of poverty was no longer on the language, and gradually a new generation could be seen, including teachers, lawyers, nurses and the like, who were brought up with Irish. The support of the local organizations helped with these efforts and especially the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), because they made Irish classes available to people and did their business through Irish in the Gaeltacht. Therefore, the GAA fostered a natural environment for people to speak Irish. Gradually there was a comfortable environment for people to be able to do everything through Irish.

Conclusion

We do not need to rely on the government to revive our language. We can do it ourselves! We have already had great success with Irish primary schools, and now it is time for us to establish secondary schools wherever we can. Then, we have to put public pressure on the local bodies to encourage them to be able to use Irish as well as English. We will be able to recreate the success of the Gaeltacht na n'Déise in other places like that, by collaborating together!

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Céimeanna móra chun tosaigh – ach…!

Big steps forward – but…!

by | 2023/05/24 | Current Affairs, Language Affairs, International News, National News

Big steps forward – but…!

 

A step forward in the South!

The Minister of State for the Gaeltacht and Sport, Jack Chambers announced a new era for Irish language courses last year. According to the Official Languages (Amendment) Act 2021, the government had an obligation to ensure that 20% of recruits to public bodies were competent in Irish by 2030. Minister of State Chambers said: "It is great to see that certification of the Irish language courses offered to Civil Servants. This certification now provides a great opportunity for learners and employers alike as we all work towards our common goal of achieving the ambitious targets set out in the Act.”

A step forward in the North!

At the same time in the North, Irish received official legal status at the end of 2022, when King Charles III signed the Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Bill. Unfortunately, Westminster had to pass the bill, because the government in Stormont was not going to do it.

"This is another historic day for the Irish-speaking community that the bill is now an official Act and has been put into law from today onwards," said Dr Pádraig Ó Tiarnaigh, spokesperson for 'An Dream Dearg'.

A matter of Hope and Despair at the same time!

Despite the fact that the status of the Irish language is improving in law, other things are happening that go against the objectives of the same laws. Here are a few examples of recent steps back.

A step back in the South

The Minister of Education Norma Foley has announced that there will be a reduction in time, half an hour per week, for the teaching of Irish in English primary schools (most schools in the state) starting in 2025. An hour and three quarters per week will be spent on flexible time , and from Class 3 onwards, an hour on the teaching of modern foreign languages. Despite the facts Minister Foley claims that the new curriculum would "improve the acquisition" of Irish. Education expert Professor Pádraig Ó Duibhir examined all aspects of the story, and in particular the research carried out by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment Council (CNCM) - part of the Department of Education itself. The Professor said that it was very clear from that research that there was a strong link between the reduction of teaching hours in Irish and the standard of Irish that the pupils achieve. "It makes me angry," said Professor Ó Duibhir referring to the Minister's statement on the matter. "I feel it is insulting to say that the time has been reduced but the students' abilities will improve. How is that acceptable?”

Minister Foley spent only 15 minutes in a meeting in Leinster House with advisers and representatives from the CNCM, to decide on all the changes planned for the primary school curriculum, both in Irish and mathematics. I have only one word to say about that: unacceptable!

A step back in the North

Widespread cuts to education services are taking place in the North, due to the UK government slashing its annual budget – or so it claims, anyway. Therefore, the Department of Education in the North intends to put an end to:

• Scéim Léargas (Derry). 1,600 children in Derry will lose their opportunity to learn Irish for an hour each week under this scheme.
• Glor na Mona (Belfast). Glór na Móna is a community center with 160 members, which operates through Irish in Uachtar Cluanaí in Belfast. Cultural events are organized services for the Irish community in the area.
• Ionad Uíbh Eachach (Belfast). This is a childcare center with 200 children receiving care through Irish, and it has 15 jobs associated with it.

It is scandalous that these cuts are taking place, with the Irish Language Act now passed. The government should make investments instead of cuts like that.

Conclusion

Just because an act has been passed does not mean it is in force. As Dr Pádraig Ó Tiarnaigh said: "Don't be fooled, this new act is just another milestone on that great journey. We have not reached any destination, and the enormous work of implementing the provisions of this Act begins.”

We all have to keep pressure on our political representatives to implement the new laws, both in the North and South of this beautiful island!