61 Comments

• ciaradexy | Apr 04, 2012, 01:34 PM EDT

  Gael, NO ONE HERE CARES!! We love Jedward! We dont care where their folks are from! they are Irish as the rest of us born and raised here! It was said in jest! My nephew is in a gaelscoil with kids whose parents are from all over the world. Those kids are as Irish as my nephew, Donal! Some people are townies, others are from the sticks, common theme, they are irish! The Late late Show and appearing on the Toy Show or knowing someone who did, having TK red lemonade,learning irish in school,summers in the gaeltacht climbing out windows on the last night,hang sangages at Croker, Sandymount or Dollymount if you were a Nortsoider,the Angleus at 6pm,caravans in Courttown, the school tour of Dublin zoo and Newgrange all VERY VERY much part of the Irish childhood. You seem to think its just me who has this opinion! its not! just chatting about it in work today! I asked the question -Do you consider foreign born and raised kids of Irish migrants as Irish. Out of a table of 12, no one said yes! I take your points, really I do but its how it is. I know not everyone thinks the same but Im the one on here expressing my opinion!

• Gaelphoncán | Apr 04, 2012, 04:10 AM EDT

  @Ciara: First of all, Grimes can be an anglicised version of the GAELIC surnames Grehan and Gormley, and even if Jedward's surname is of English origin, what is their mam's surname? Or their paternal grandmother's maiden name? Somehow I doubt that their lineage is TOTALLY Anglo-Saxon, Ciara. Cop on! I would venture a guess that there are plenty of Gaelic surnames in their ancestry (probably the overwhelming majority). Yes, Jedward are Irish just as Seathrún Céitinn/Geoffrey Keating was. Curitiba represents another kind of Irishness and the unionists in the Six Counties represent yet another kind of Irishness. Someone from Ros Muc in Connemara's experience of being Irish is quite different to the Irish experience of someone from Moyross in Limerick. A fisherman from Inis Bó Finne in Donegal or Inis Meáin in the Aran Island's experience of being Irish is extremely different to that of a joyrider's from a Dublin housing estate. Come on, what could they possibly have in common (apart from supporting the Irish soccer team or watching RTÉ - a lot of the children of the diaspora do that, sure)? Yes, all are different but all represent various types of Irishness (albeit some arguably more diluted than others).

• Gaelphoncán | Apr 04, 2012, 03:11 AM EDT

  @Ciara: You made an allusion to PeterCUSA's references to the evolution of Irishness but you took it totally out of context and conveniently ignored important points he made in his post, namely: His sons have lived the majority of their years OUTSIDE of IRELAND and they will have a different perspective on being Irish than IF THEY HAD BEEN BROUGHT UP (IN IRELAND) “but it's NO LESS RELEVANT or REAL” (capitalisation mine). “We adapt” (i.e. the diaspora and their offspring; he's NOT referring to the Irish in Ireland). Something that Irish immigrants especially missed from home was bacon and cabbage. Corned beef was the closest thing they could get (or afford) to bacon in America and therefore corned beef and cabbage became a symbol of home to them and the tradition of eating it to remind them of Ireland was passed on to their children and grandchildren, etc. As Peter finishes his post: “Its a good example of something that is NOT from IRELAND but came from IRISH emigrants, in other words it's an EVOLUTION OF BEING IRISH” (capitalisation mine). You say “lots of Americans on here don't get the evolution thing!” but in fact it's YOU (and IBABs who think like you) who “DON'T GET THE EVOLUTION THING” (i.e. that Irishness EVOLVES OUTSIDE of Ireland).

• ciaradexy | Apr 01, 2012, 03:56 PM EDT

  You'll have none left by the end of the evening!

• Curitiba | Apr 01, 2012, 03:30 PM EDT

  Ow! There goes another rib!

• ciaradexy | Apr 01, 2012, 03:21 PM EDT

  Jaysis if that confused you maybe you do compare to Jedward! (Joke!)

• Curitiba | Apr 01, 2012, 01:15 PM EDT

  You're confusing me now Ciara. Or is this a deliberate tactic? ;)

• jacersagain | Apr 01, 2012, 09:59 AM EDT

  One can’t but help feel for all the Barry McKinleys who need to leave Ireland to make a living while the immigrants come here to live off the Irish State’s generous welfare benefits. It galls me to see them all around my country.

• ciaradexy | Apr 01, 2012, 06:43 AM EDT

  Curitiba, Jedward, everyones favourite plebs. Surname Grimes, English name. They are Irish! Not English! How do you think you compare to them? Im not talking about intelligence level by the way. I work in Galway and Connemara and I have never been made feel like or been spoken to like an outsider. My dads family are from Monaghan, my mams from Wicklow, I spent most of my summers and holidays on the farms in Monaghan & Louth or in the gaeltacht so Im well used to travelling and moving around this country. Im a culchie jackeen, the best of both worlds and accepted by every Irish person I have ever met on my travels. I shouldnt have been up that late, I had to drive to Connemara at 6am this morning. Nice. PeterC-lots of Americans on here don't get the evolution thing! They get mad when they realise we don't all attend trad sessions every night, some of us aren't catholic, we have divorce, unwed parents and that we play rugby and have English friends. Its pathetic! Your kids will still be considered yanks when they are here like my own American cousins. They dont take offense to that though.

• PeterCUSA | Apr 01, 2012, 12:44 AM EDT

  Irish identity evolves. I'm Irish and have lived outside of Ireland for a number of years. My sons, both born there have lived the majority of there years outside of Ireland. They will have a different perspective of being Irish, then if they had been brought up there, but's it's no less relevant or real. We adapt. A great example in the US, is the Corned Beef and Cabbage thing. Unknown in Ireland, where Bacon and Cabbage was the real deal, but as time went on, and people got more money, this wasn't a meal that people ate. But in the US, Corned Beef and Cabbage is still celebrated as the 'Irish meal'. Its a good example of something that is not from Ireland but came from Irish emigrants, in other words its an evolution of being Irish

• Curitiba | Mar 31, 2012, 08:42 PM EDT

  Because I live in England. I can be Irish right here. I like it here. I live in an area that was full to the brim with Irish people of all generations, but now that has changed. I don't think it is necessary to live in Ireland to be Irish. For me it is about ancestry. Just ask any Indian or Chinese person. Ancestry is all, but language and religion are the glue that provides continuity from generation to generation. Sadly, first the language went, now the religion, so Irish identity will probably crumble now, unless there is some renaissance and cooperation between Irish people all over the world. I think this site goes some way in providing a link between Irish communities in different countries that would probably be unaware of each other. I am well in, not with the Irish in Ireland, but the irish community here. As for being an outsider, well, I would be that if I went to live in Manchester,due to a completely different accent being spoke there and you would be too if you went to live in rural Mayo. What are you doing up so late?

• ciaradexy | Mar 31, 2012, 07:52 PM EDT

  Curitiba, we could discuss this till we are blue in the face but if Irish people dont class you as one of our own, then youre pretty much not! We are a small community and we dont just take in strangers or invite people in. Thats something that is earned! I was told by a few people that we are great to tourists but when someone migrates here, we are a little less welcoming and more suspicious. Its probably true! But when youre in, youre well and truly in! Why arent you working or living here anyway?

• ciaradexy | Mar 31, 2012, 07:47 PM EDT

  I have no issues with people widening their options for work or travel which is why I have no issues with people moving to Ireland. Donegal and Cork are in the same country. Dublin and London are not. 'Ethnically' we are no different to the English! We are a separate land mass so we are Independent. Yorkshire is in England. I cant speak for the Brits nor will I pretend I can. They can sort their own political or geographical issues out.

• Curitiba | Mar 31, 2012, 07:39 PM EDT

  So the distinction between us is wholly artificial, it makes as much sense as claiming that a person from Cork is a different nationality from a person from Donegal? So we are back where we started, albeit for a different reason. You are saying we are the same after all, but because there is no distinction between English and Irish people. So Ireland's claim for independence from England makes as much sense as a demand for independence by Yorkshire, say? And Connacht could secede for the same reason from Ireland, seeing as Irish independence is a completely arbitrary thing? If you are no different to english people, why do you need an independent homeland?

• Curitiba | Mar 31, 2012, 07:21 PM EDT

  So they're going to be half-Irish and half-English, no matter where they are born. Nothing wrong with that. If they are born in NZ they are entitled to British and Irish citizenship as well as NZ. Widens their options in life, I'm sure you wouldn't object to that would you, Ciara?

• ciaradexy | Mar 31, 2012, 07:16 PM EDT

  Gaelic ancestry is pretty much the same as being white. Its nothing special or rare infairness.

• ciaradexy | Mar 31, 2012, 07:15 PM EDT

  People born in Ireland are irish, people born in England are English with common 'gaelic' ancestry. I am Irish, you are English!

• Curitiba | Mar 31, 2012, 06:55 PM EDT

  Then what is the point of Ireland if you (we) are all basically British!

• ciaradexy | Mar 31, 2012, 06:46 PM EDT

  Curitiba, I said the situation in NI is an anomaly. People can get both Irish and British passports thanks to the Good Friday agreement. Passports are given to people with Irish grandparents for the same reason those certs of Irishness or whatever they are, for money! My brother will register them as kiwis. We have had this conversation when he was home at Christmas. If theyre born in England then they are English with an irish dad. If they are born in Ireland then they are Irish with an English mother! DNA tests prove that our DNA is not different whether we are from Scotland, Ireland, England or wherever. The difference is where we are born and raised.

• Curitiba | Mar 31, 2012, 06:24 PM EDT

  Phew, I think I'll go and lie down now. Like that one about the Turkish, Gaelphoncan. It's the exact opposite of the situation we are dealing with!

• Curitiba | Mar 31, 2012, 06:19 PM EDT

  People born in NI who claim they are British are NOT an anomaly. They are as an integral part of Ireland as you are, Ciara, and their interpretation of their culture is just as valid as yours. The Republic of Ireland is every bit an artificial concept as NI, and indeed every other nation on Earth. One week you're French, one quick war later, and then your German, as the border is moved. Eye rolling won't suppress truth. My eyes roll as well every time I hear the same tired, poorly argued proclaiments that ethnic Irish people don't exist. There you go, that's something we have in common! I suppose according to your reasoning, a person born to Irish parents on a plane crossing the Atlantic, would be the Man from Atlantis, would they? The patch of dirt where you are born is irrelevant. It's your ancestry that matters. Tell you what, Ciara, should your brother decide to register his kids as Irish citizens, will you be writing to your TD to prevent this affront to right-thinking Irish people such as yourself. Don't want any more of those dreadful Plastic Paddies polluting our pure definition of Irish, do we? The very fact that Irish citizenship, every bit as equal to yours, exists for all people of Irish descent (up to grandparents, I think) blows your arguments completely out of the water.

• ciaradexy | Mar 31, 2012, 06:06 PM EDT

  Gael, we dont hate you! I have American cousins! I adore them! My aunt is Irish but her kids are Americans! Deal with it! People not integrating is the cause of many issues in the world today. You move to another country, its up to you to integrate or even assimilate with the host country Just get on with it!

• ciaradexy | Mar 31, 2012, 05:07 PM EDT

  What is it with you lot and feeling the need to label yourselves as irish? I dont live in Britain so I dont pretend to know the British psyche so why do you think you understand ours? The ethnic Irish are the travellers. Gaelic people are in Scotland, Ireland, Wales, England, Jersey, Isle of man etc. We are the same ethnicity. Those who live in Ireland are Irish therefore you arent! We arent hostile to you, we are indifferent! Tell an Irish person youre irish and watch the eyes roll! We have heard it all for our entire lives. We have nothing in common! As for my'tribal homeland' seriously man, get a grip! I have many British friends. I couldnt care less where their parents are from. we are mates because we have common interests not becaue their granny is Irish. Gael, your issue with the dole is due to the habitual residency act to ensure there is no welfare tourism to Ireland. Everyone is treated the same regardless. As you know due to the Good Friday agreement, the North IS an anomaly. So no point in comparing that to your situation. If my bro has kids with his girlfriend in NZ, the kids will be kiwis with an Irish dad and an English mam. Not Irish and not English.

• Gaelphoncán | Mar 31, 2012, 05:03 PM EDT

  You're right, Curitiba. I think it's somehow connected to our history of being a colonised people and the insecurity resulting from that. I was talking to a Turkish friend a couple days ago about the Turkish diaspora and he said that some Turkish who emigrate choose to try to assimilate and abandon their Turkish roots but that the Turkish in Turkey make great efforts to convince them not to leave the fold or turn their backs on their roots. "We try to convince them that they still belong to us, that they're still Turkish" were his words, if I remember correctly. I laughed when he said that and than thought of Ciara and of the IBABs who think like her and felt sad. Whether Ciara and those who think like her admit it or even understand it, for the Irish in Ireland to denigrate or despise the Irish diaspora is a form of self-hatred (and I think the self-hatred of the Irish has something to do with our colonial history). It's the wee hours of the morning in the part of the world where I live so I'd better call it a night.

• Curitiba | Mar 31, 2012, 04:38 PM EDT

  Thanks for your endorsement, Gaelphoncan. Your posts bring much-needed clarity to this debate.

• Curitiba | Mar 31, 2012, 03:50 PM EDT

  This whole Irish identity debate is something worthy of acedemic research in itself, Gaelphoncan. Or a television series, investigating the various manifestations of Irish identity, and the cause of the resentment of Irish-born people towards ethnic Irish people retaining their irish identity and contrasting this with the warmth and encouragement that other nations show towards their diasporas. Judging by the amount of second and third-generation Irish out there, I am very surprised that no-one has investigated this before. Ethnic irish people in Britain are very aware of the hostility towards their asserting of their Irish identity, whereas Irish Americans are not as aware of this, I think.

• Gaelphoncán | Mar 31, 2012, 03:27 PM EDT

  Just for the record, I can speak German, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and enough Italian to get by when I was on holiday in Sicily a few years ago, as well as the 2 languages I speak best, the 2 (official) languages of my tribal homeland, namely, Irish and English. At the moment, I'm learning Mandarin and finding it harder than any European language I've ever learnt (and I suppose I'm finding it harder to learn languages as I get older). I'm on the other side of the world and feel so homesick for Ireland (and of course, I miss my wife. She's in Ireland working hard and keeping the home fires burning) Barry McKinley does strike me as a sort of Dónall Mac Amhlaigh type character, a builder with a nice turn of phrase (I liked 'iPaddies' and the comment about firing up the particle accelerator at Stanford). I wish him all the best in Amerikay and hope he gets on well there in whatever he turns his hand to. “I don't expect you to understand the Irish psyche” - that is so arrogantly patronising, Ciara. Curitiba has an understanding of the Irish emigrant's psyche (which is a part of the Irish experience) that you in all likelihood will never have (mostly because you're willfully close-minded). I suppose you consider yourself an expert on Irishness and have appointed yourself to speak on behalf of ALL of the Irish born and bred in Ireland. For flip's sake, cop on, Ciara.

• Gaelphoncán | Mar 31, 2012, 03:08 PM EDT

  Fair play to you, Curitiba, you express the perspective of the children of the Irish diaspora in such an articulately passionate manner. You and I were brought up in countries thousand of miles apart yet we recognise each other as fellow tribal members. Sadly, some of those members of our tribe, whose parents or grandparents were never compelled by circumstances to leave the tribal homeland, totally reject our tribal affiliation. I returned to Ireland in 2009 after living on the Continent for a few years (doing research on a subject similar to that of my PhD). When I returned, I married a lovely cailín Gaelach and had every intention of settling down and staying in Ireland for good. I was well qualified and had relevant experience working abroad and I don't think I was necessarily naively optimistic that I would find some kind of gainful employment in my field. Well, it wasn't the way things worked out. I was one of the 70,000 who left Ireland last year and for me it was out of pure necessity and not out of choice. Nobody put a gun to my head, Ciara, but I decided to be proactive and do something before the debts piled up too high. Financial circumstances forced me to leave agus sin bun agus barr an scéil. I stuck it out for over 2 years and applied for (literally) hundreds of jobs. “I am sure that most of the 70,000 who left Ireland last year did so not because they fancied a big adventure, but because they would sit and rot on the dole otherwise” In my case, Curitiba, I wasn't even eligible for the dole (because I had been working outside of Ireland – there are more than a few people in this situation in Ireland).

• Curitiba | Mar 31, 2012, 02:06 PM EDT

  By the way, Ciara, I am very interested in what goes on in the UK too, I comment on UK news websites as well. I can debate the upcoming petrol tanker strike with you if you want!

• Curitiba | Mar 31, 2012, 01:58 PM EDT

  Ciara, you are no more or no less Irish than I am. I post on here because I am interested in the worldwide Irish community. I don't think any patch of land has pre-eminence over any other as far as being Irish is concerned. I think you post here to deny the existence of the irish community in America, which is a dreadfully cynical thing to do. This "i'm more irish than you" sniping is very divisive and antagonistic. Why can't we just be Irish people and leave it at that? Is a Unionist politician more irish than me? He might be born in ireland, and have ancestors there for hundreds of years, but he still isn't Irish. You say that is an anomaly. What, 800,000 people are an anomaly? Come on, if you are going to go down that road, then you could say that Irish people in the North of ireland are an anomaly from the point of view of the Unionists, and I could claim that the millions of people in the UK of irish descent is an anomaly as well, so they could claim to be Irish on that basis. But I am saying that we are all Irish, because of our shared heritage. As for the Irish language, well it's not much use to anyone unless a person from Louth can go into a shop in Kerry and and complete a transaction, is it. As it is totally dialect-ridden,and considered eccentric to address a stranger in Irish outside of the Gaeltacht, it's not really any good as a universal medium of communication for everyday social and business use. I would love to learn it, but what is the point if nobody understands because I have learned one of the Mayo dialects and nobody in Dublin understands, and vice-versa. Worse than a trip to Glasgow.

• ciaradexy | Mar 31, 2012, 01:54 PM EDT

  PatriciaMarya, I worry about my brother too. hes only 29 but he had metal shards in his eye a few years ago and has done his back in a few times. Theres building work going on where I work at the mo and Ive seen men in their 50s and 60s doing that really heavy manual lifting. I dont blame you for being concerned!

• PatriciaMarya | Mar 31, 2012, 01:47 PM EDT

  Barry McKinley - first off, you are a terrific writer! You caught it all in the most choice of words. You gave us the Yin and the Yang of our current world. My brother, Daniel, is a Master Carpenter and the Second in Command for a top-notch residential construction firm in Essex County, NJ and it is job that cannot be outsourced. He just was commuting into NYC to do a loft renovation for an ex-CitiGroup Big Shot and the architects come to him to break down their plans, make the work assignments and schedule the sub-contractors. No, what you all do is not for the faint of heart and the dumb of brain. However, it does take its toll on the strength of your body and it does bother me that he works through the back pain and is too busy to eat well. By the way, he is going to be 57 next birthday and I consider you dudes to be real catches! Show me a person with dirt under their fingernails while they work and I call you Renaissance People! And you clean up nicely.

• ciaradexy | Mar 31, 2012, 01:28 PM EDT

  Curitiba, if you want to learn the language, there is nothing stopping you other than your own hesitance to do so.

• ciaradexy | Mar 31, 2012, 01:07 PM EDT

  Curitiba, you're not an Irish migrant, you're the kid of Irish migrants. Remind me why you aren't here again? Is it because of the 'foreigners'? Dublin is leading the resurgence in the Irish language by the way.Ring Gael Linn and CNG and check out how many non Irish are learning the language. Up until the early 19th century Stoneybatter, the Liberties and the area around Church St were Irish speaking areas so it wasn't just the west that suffered. That was all over 150 years ago, get over it! There are courses in Irish studies all over the world. I learned about Irelands history in school, primary and secondary. I met many Irish migrants when I traveled and worked abroad. Funnily enough, none of them ever complained about being forced out of the country and they are all still very happy in the countries they live in. Have you looked at jobs on Nixers? There are some pretty good jobs there. Have you asked an Irish person on the dole why they wouldnt take one of these jobs? Now I'm not talking about someone who has lost their job through no fault of their own but rather someone who just isnt @rsed working for a living. There was an article in the paper here recently that showed around 70% of Irish who migrated, WANTED to. 30% didn't want to so the majority were looking at it as an adventure and a chance to see the world and experience new countries just like my friends and family did. I don't know what sort of fools you were hanging out with when you were here but if they didn't know their history, then you should have widened your social circle a bit. Out of interest, do you show as much interest on whats happening in your own country as you do in Ireland?

• Curitiba | Mar 31, 2012, 12:05 PM EDT

  Better than the £12 p.h.,before tax, they pay here, MCCOLGAN1492.

• Curitiba | Mar 31, 2012, 12:02 PM EDT

  On the bright side, this led to the formation of vibrant Irish communities all over the English-speaking world. Better education has allowed this present generation of Irish people to go to countries outside the Anglosphere, so I expect Irish communities to grow in these places too. great for those people who are off travelling, or who got a better job opportunity abroad, but this article is about a fellow who if forced to leave because there is no work. I am sure that most of the 70,000 who left Ireland last year did so not because they fancied a big adventure, but because they would sit and rot on the dole otherwise. Lucky for you the big cutbacks in the State sector has not affected your line of work, otherwise you would be forced to leave too. I don't think you could carry on your present standard of living with jobs from nixer.ie!

• Curitiba | Mar 31, 2012, 11:51 AM EDT

  Exactly, Ciara, we are all the same. We are all Irish. I am talking about superior attitudes. I wonder why you think I have never met any Irish emigrants? I have probably met more than you, since, by definition, an Irish emigrant is one who lives outside Ireland, there wouldn't be any Irish emigrants in Ireland. I love your posts, they ignore most things I say (apart from the outsider quote, which you are quite fond of, I notice), then proceed to argue against the things you wish I had said. I have been acquainted with migrants who came here in the 1930's, 1960's, 70's, 80's and lately. I worked with them in Australia, and met them in America. I have travelled extensively, the only continent I have never been to is South America. Instead of going on about "how little" I know about Ireland, why don't you put aside your pre-conceived ideas about Irish people who don't live in Ireland and familiarise yourself with Irish communities abroad. I know that a lot of people from places like Dublin are in total denial about the emigration disaster that befell Ireland in the 20th century, because people mainly emigrated from the rural West.

• MCCOLGAN1492 | Mar 31, 2012, 11:26 AM EDT

  Curitiba- heavy Construction Work\Utility work---$39 hr\$20 in the envelope----

• ciaradexy | Mar 31, 2012, 10:48 AM EDT

  Curitiba, I have family working all over the world! Irish people have ALWAYS travelled and moved abroad, even during the boom about 40,000 Irish emigrated or moved abroad for a few years. Im not remotely superior to anyone nor am I declaring that I am but I do not expect you to understand the Irish psyche but as an Irish person who lives in Ireland, my friends, peers and cousins either have worked abroad, is currently working abroad or want to work abroad. Its what we do! Why did your parents move abroad and why didnt they ever come back? Theyre only in England, its hardly edge of the world. So why arent you working here? You talk about the migrants into the Uk like YOURE superior to them when youre just the same as them! How many Irish migrants have you actually spoken to? How many are 100% against having to work abroad? I dont know anyone forced to leave. I know a few who had jobs here and decided to move abroad and I know even fewer who couldnt find work and so decided to go abroad for a few years. I do not know anyone who doesnt not want to be where they are now. My brother was offered work here recently but he loves New Zealand so thats where hes staying. I met Irish people working in Malaysia running an Irish bar, dont tell me that they were forced to leave. Some people are happy to get out there, travel.see the world and experience new things.

• Curitiba | Mar 31, 2012, 05:51 AM EDT

  Anyway, good luck to Barry, hope he finds proper work, and not just a few days here and there. I wonder what the wages are like there these days. Thanks to the flooding of the UK building industry with endless amounts of "New British", the wages are still at 1990's levels.

• Curitiba | Mar 31, 2012, 05:40 AM EDT

  I'm not saying they are,Ciara. They should never had to emigrate, their own country should have provided jobs for them, but Ireland failed them and exported them to a foreign country, along with hundreds of thousands of others of their generation. It's failing its people again, and yet more Irish people will be born in far-flung shores, not just London and NYC, but Australia, NZ, Spain, France, China and wherever else Irish people must go to find work. You're very smug with your superiority complex because your parents never got pushed out, otherwise you'd be just like me, another ethnic Irish person fighting the ignorance and anti-Diaspora bigotry exhibited by displayed by unenlightened Irish-born people such as yourself. However, I don't make sweeping generalisations about irish born people, as i have met many of them who make no distinction between the Irish at home and the Irish abroad. Watch the Youtube vid about the Yonkers parade to educate yourself as to what true irishness is. I can tell you what it is not. It is not mealy-mouthed denunciations of people whose direct ancestors were forced to emigrate.

• GraeneyMac | Mar 31, 2012, 03:53 AM EDT

  Hi Barry! Could this be a modern-day Dialann Deorai in the making? Slán abhaile!

• seagreen | Mar 31, 2012, 12:06 AM EDT

  Mr. McKinley, At times I am less than gracious to some of the articles that I read on IC. You have obviously been through the throes of trying to earn a living for yourself, and I assume your appendages also. Having returned to your homeland and encountering the economic difficulties that presented you,and and the realization making a decision to return to a country that will possibly afford a better livelihood is a prudent thing for you to do, although a difficult one to say the least. I have read your description about your return, and am encouraged by your perception, realization, and real approach to coming to the United States. It is a rational,realistic approach to making do, and making a living. My impression is that you will succeed in your endeavor. We need people with your approach to life, and I wish you well and hope that you achieve all that you are looking for

• MCCOLGAN1492 | Mar 30, 2012, 08:40 PM EDT

  ciaradexy- over 50% of the US will be Hispanic by the year 2050, which by the way is a positive thing. Like the Irish Immigrant, the Hispanic Immigrant is a very hard working family oriented industrious lot. Most of their families are large as well and include many extended relatives. For this reason,it is important for all of us to learn Spanish asap....

• ciaradexy | Mar 30, 2012, 06:43 PM EDT

  Curitiba, so the construction jobs are being taken by Eastern Europeans in the UK? You mean they are just like your parents? Migrants? You class yourself as Irish so why are your parents any better than these lot?

• ciaradexy | Mar 30, 2012, 06:40 PM EDT

  Murph, do migrants need Spanish or some Native American language to work in the US? China is the next big economy. There are plenty learning Mandarin as its one of the languages of business. Its unlikely you speak anything other than bad English.

• johnshiel | Mar 30, 2012, 06:30 PM EDT

  may I say another word on Barry's behalf? I clicked on Irish Times to see what else he might have written, and found a corker of a story about a copper penny thrown over a wall that bonks the noggin of a unique character... it'd be worth your while...

• rhunter67 | Mar 30, 2012, 05:53 PM EDT

  A very intriguing perspective, Barry. Wish you all the best back in NY.

• Murph46 | Mar 30, 2012, 05:39 PM EDT

  Nice touch MCCOLGAN -Always helps to have friends,here's hoping you can help.He deserves it!

• MCCOLGAN1492 | Mar 30, 2012, 05:21 PM EDT

  Barry, shoot me an email mccolgan1492@gmail.com no guarentees however have a few hooks in NYC which may help, irregardless of what the jack asses think, we are all immigrants, some old dogs can teach the young ones a few tricks. ....

• CitizenWhy | Mar 30, 2012, 04:02 PM EDT

  Get ensconced in the right Irish community in the US and you will do fine. Wishing you the best of fortune, good neighbors, a nice place for your kids.

• joreilly | Mar 30, 2012, 01:52 PM EDT

  POOR 'auld Ireland!!!! !Her two best products,Cattle & Children,raised for export. Barry, don't worry I know some carpenters here from Ireland and they fit in easily with the brightest and best.There are two types of carpenters,CARPENTERS AND NAIL BANGERS ??? YOU are the former.AND ,your writing skills are excellent...you certainly have a way with words. WELCOME BACK TO AMERICA. Jacko

• kerthialfad | Mar 30, 2012, 12:48 PM EDT

  Curb your birth rate. Ever hear of birth control? Barry, you're not needed in the US. We're already overbuilt.

• Curitiba | Mar 30, 2012, 12:45 PM EDT

  But is there actually any construction work going in New York? It's not 1989 any more. He might find that all the jobs are taken by Latin Americans, just as all the construction jobs are taken by the East Europeans here in the UK. If it doesn't work out in NYC, Baz, don't bother heading for Camden Town, Cricklewood Broadway or Kilburn, cos there ain't anything here either. If you have any sense, you'll stay in Ireland and draw your €200 dole.

• Gray Ghost | Mar 30, 2012, 12:41 PM EDT

  Hey Barry, just because you swing a hammer for a living doesn't mean you are not one of the best and brightest. Good luck from one of the the class of '83 emigrants. I am sure you will be fine

• BrendanDunphy | Mar 30, 2012, 11:27 AM EDT

  Barry McKinley: Eire's loss is America's gain. Welcome back.

• BiffSissy | Mar 30, 2012, 11:02 AM EDT

  The unemployment rates in the USA are at an all time high for all levels of workers. The common lament here is "jobs are being taken by......."(you fill in the blank-it varies from state to state!) Alas for Barry McKinley and millions of others, the future is no brighter here than there

• Murph46 | Mar 30, 2012, 10:16 AM EDT

  It ain't getting better,Edna Kenny just signed a deal with Chinese,now he will need to speak Mandarin to work in Ireland! Watch!

• johnshiel | Mar 30, 2012, 10:12 AM EDT

  if Barry McKinley is not already writing frequently, he better start right now. Very fine writing, I say, the kind that illuminates and satisfies. There's a future for you, Barry, that doesn't burden your body so heavily. 'like birds weighed down by hammers' Indeed!

• christilcaugh | Mar 30, 2012, 10:08 AM EDT

  This is a sad epitaph to a people who have suffered so much. And he's right...it so much more than simply the young educated people who have left. Much has come from the trades, and across the spectrum of Irish over the years. The government seems to be securing the loss of educated only, and that is sad.

• thegreenranger2 | Mar 30, 2012, 09:36 AM EDT

  Well, it's happening again. Ireland's population is being forced to emigrate again, since the Irish economy is sinking anew.