Irish bar staff in New York afraid to go home for Christmas -- fear of losing their jobs

If youre illegal then you shouldnt be there. Whats so hard to understand?

What's the big deal? Bar owners are running businesses, are running a business, not a holiday creche. If people sign upp for a job where Xmas is their best time, then they can't expect to go back to Ireland for weeks.

From San Francisco to New York the "holidays" are busiest time of year for restaurants/bars, some cases it nearly makes the year.We need our regular, experienced,staff. It also means more money for them,though most holiday(especially New Years)makers don't tip well the volume does it. I never had the holidays off for all the years I was restaurantor,nor did I expect it. Wouldn't take it anyway...except New Years/St Pat's,and stay home.

@STEVENSTAR, The figure is more like 50,000 illegal Irish and not hundreds of thousands as you say.

The bar staff that have been employed for some period of time are given off to go home for Christmas, but if they are only here a short time, they cannot It is as simple as that. This new crowd wnats it both ways.

STEVENSTAR: There are more than you might think; and I know that first hand. As far as being inhospitable, true, but not just for the Irish. Also there are many Irish-Americans who were very involved with helping the legalize all the Irish that came in the 80's. Many are not involved now, as the economy over here is still poor. And two many Irish-Americans don't want to help the current crop of illegal Irish because many of the crowed that came in the 80"s did not appreciate all the efforts we made and have a big chip on their shoulder about Irish-Americans. A chip that really is just begrudgery. This new crowd is even worse. You only like us when you wnat something.

People all over the world , even the undocumented work on Xmas day. Get over it or move on and let some one else have the job.

Don't see the point of this article. This is the nature of the service industry, particularly for those at the lower rungs. I and millions of service-members didn't complain when we spent Christmas in addition to other holidays in far inhospitable reaches of the planet. Upon returning to civilian life many of us public service organizations where celebrating holidays at home is the exception. The business of America is Business - get used to it.

PLEASE TELL ME ACTUALLY HOW MANY IRISH WENT TO AMERICA IN THE LAST FEW YEARS TO DO BAR JOBS ??? :) ID SAY VERY FEW NEARLY EVERY IRISH PERSON I KNOW WHO IMMIGRATED IN THE LAST 5 YEARS HAS GONE TO ENGLAND, AUSTRALIA OR CANADA I DONT KNOW ANY WHO WENT TO AMERICA .. BECAUSE OF NEW TOUGH IMMIGRATION LAWS.....AMERICA IS NOT AS PALLY AND AS GOOD A NEIGHBOR TO US IRISH AS YE WOULD LIKE TO THINK ... THEY'RE ARE STILL 100,000S OF IRISH ILLIGAL THERE WHO CANT GET VISAA... SO THATS WHY MOST IRISH IN 2012 AVIOD AMERICA AND THAT IS THE FACTS MY FRIEND!!!

Once ever I spend the evening of Christmas Eve in a bar (only because a friend of mine was the bartender).Shortly after 11PM the customers began to leave for midnight mass. By 11:45 only one other customer remained, an avowed atheist.

Couldn't be more timely. The documented and entitled Irish ruthlessly exploiting the vulnerable and undocumented Irish. One set gets to spend Christmas with their families and the other set gets to spent it alone behind a bar. It's how people live now. Tis' the season to expose them for it.

creating the latest set of victims... the never ending work of the statist mindset...

It's the nature of the retail business whether you work in a bar, a Chinese restaurant or Macy's - guess what? You have to work the hours. Non story; usual IC kip.

Don't tell me pubs open on xmas day in America, dear oh dear. my xmas wish to woundedheadknee.wtf.

Why are these people here in the US? There are lots of jobs in hotel and bar work in Ireland. The last bar I was in in Ireland, the barman was Bulgarian. I don't know how long it's been since I dealt with an Irish barman in Ireland. I've come across filipinos, Russians, Poles and goodness knows what else working in bars in Ireland. Some of them were pretty incompetent too. Those Irish should go home. Are they even legal?