Irish continue to flock to US immigration figures show

Yeah I know it. I lived in Rossport for a bit and have mates in Belmullet. I still dont know anyone there who has emigrated or whos parents have returned from abroad but then again Im only up there once a month or so.

Belmullet is the town to which I am referring.

Sorry, I live in Louisburgh but Im from Clonakilty in West Cork.

As I said, Im sure there are some but Im from Louisburgh in Mayo and I dont know of any here. I have no doubt that it may be a factor but the most common and popular visas were the Morrison and Donnelly

Sorry, LaoiseRyan, I don't want to labour the point, but Mayo is full of people with Irish accents who were born in the USA (and England). Their parents returned to Ireland when while the children were still young. You will find families where the siblings are born in different countries. One family I knew had 2 children born in the USA, 1 in England and 1 in Ireland. This kind of pattern is common amongst counties that suffered heavy emigration during the 1950's to 70's.I think a lot of Irish came back from the USA in the 70's to avoid being drafted in the Vietnam War.

''why would they bother employing Irish when they can employ Latin Americans, who will work for less money.'' Because its the skilled Irish with sought after qualifications who are emigrating to countries where a visa is required and where jobs cant be filled by Americans. I dont know any Irish who have an American parent but obviously there are however this wasnt how people got into the US. In the 80s there were a couple of visa programmes which allowed the Irish to move to the US and work legally so I think you'll find this is how it was done. I think they were called the Morrison and Donnelly visas but I could be wrong. I know lots went over and worked illegally too.

I was just curious LaoiseRyan, as most Irish people in the recent past were only able to go to the US because either they, or one of their parents were born in the USA. The American visa system is certainly not straightforward like the Australian one, and why would they bother employing Irish when they can employ Latin Americans, who will work for less money. Many Irish (and others I have met) simply went on a tourist visa and bought a social security number from a bloke in an Irish bar, before being caught and deported, or simply wanting to return home permanently.

Curitiba-How do you know they dont have visas? ''The U.S. attracted 14,288 workers from Ireland, with the majority being on temporary work permits. '' so maybe the rest were on migrant visas? I know a few nurses who moved there in the past few years. They got job offers and work visas no problem.

I don't understand. How are so many Irish people able to emigrate to the USA without visa? Last time I looked, New York is not in the European Union, so you can't just turn up to JFK and tell them you thought living in Queens sounded more glamorous than heading for Cricklewood Broadway in London.

hello simplesandy contact at jlizm@aol.com

George, good one!! I was in East Galway in May and I had two seperate Polish Taxi drivers.

I walked into an Irish Pub in NYC last night and an Irishmen served me my pint. I walked into an Irish Pub in Belfast last month and a Polishman served me my pint.

I'm glad it bothers you georgyboy. Tell your KKK friends I said hello.

70.000 Irish left during last year? That's almost exactly equal to the number of foreign migrants who moved in to Ireland. So there's obviously no problem with depopulation. It's just REpopulation, the Irish are kindly making way for new stock. At this rate the final metamorphosis of Ireland should be achievable within maybe 15 years. Then All Hail to the Republic of Nova Irlandskaya! Or will it be ايرلندا? Or more likely आयरलैंड.

well joan how do I contact you?