Mothers’ tears as their kids leave Ireland behind

Seanmor Your history and mine are identical except for Marne Corp I was Army. The physical in Dublin is well worth emphasizing. I think there was a chest X-ray also. I am going to save your comment and post it whenever I think appropriate if you don't mind. Smyrin: I left from Shannon Apr 57 for NYC.

warrenpoint: You are correct when you say that "...most of the time a warm welcome was on hand for those [Irish] immigrants. On my arrival in NYC in the late '50s, I was met by my uncle who sponsored me here. In order to do so, he had to declare his net worth to the immigration authorities and agree to be responsible for my welfare if need be. For my part, I had to pass a very thorough physical exam at the U.S. consulate in Dublin, prove that I did NOT have a criminal record and agree to register with my local Draft Board within 6 months of arrival. Then I had to register as a resident alien every Jan., including the 4 years I served in the Marne Corps. The INS were far more selective of the immigrants to whom they granted visas in those days, and we were all willing to be productive residents and citizens and rapidly assimilate.

Tears of an exile, Irish people have left Ireland in their thousands over the years to be welcomed in their new port of arrival, sometimes,sometimes not, but most of the time a warm welcome was on hand for those emigrants.Thank God the world is not full of people like the racist ,anti emigrant , woundedlegs.I wonder where his lineage started from, somewhere very white, no poverty and a lot of bible thumping ,I would suspect.

Seanmor - Good point. I also recall well the Irish government 'safety valve' outlook on emigrants leaving back then. I was one of them. I am under no illusion that they are taking the same view today but are being more PC about it.

This article is a couple years old now. I bet that the people featured above--Brid Bergin etc--have long gotten over their sorrow. In fact I suspect they've even adopted a replacement son or daughter from among the vast throngs of foreign migrants who have entered Ireland since the article was written. It's not Depopulation, folks, its REpopulation. Get with it!

Many an emigrant was saddened by the to the sorrowful tears shed by mothers and other close relatives at his/her departure. But prelates and politicians seldom, if ever, showed the least concern for the young Irish people from either side of the Border who were forced to leave their beloved homeland in search of suitable employment. In my time, emigration was said to be "a safety valve", especially for those of us who hoped to see Ireland a complete nation agus a raibh meas mór againn ar an dteanga náisiúnta.

And I thought I was the only one who remembered Bridie Gallagher. She was a gem! :)

Sara: You comments remind me of Bridie Gallagher's song "A Mother's Love is a Blessing", but there is no place for that in the new, politically correct Irish state. Only 'sentimental fools' would listen to such trash, according to my thoroughly modern relatives in Ireland. You also mentioned money sent home by Irish immigrants in the U.S. That custom has continued since the Famine or before it. Yet, twice in the 1980s, the Dáil crowd showed their contempt and anger for us by boycotting the NYC St. Patrick's Day parade in 1983 and 1985.

I remember it like it was yesterday: Dublin Airport Bar, 2002. New York City bound. I had a Guinness and so did my father. Sat there with my mother and father until departure. Haven't been back since then. I love New York though. This is my new home

Saraindc. - Exactly. Well said.

I left about 8 years ago and my mum still cries everytime I am leaving. It gets harder as you get older because everytime you go home to visit you notice how people have aged, they're frailer than when you were last home. I've had to go home for funerals more frequently in the last 2 years and for major illness and hospital visits. It never goes away. I've lived here 8 years and my American friends tell me they're not anywhere as close to their families as we Irish seem to be. Some are amazed we'll get on a plane when someone in the family goes into hospital. Some don't understand why we'd send money home to sisters or brothers who are feeling the pinch with mortgage payments or medical bills. Leaving home can be an adventure but at the same time you miss everyone familiar and your home town more. You're family is just as close but you miss precious times with nieces and nephews growing up, major events like starting school, sports etc. We are luckier today however than years ago. Flights are shorter/faster (my last trip got me into shannon in time to see a family member in hospital before she passed so im thankful i made it in time). Skype lets us see each other so my nieces and nephews are able to see me, talk to me - its not perfect but its better than years ago. Would I go home if i could get a better job? I sure would consider it, much as I love my life here, it would be nice to have a choice!

On the early morning of 29 April, 1958,at Shannon, my mother and father experienced the same sadness as the parents James Kelly did in early March, 201111. The TWA plane which I boarded for Idlewild (now JFK) had many emigrants in their late teens and early twenties. But in those days, the Irish state wasn't burdened by a huge influx of foreign settlers, including tens of thousands from the Third World would not begin for almost another hald century.

PS It's not exactly the same as Christmas shopping now is it?

You missed the point, SeanO. I have seen what it has done to families.

I know American people who go from the East Coast to the West coast 2,500 miles to get work. There is no Weeping & Gnashing of tears from their mom's. Christ, during the Celtic Tiger, Irish Mom's hopped a plane to New York for Christmas Shopping. MOM's to Hell With the Grah Mo Cree DRAMA. Look at the good side, they are not on your couch every day, collecting the dole, laughing at the working man out on the road.