Read more: ‘Irish mass emigration, and rising poverty are horrifying to see’ says editorial
Read more: Emigration ripping Ireland apart says leading cleric - SEE POLL
For almost every Irish person that boards a plane destined for new beginnings in a foreign country, there is a mother or father wandering back to the car park in the airport, wondering where it all went so wrong.
Once again emigration in Ireland a reality for Irish people from a range of backgrounds. But as Irish citizens around the world touch down in far flung places, they leave behind friends and family, many who find it hard to witness the exodus.
The leavetaking can be tough. At a table in a bar in Dublin Airport sits a father, mother and their 22-year-old son. The youngest of four children, James Kelly is about to board a flight for Australia as he enjoys his last few moments with his parents before a year abroad.
His mother Marie excuses herself and goes to the bathroom, but instead of returning to see her son walk through the departure gates, she just keeps walking to the car park. She cannot bring herself to say goodbye to her youngest born, who’s leaving Ireland in search of a new beginning.
“I didn’t say goodbye to him. I was like a zombie,” Marie Kelly told the Irish Voice in a recent conversation.
James Kelly’s story is similar to many young Irish people. Last May he qualified as a quantity surveyor. Unable to find work in his industry, he took a job in a local supermarket in Kill Co. Kildare.
Not disheartened, he continued to try and find work in a saturated job market. On one occasion he was refused an unpaid internship due to insurance laws.
“He couldn’t get any experience. He offered to work for nothing but they wouldn’t take him on because if they didn’t pay him he wouldn’t be covered by their insurance,” his mother told the Irish Voice.
James left Ireland just over six weeks ago with a group of friends from college, all in a similar situation.
At first the idea of leaving Ireland was an appealing thought for James, but when reality hit and the date for departure approached Marie admits it was an overwhelming time.
“It was terrific when he got the tickets but the week before it reality hit him. It was a daunting two or three days before he left,” says Marie.
James is hoping to get experience in Sydney in his industry which he hopes will benefit him when he returns to Irish shores.
As a mother it was hard to see him leave and as time goes on Marie just hopes that he won’t stay in Australia long term.
“When my older son Anthony went traveling we knew it was just for one year, but with the way things are here, I fear James may be gone for much longer,” she fears.
Olive Hennessy from Co. Kildare recently waved goodbye to her only daughter Aisling, who is currently working in Scotland.
“It’s awful, Aisling studied abroad, she didn’t want to go away again. She had to re-assess her situation,” Olive said.
A trained physiotherapist, Aisling graduated last year and managed to get a job in Ireland, but when the funding from the Health Service Executive ceased, so did her job. Content to be in gainful employment, she took a job as a nurse’s aide before she decided to emigrate.
“From my perspective it was, there she goes again, is she ever going to get work in this country? She had no wish to go but she had to continue with her career,” she added.
“It’s heartbreaking really, my concern is that she is away and will she settle away. She is only 22 and my only daughter, it’s very upsetting,” Olive told the Irish Voice.
Bríd Bergin has watched both her son and daughter emigrate in recent years. Her son Robert lives in Dubai and her daughter Emma lives in Wales. While Robert is content in Dubai working as a math teacher, it is her daughter, 28, who yearns to return home.
“She has wanted to come home badly but no opportunities have come up,” Bríd told the Irish Voice.
Emma is now doing her PhD but as time goes by she is becoming more unsettled as her friends leave and return home.
“Her network of friends gets more diminished as the years go and her life is in Ireland, but there is no hope of a job,” says Bríd.
“I think it’s wonderful to see all the educated going away and standing on your own two feet instead of the same old thing, but my biggest fear is that so many Irish out there will meet people and settle down,” she added.
Bríd’s only daughter left in Ireland, Katie, works as a teacher, and despite not having to emigrate has taken the brunt of the recent downturn also.
“Katie’s salary has dropped to less than when she qualified; she had to move out of her apartment because she cannot afford it. Out of class of 22 she is only one with a permanent job,” Bríd reflected.
Ann Kelly from Mayo found it hard when her twin daughters immigrated to London five years ago.
“I think the sadness in me is related to the culture and to the old stories from the west of Ireland and the frustration that these two highly educated and competent women were over there,” she told theIrish Voice.
Ann knew so many people from her own generation who were forced to immigrate to London to areas such as Cricklewood and Kilburn in the fifties and sixties.
“The next generation of Irish are now renting the flats that the Irish bought, and the areas are not run down anymore. But I still hate addressing letters to those areas as so many of neighbors had to leave,” says Ann.
While her daughter Deirdre returned to Ireland a few years ago, her sister Maura stayed in London and now cannot return to Ireland because of lack of opportunity.
“Her twin sister left it too late and now can’t get back and settle, she was there by choice and she stayed too long and cannot come back,” said Ann.
“She feels a lot of sadness and a lot of frustration that she now wants to come back and she can’t.”
This week in Ireland hundreds more people followed in the footsteps of these Irish emigrants, leaving behind them a country torn apart by political upheaval, corrupt bankers and greed. Most will prosper, some will return, others will settle, and slowly become tourists in their home country.
Leaving on a jet plane has never seemed so final for so many young Irish and the families they leave behind.
Read more: ‘Irish mass emigration, and rising poverty are horrifying to see’ says editorial
Read more: Emigration ripping Ireland apart says leading cleric - SEE POLL
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.nosoupforU | May 11, 2013, 11:45 PM EDT
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.
Seanmor | May 09, 2013, 11:57 AM EDT
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.
warrenpoint00 | May 08, 2013, 08:07 PM EDT
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.
Smyrnian | May 08, 2013, 04:51 PM EDT
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.
WoundedKnee | May 08, 2013, 02:54 PM EDT
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!
Seanmor | May 08, 2013, 12:12 PM EDT
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.
Smyrnian | May 08, 2013, 09:57 AM EDT
And I thought I was the only one who remembered Bridie Gallagher. She was a gem! :)
Seanmor | May 08, 2013, 09:42 AM EDT
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.
steber2000 | May 08, 2013, 07:05 AM EDT
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
Smyrnian | May 08, 2013, 05:03 AM EDT
Saraindc. - Exactly. Well said.
saraindc | May 07, 2013, 08:47 PM EDT
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!
Seanmor | May 07, 2013, 08:12 PM EDT
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.
Smyrnian | May 07, 2013, 03:46 PM EDT
PS It's not exactly the same as Christmas shopping now is it?
Smyrnian | May 07, 2013, 03:45 PM EDT
You missed the point, SeanO. I have seen what it has done to families.
SeanO | May 07, 2013, 03:37 PM EDT
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.
Smyrnian | May 07, 2013, 02:04 PM EDT
I saw this first hand in the 1950's and '60's. it is very sad. It can destroy a family; time and distance has a terrible impact. I saw what it did to my own family and there were 11 of us scattered to the world. Not good, not healthy and definitely can destroy a family forever. It has an impact on those left behind as well as those who leave. Also, everyone dreams of coming back home but few do. I wish all of us could have stayed at home.
butlerreport | May 07, 2013, 01:05 PM EDT
The best leave. The dregs remain. That's a fact evident in how the country is allowed to run by a bovine population.
AengusOg | May 07, 2013, 01:01 PM EDT
As a child of Irish emigres, I am familiar with the pain of the emigre when word comes that mom or dad is sick, dying or have died. As a parent, you suffer with your children for what is happening or might happen in their lives. Separation only heightens the pain. But for the young people who must fashion a life, they must go. Let it be of some comfort to know they have choices to make and places to go.
McNamara31 | May 07, 2013, 09:18 AM EDT
Even though, as some posts say below, air travel is less than 24 hours away; mother’s always worry that they will not be there if their child is hurt or injured be they two or twenty two. A heart doesn't stop feeling, when the daughter or son boards the plane, and the pain is always there even though you know in your head this may be the best move for your child. Many a parent put a child on a plane with a smile, only to break down when they are out of view. How else do you expect a loving parent to be? Very few things stay the same from one generation to the next, but the hardships of change, loss and longing are forever present, whether its 1850 or 2013.
allirishcolleen | Mar 11, 2011, 11:57 AM EST
Its so sad as i remember the longing i felt for home when i left,and after 30 yrs of leaving Ireland i still feel pangs of missing the land i was born in and of course a lot of my family is buried there, for Irish people it really never leaves you. just like the saying you can take the girl out of Ireland but you can never take Ireland out of the girl.
LoyalCitizen | Mar 11, 2011, 05:15 AM EST
@WoundedKnee: I wondered why i see so many on the 65B.
WoundedKnee | Mar 11, 2011, 04:55 AM EST
antoman wrote "Mother I'm home!Meet Unguki click* click* wabantahooppi.She is a princess and the tallest of her tribe." You forgot to add the last part: "Her cousins live in Tallaght"
Collette2 | Mar 11, 2011, 12:49 AM EST
antoman; your comment speaks volumes and I'll leave it at that.
cillpeader | Mar 10, 2011, 11:11 PM EST
31 years in Australia and I can clearly remember the pain to my Mother on the day I left.Lets look at the upside:- When living overseas and fending for oneself maturity comes quickly. I also believe we stretch ourselves a bit harder and achieve more. Getting home is not too difficult these days with the cheap flights. There are many new friends to made and new cultures to be enjoyed and finally be sure to phone your Mammy on a regular basis.
greensod | Mar 10, 2011, 08:14 PM EST
Looks like the real issue is missed here.
Towngate | Mar 10, 2011, 03:38 PM EST
SHAMROCKSHORE Fabulous Post- every word pure gold. Mention of the stagecoach revived memories of my research of the unsung Bianconi Transport Company who opened up Ireland before the coming of the railways.I bet the poor mothers hankies were fluttering even then as their little cherubs set off on the ten mile trip to look for work in the next town!
ShamrockShore | Mar 10, 2011, 12:35 PM EST
After reading these letters I still cannot see what the big deal is. This charade of mothers crying at airports, docks, train stations and bus depots is a remnant of the past that those mothers want to recreate. Women like a good old weep. Why are weepy movies so popular? Very few immigrant destinations on the earth are more than 24 hours away. About the same length of time for a stagecoach to reach Killarney from Dublin in the late 19th century. So Mamas, lighten up and let your daughter's/son's last sight of you be a proud, smiling face. Unless you feel like a good cry, that is!
Searlit | Mar 10, 2011, 10:31 AM EST
DrTrelawney, it was a different world in the 1980's, since then the average working person's life has only gotten tougher! Your last sentence states the real problem. There is no sense of proportion in the economy - 50% of all earnings has been sucked-up by the top 1% (400 families), here in the US. Just like a vacuum! Only when there is some proportion restored to taxation will things get any better.
antoman | Mar 10, 2011, 09:57 AM EST
Mother I'm home!Meet Unguki click* click* wabantahooppi.She is a princess and the tallest of her tribe.Mother?..mother?
DrTrelawney | Mar 10, 2011, 06:30 AM EST
I left in the 1980s, lived in London and New York, then eventually came back. It's really no big deal. It's not as if these kids are being shipped off in boats and will never be able to afford to come back. Some sense of proportion please.
Collette2 | Mar 10, 2011, 02:36 AM EST
One of the greatest gifts a mother can give her child apart from the obvious is resilience. The economy is just one factor, in many instances their faith in the church has been shot to pieces and they will carry many anxieties albeit not expressed. We wish them well in their new ventures and there is nothing stronger than a mothers prayer so take comfort.
WoundedKnee | Mar 10, 2011, 02:30 AM EST
This article is ridiculous, and these Irish mothers are sickeningly self-centered. How come they're not out at Dublin Airport with a bouquet of flowers for the new Irish who are thronging in every day? Wouldn't an immigrant from Pakistan or Poland really appreciate being welcomed with a big Cead Mile Failte to your new home? And then maybe the Irish mother could bring the newcomer back to her home and serve him tea and scones. Very often the newcomer won't be alone, he'll bring children, granma and maybe a couple of aunts. What's wrong with the Irish, how come they are so obsessed with their families and don't care about families from India, Guyana, Ivory Coast etc. as they arrive to take up a new life in Ireland? The Catholic Church is a big supporter of the repopulation of Ireland by foreigners, they should be organizing welcome committees for the New Irish.
TaffyTwo | Mar 10, 2011, 01:16 AM EST
Let’s hope that the people leaving this time are not taken advantage of like to people in the 40’s & 50’s. Don’t work for money under the table as you do not get a pension, and that is a double whammy, having left Ireland and then not able to collect a pension from either place that you lived in. Imagine what it must have been like for people like my grandmother when her children left in the late 20’s and 30’s --- she did not know if she would ever see them again, and in fact it was 35 years before she met up with her eldest son in the States -- my grandfather never did see his eldest son again after he left at the age of nineteen. Just remember be HONEST and WORK HARD and prove that you are not like the corrupt and greedy people that bankrupted Ireland.
sirpeter | Mar 09, 2011, 09:03 PM EST
Georgy..Have you got over the upset i caused you..ha ha...*Quote Peter you creep, call me by my right title..My name is Mr.Dillion.Unquote...ha ha ha ha
sirpeter | Mar 09, 2011, 08:54 PM EST
Creakygate..It is a small place,and we might not be the center of the Universe..But we are damned close..All the Brits..They want to be here.Because of our intellectual superiority..They all want to be here don't they..The President of the USA.With his home brew..Lizzy the Hun to see can she get some Irish horses c*ck for her nags. The pope..Afraid we'll replace the priests with the old druids...Ah yeah..Nobody bothers with us..If there was 5 million brits in England..It would get as much visitors as Greenland..Creakygate...Your jealousy is very unbecoming but understandable.
ShamrockShore | Mar 09, 2011, 07:50 PM EST
I do think that the media make too much of this. Does Colin Farrel's family weep at the airport when he's leaving. Or Pierce Brosnan's ...... or Gabriel Byrnes'....... or Damien Duff's, ..... or Niall O'Dowd's? By leaving Ireland you can get rid of the small island mentality. I spent 28 years abroad and loved it. Plenty of holidays home and lots of lovely experiences. And on April 16 am heading to NH at the ripe old age of 62 to join my wife - who moved back to the land of her birth three months ago. She hails from Keene. This is Planet Earth ....... not a hotchpotch of clusters in the Asteroid belt. And we are all citizens of it.
Towngate | Mar 09, 2011, 05:41 PM EST
Maybe we all expect too much of the poor little place ~ after all, it is only a little speck on the Globe - not the centre of the Universe!
GeorgeDillon | Mar 09, 2011, 04:30 PM EST
KittyMurphy: This guy sirpeter has never even been outside of IRELAND.
sirpeter | Mar 09, 2011, 02:49 PM EST
OK..So I was off a slight bit in the distance;)Hey!! I know what emigration is like. I moved 8 miles from home when i got married. When I look out my window now it's totally different. People there I never met before..Accent's are different and everything. Took me a while,but I got over it like.
Searlit | Mar 09, 2011, 12:49 PM EST
I agree, Liamkeyes, it's also totally, different - leaving your country versus leaving one state or another.
Liamkeyes | Mar 09, 2011, 11:19 AM EST
Dear Sir Peter, What Planet are you living on? Florida is just south of NYC probably 800 miles to the Florida Line and Southern Florida is only an hour's flight. Ireland is 3,000 miles and a 7 hour flight.
Liamkeyes | Mar 09, 2011, 11:16 AM EST
It's Diabolical!!!
jamieLM | Mar 09, 2011, 10:45 AM EST
sirpeter, Americans live abroad and we at home do move all over the USA for our jobs. My siblings and I have moved serveral times. At the moment, I'm in the Midwest, my 2 brothers are in Washington state & Minnesota, my 2 sisters are in Georgia & Texas, and our parents live in Colorado. Due to schedules and distance, we're rarely together at one time. My Australian-born sister-in-law has had to adapt to being separated from homeland and family. Not everyone will return home to live and that's what worries parents. Separation from loved ones is difficult, but you have to make the best of things and life does go on.
KittyMurphy | Mar 09, 2011, 10:36 AM EST
@sirpeter - you've obviously never experienced emigration in your family.
LoyalCitizen | Mar 09, 2011, 10:35 AM EST
Kleenex will clean up.
sirpeter | Mar 09, 2011, 10:23 AM EST
DaveyBoy..Don't worry about Ireland. America has done plenty for Ireland in investment over the years.Also America made the British take real notice when it came to the NI peace process..That was worth more then any money.
DaveyBoy | Mar 09, 2011, 09:58 AM EST
I think it is sad what has happened. With the United States sending money to countries that dont need our help you would think they would do something to help Ireland out since it was the Irish who broke their backs putting it together and building this country. But then again with Obama and the bushes in office they would rather give the money to war torn countries and billions to countries who dont want them there during their private and religious wars than to a country who has done more for the U.S not try to tear it down The U,S sucks if my uncle had not stolen my inheritance I would have a few million to take to Ireland to build jobs for the people to keep the economy growing strong again
Helen Ferone | Mar 09, 2011, 09:50 AM EST
Sometimes a dream can become a nightmare!! You hope the grass is greener on the other side, then when you get there reality sets in. Depending on what part of Ireland you live in, if its the simple life you want stay where you are, and enjoy what you've got.
sirpeter | Mar 09, 2011, 08:53 AM EST
God Almighty!! The Drama..People move around all the time in their jobs. Americans move to different parts of the USA for work all the time. As far as i know in New York you are nearer to Ireland then to Southern Florida. They can always come back when things improve