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People and Politics by Patrick Roberts

Parting shots -- As young Irish leave photographer captures their bitter fate

Posted on Saturday, January 22, 2011 at 09:26 PM
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An Irish photographer has begun taking parting shots of young Irish emigrants leaving the shores for foreign lands.

Dublin-based David Monahan was featured on the CBS Evening News as he carefully documents the latest wave of emigrants leaving Ireland in the midst of the economic recession.

There is no shortage of subjects, By the end of this year an expected 120,000 people will have left in a two year period.

Monahan poses his subjects against familiar Dublin background scenes

"The idea is to make I suppose a heroic shot, to celebrate the person -- to say they are full of pride, full of dignity. They are going out to do something and they are going to do it well," Monahan told CBS News.

One of his subjects was Aoife O'Donnell a 27-year-old photographer ready to leave for New York and a new life in America.

"I tried applying for jobs, internships," O'Donnell told CBS . "Even unpaid internships. I couldn't get anything. And it's like hitting a brick wall. For two months I went on social welfare and it got really demoralizing."


"There's a huge new wave of immigration going on in my country at the moment, it's palpable, I can just see from my own group of friends that I am probably one of the last people to actually emigrate," said O'Donnell.

And so the inevitable cycle begins anew in Ireland with the old remaining and the young taking flight.

It seems it was ever so.



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34 comments

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GeorgeDillon | Jan 24, 2011, 12:22 PM EST
CitizenWhy: You are correct to clip Seagreen's ear for his erroneous estimate of tenured college professors' salaries. Outside of maybe two dozen high flyers (not all of them Ivy League, some Ivy League pay poorly) that 175k is an unrealistic figure. It's hard to set generalizations as regards average faculty salary. A Professor of Marketing will pull down far more than a Professor of Art, for example. Schools in the NorthEast pay far more than schools in states like Wyoming or Utah or the South. Private colleges (especially "faith-based" and Catholic) pay much less than state institutions. And so on. A fairly conservative rule of thumb, one that could be challenged in any state, would be Assistant Prof: 50k, Associate Prof: 70k, Full Professor: 90k. That is less than the averages in Ireland, but then the tax regime is much greedier in Ireland, and the cost of living is higher. I know college faculty who have taught in the two countries, and they universally say they had a better standard of living in the US. The problem in Ireland is that the rat pack in Fianna Fail are comparing Irish university salaries with those in England, which happens to have some of the lowest quality colleges in the Europe.

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skinnyryan | Jan 24, 2011, 10:36 AM EST
Hang on a second lads,you paint a picture that Ireland is a total disaster,it is not,sure its going through a hard time economically, [ as are most developed countries ] but it will work its way out of the situation.Without getting into economic stats and politics.I believe Ireland has a lot going for it and will get back on its feet faster than people may think, percentage wise most Irish people are a very positive, entrepreneur-al and a forward thinking lot who are well educated and love a challenge.With the political change that's about to happen probably on February 25th next or thereabouts changes definitely need to be made and get Ireland Inc back on the road to recovery.Ireland as we know is a very small country with a population of approx 4 million we will always have a percentage that will emigrate to see the world and spread there horizons as the good old Irish clique goes, nearly everyone knows someone who knows someone in the four corners of the earth, at least in this era they are well educated and very confident and will do very well in there new destinations and may very well return home at a later date with great experience and nous.I left Ireland in 1980 and lived in Switzerland,USA,New Zealand & Australia over a 26 year period without ever been back to Ireland until i returned to live here 4 years ago. So in my opinion Ireland is not the basket case that's been portrayed at the moment. I find it to be a very modern sophisticated and mature country which has come a long way in a short space of time,and a great place to live. PS. yes there is poverty as there is in any country but the joke that goes around here sometimes is your on the poverty line if you dont have a flat 32" TV screen or a second car, how things have changed. Is Mise

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CitizenWhy | Jan 24, 2011, 10:08 AM EST
Seagreen: Tenured college professors in US earn $175,000? You must only know Ivy League professors, or economics and business professors at lower ranked institutions. I know professors with families and modest homes struggling to pay the bills. I know many professors who are paid less than high school teachers. ... If you're talking about average salaries , that's deceptive. There is an elite of highly paid professors who will push the average way up. ... Interesting that populism in the US now praises the rich and attacks the educated.

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semperfidelis | Jan 23, 2011, 09:26 PM EST
meant to write Texas size failte at end there.Anyhow, ya'll come.

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semperfidelis | Jan 23, 2011, 09:21 PM EST
Sad story that seems to repeat itself all to often. Must respectfully correct something a earlier poster said regarding opportunities in 3 border states. California is clearly a basket case and Arizona not far behind but Texas is doing very well, so I encourage those you can to come to Texas. 1 of every 2 jobs created in USA last 2 years was created here. Low taxes, low cost of living, decent weather, weak unions, free-market, pro-business attitude still prevails, so come to Texas. It's like a whole other country and if your willing to work you'll be greeted with a Texas size faite.

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olddocman | Jan 23, 2011, 07:41 PM EST
Sad indeed!

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Laura Wilson | Jan 23, 2011, 05:37 PM EST
Good luck to the Irish, always the hardest workers that help build this country breaking thier backs with very little thanks just like My great grand parents did. NOT looking for a hand out but opportunities for a better life stay away from az, tx , & ca. these border states are destitute due to the Illegals bringing over drugs & comitting crimes

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BARNEYKX | Jan 23, 2011, 03:57 PM EST
They should put the Irish polititions,bankers property tycoons etc in a boat to know where and sink it in the deepest part of the oceans

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seagreen | Jan 23, 2011, 12:57 PM EST
Houses in Dublin with two bedrooms, kitchen,1 bathroom and living room, and no land still sell for $410,000 ? Are the Nigerians going to buy these houses, or the well to do of dubious background ? The euro is still strong against the dollar, yet much of western Europe has no natural resources other than coal in Poland, and Norwegian oil. The only thing that has saved the US to this point are the vast natural resources. In spite of the morons running this country, we have still survived to this point. The college educated Irish are just that! The people surviving in America now, are the auto repair guys, govt employees,cops,welders, and UPS drivers, yet we are still filling colleges and universities with young people incurring $80,000 debt to enter a job market that does not exist. Oh, I forgot one group. The tenured college professors that teach 18 hrs a week and knock down $175,000

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GeorgeDillon | Jan 23, 2011, 12:17 PM EST
joanmoody: I hate to tell you this--but most young Irish have no interest in Irish traditional music and would run screaming out of a ceili dance session. The idea that the young Irish who are emigrating are bearers of the old gaelic culture is nonsense. We're coming up to Feb 1st. Try them--ask them about Imbolc and see the blank empty faces. They know a lot more about Lady Gaga than St Brigid.

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GeorgeDillon | Jan 23, 2011, 12:13 PM EST
MarthaAnne: "Now that the tables have turned again Ireland must hope that countries threat Irish immigrants better than Ireland has treated theirs". I assume you mean "treat". Would you care to expand on your note--it appears that you are suggesting Ireland hasn't treated its foreign settlers well. Give us some details, please. After all, Ireland has one of the highest Immigration rates in the world, we wouldn't want to think they're mistreating dem Immigwants!

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MarthaAnne | Jan 23, 2011, 11:44 AM EST
It's very sad when you hear that young woman say she hopes to come back -"I love Ireland". I can't help but wonder if it is absolutely necessary for the Irish to leave - if only there was some way they could stay and help rebuild the economy of Ireland - but I suppose this is wishful thinking, given the huge debt burden. Again, very, very sad. I am sorry, Ireland! Also, for Americans whose contact with Irish immigrants has been mostly with those who did not have the good fortune to have had a university education and professional skills, it will be interesting to meet these "new Irish".

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MarthaAnne | Jan 23, 2011, 11:13 AM EST
One more thing. Now that the tables have turned again Ireland must hope that countries threat Irish immigrants better than Ireland has treated theirs. What's good for the goose...

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MarthaAnne | Jan 23, 2011, 11:10 AM EST
As a product of emigration in 1987 there is no excuse whatsoever that Irish people have to leave to live. Government should be stripped bare, public salaries cut and incentives sought form the EU to ensure that Irish people can stay in their home land. Politicians have been using emigration as a safety valve for unemployment for decades.

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Liamkeyes | Jan 23, 2011, 11:05 AM EST
Well, I left way back in '62 without much fanfare, there was only my parents(God rest them), My brother in law(God Rest Him) and my young sister. By 1969 when my parents came out for my wedding, I had a steady job and a new house (that was unthinkable for the ordinary people in Ireland at the time. Shin a bfuil agus slan go leir.

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