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by Niall O'Dowd

Emigration suddenly a major issue in Irish election as poll date nears

Posted on Tuesday, February 15, 2011 at 08:49 PM
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JUST how much emigration is an issue in the Irish election can be gauged by the fact that two of the first three questions in the leaders debate held on Monday night were on that topic.

Enda Kenny of Fine Gael, Micheal Martin of Fianna Fail, Gerry Adams of Sinn Fein, Eamonn Gilmore of the Labor Party and John Gormley of the Green Party all squared off in a Dublin studio before a live audience.

It was the highlight of the campaign so far, the moment when the leaders finally met each other and leveled their broadsides.
The first questioner was an elderly man from Cavan who stated in a shaky voice, and seemed close to tears, that three of his sons had now emigrated, two to London, one to Bahrain.

He found it hard to articulate his words, clearly close to a breakdown. "I'll never see my grandchildren," he stated poignantly.
His face said everything you needed to know about what the end result of bankers, greed and government complicity has meant to the ordinary people of Ireland.

Forget about all the flash figures and the billions being argued about. The sheer human cost of what has happened to families across Ireland was etched in clear worry lines on that old gentleman's face.

This, is what he was saying, is what all the fraud and cover up means to me and my kin, probable separation forever from my grandchildren.

Adams pointed it out in his answer that it was a scene being repeated across Ireland. By this time next week another 1,000 people will have left Ireland, he stated.

The poor father had put a human face on a very great tragedy indeed.

How deep that tragedy goes was exemplified by the third question from the studio audience. It was from a young Meath GAA official who talked about what was happening to his local club because of emigration.

Once, he said, the parking lot at the club was full of cars, craic and conversation. Now the side could barely field a team.
He talked of the young players leaving for foreign fields and the impact, not just on the club but in the rural communities all over Ireland.

It was a heartfelt plea yet again for politicians not to ignore the terrible human costs of the massive recession.
The GAA is the very heartbeat of rural communities in Ireland. It is the center of almost every activity, and its strength is the great energy and commitment of the local people who keep the flags flying.

Now the kids are leaving and the GAA is bereft again. They will end up playing in Gaelic Park in New York, Ruislip in London and elsewhere across the globe, but they will be lost, perhaps forever, to the little villages and towns that saw them as their lifeblood.

The five party leaders tried their best to paint a picture where those kids could come back to a new Ireland, but it all seemed a trifle disengaged. They were much more comfortable haggling over the minutiae of how much the EU/International Monetary Fund bailout package was going to actually cost, and figures in the billions were being tossed around like confetti.

I felt an eerie sense of deja vu. During the 1980s a similar exodus had occurred in Ireland. Also at that time, until they were forced to, the politicians on all sides pretty much ignored the problem.

Some even claimed the island was too small to support four million people and some inevitably had to leave. It was the kind of insular political thinking that cost Ireland dear.

This time around it was arrogance more than insularity that prevented the government from seeing what was coming. They repeatedly dismissed warnings from emigrant groups here in the U.S. that the leave takings of the 1920s, 1950s and 1980s would be repeated again, and there was a dire need to get some form of legal visas for Irish coming here.

Now the chickens have left home to roost on foreign fields, and we are left with sad old men dreaming of grandchildren they may never see.



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Peadar62 | Feb 25, 2011, 02:48 PM EST
McNabb1966: WELL SAID! I could not have put it better myself. It makes me laugh when people bash the Catholic Church just for teaching its morality which it is entitled to do in a free country. As you said well till you meet extreme Islamists who will have no qualm about sawing your head off literally!!!! And yes it is true we Irish are spineless I'm ashamed to say but we are great at building up other peoples countries!

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Peadar62 | Feb 25, 2011, 02:40 PM EST
I would like to know how many are staying to open their own businesses. There are many who have internet businesses , working out of their homes and the world is their oyster. The number is growing ...Thats what friends of mine have done and its working.

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Towngate | Feb 20, 2011, 12:41 PM EST
George: I don't know your location and of just how familiar you are with Irish society as it is lived on a day to day basis. Perhaps we can compare notes. My experience as an independent non-aligned individual is that the country has undergone serious and devastating social,financial and religious changes in recent decades, which it is struggling to absorb. ...............The poor divil of a place is so confused now it doesn't know which way is up! ................If you don't already know, Ireland is a powerful Matriarchy. The Women run the place! They allow their 'menfolk' to appear to be in charge,and in return, the men (sons,husbands,whatever...) ALWAYS have to 'check back' with 'herself' before agreeing to anything........Well,that is how it has been for ages. But now the lie of the land is changing rapidly. The power of religion has been seriously undermined. The practice to spurting out huge litters of babies has been altered by acceptance of modern contraception practices and financial constriction. In short; The 'Mammywife' has not entirely lost control, but things are different now.It may take some time,but until the men of Ireland stand up for themselves and at least share responsibility for Irish society with the Womenfolk, we will continue to suffer the malaise you describe so well. Don't get me wrong,now. mothers,wives,and such are great inventions! and as the song goes ..." Always love your Mother .. don't hesitate... till it's too late .... you only get the one!" ... ~ women are fantastic ~ just don't let them Rule your Manhood. That belongs to you! This is just my personal view based on my experince, as to how Ireland can at last, begin to grow up and get out of the pram at last!

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Towngate | Feb 17, 2011, 08:10 PM EST
NIALL''s BLOG and Jacers letter demonstrate the extent of the Crimes Against Humanity ~ nothing less! ~ committed by the last party in government. They all should have their ill-gotten gains seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau and they should be arrested and tried for treason.

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jacersagain | Feb 17, 2011, 02:47 PM EST
Well said Niall. Pardon me posting a letter seen in today's Irish Independent to illustrate your points: "Text received at 07.23: "Thanks for everything, Mom and Dad. Just on plane, will text when we land x x x" Tears. Aertel page 572. FR7016, departed 08.09. More tears. Unreal feeling in the pit of my stomach -- loss, failure. Thank you, Brian Cowen and Fianna Fail. Thank you, Anglo Irish Bank. It's because of you that our daughter and her fiancé, like thousands more, have left brokenhearted parents to grieve the loss of their beloved children. Yes, our hearts are broken and yes, we are angry. It's tough to come to terms with this. Will they be okay? Will they ever come back? Where can I get the money to go and visit them? I lost my job and didn't get a golden handshake. You might have taken our children and our happiness away from us but you left us one thing -- our votes."

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GeorgeDillon | Feb 17, 2011, 01:23 PM EST
Towngate: You're right. The supine and spineless reaction of the Irish to getting screwed by their masters in Dublin and Brussels is contemptible. It's easy to see why they just lay down and died during the Great Famine.

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casualMBA | Feb 17, 2011, 10:44 AM EST
Ireland needs to be careful its tourist do not emigrate. I was home two weeks ago with a companion to visit my Grandmother's grave, among other things, and, in a very distinct experience, was denied access to UCC Library, being neither "student or staff."

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Towngate | Feb 17, 2011, 09:15 AM EST
The TV debate line-up looked more like Mount Slushmore. The trouble in Ireland is these slick glib 'frontmen' disguise what is really wrong with the country: Hidden behind each of them, secure in every key position of Influence and Authority,at every Parishpump, Farmers Union and Sports Association, and disgraceful Toadying media, are the stale,complacent, seeming-complaining 'Old Guard'(and their corrupted youngsters) who think they own the Country. ~ ~ ~ The election is only shuffling a few re-polished old faces around! - What Ireland needs is for all those Citizens who are forced out to seek a living and who are excluded from the Cosy Cabal to realise it,come back,challenge it where they find it,stay, stand up for themselves and root this disease out of society, once and for all. ~ ~ ~ We often hear of the brilliant young Irishman ... well, where is the Youth Movement of brave independent young warriors and their powerful Leader who should be stepping forward to take this unique historic opportunity now? ~ Nowhere to be seen! ~ ~ ~ Those who are left are cowering in dark corners afraid of challenging their 'Daddies' and even more afraid of upsetting their 'Mammies'! That's where! ... and that's Sad!

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McNabb1966 | Feb 16, 2011, 10:06 PM EST
Ireland now sounds like the Bronx, circa 1995. Remember that? The Irish neighborhoods that had filled up in the 70s and 80s were emptying as everybody started going back home to take advantage of "The Tiger." There were articles about it in the newspapers...about there weren't enough players to keep the GAA going at Gaelic Park, Irish pubs were being replaced by Dominican bodegas, etc. How ironic... And the folks who are saying that the vacuum in Ireland will be filled by non-Irish from other countries (most of whom couldn't care less about the history and culture of Ireland) are correct. Oh, there'll still be a healthy contingent of spineless, misguided, bed-wetting Leftists there to welcome them by turning around and displaying the "KICK ME!" sign on their backs. It's unfortunate that the "thank-you-sir-may-I-have-another" masochists who champion multi-culturism (the same intellectual powerhouses that call knife-wielding Islamic thugs "peace activists" and Israelis "Nazis") will applaud while Britain solves its problems by encouraging its malcontents to cross the Irish Sea and set up a new Sharia-law paradise. The Church-bashing whackos will discover to their chagrin what it's like to deal with the militant faith-based initiatives of Islam. Toleration? You're tolerance won't even be required. You'll be BEGGING for THEIR tolerance. Your new absentee landlords - the Chinese - won't be concerned, as long as their real estate investments aren't disturbed unnecessarily...

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sirpeter | Feb 16, 2011, 09:45 PM EST
Jamcelt..Bullsh*t..GeorgeDillon..Bullsh*t. Look there is no easy way out of the mess Ireland is in..The main argument by FF/FG ECT is we need Europe to bail us out,and give us money to run the country..But the money is not to run the country..It's going back out the door to pay the bondholders..Which leaves us still in the crapper.FG are going to keep cutting back,but it's the less well off who will pay. A person who is on 300 euros a week gross is still paying a tax to the government..This is morally wrong..because he is putting all that money back into the economy..he can't live on less...But a guy on 100 grand a year..They are not experiencing equal pain in these bad times...Vote Sinn Fein..not because they will get into government..but we need them to keep an eye on FG. Whoever thinks Sinn Fein politicians are in politics for the money is a fool..They are good politicians and if they wanted to make money..They would have joined FF/FG.

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antoman | Feb 16, 2011, 06:51 PM EST
..minimum of two Chinese.

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antoman | Feb 16, 2011, 06:39 PM EST
I'm going abroad.Any immigrants interested in replacing me should contact me at Patricks Bridge,Cork..above the bridge not below.I not a troll like.Nearest offer secures.

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GeorgeDillon | Feb 16, 2011, 05:16 PM EST
What's the big issue? For every young Irish person emigrating there's someone from Pakistan, Poland or the Punjab IMMigrating! Ireland isn't being depopulated, it's being REpopulated. And these New Irish will soon be in a majority. The Irish in the US, Australia etc. will be able to go home on vacation and visit their parents' graves, assuming a halal slaughter house hasn't replaced the Catholic cemetery.

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amkilshane | Feb 16, 2011, 04:52 PM EST
The father may not see his son in Bahrain that often but he will probally make a ton of money tax free and as for the sons in England its only next door a one hour flight.I have been in California for 15 years and do not get home too often.When I was leaving my father simply said ,"go for it". Get out of Ireland and see a bit of the world and stop whining.

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greensod | Feb 16, 2011, 12:51 PM EST
Two choices for Ireland.Sinn Fein,or the big aeroplane.I see a great future for the Gaa in cities around the world.

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