The Irish are back in London

Posted on Thursday, November 04, 2010 at 06:56 AM

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Even the taxi drivers know the Irish are coming back to London.

Several times during a trip there last week they asked me if I was relocating, saying they have had lots of pick-ups from the airport of Irish people who were.

London remains one of the first stops for potential emigrants, and with the Irish economy on the slide there is no doubt that many are indeed arriving.

I worked in London in the early 1970s for a year and found it a very depressing place to be Irish at that time.
With IRA bombing campaigns going on, it was clear there was an unspoken antipathy to the Irish, understandable in many ways.

That, thankfully, is now gone, hopefully forever.

However, the length of The Troubles meant that the Irish community in London was never able to step out front in the way it did in America.

They were, rather, the equivalents of the Germans in America who kept low profiles after the two World Wars. But that has now changed.

Not for the first time London has become a safety valve for Irish social problems. But the Irish coming now are encountering a much better welcome.

The powers-that-be in Ireland are probably glad to see them leave, despite platitudes to the contrary.
The Irish unemployed might get shirty and start protesting, a la France and Greece, but if they are on a Ryanair flight to London they won’t get that opportunity.

I visited Kilburn High Road, and the new Irish presence is definitely being felt.

This patch of North London has always been the equivalent of the Bronx for Irish first coming to America, a first port of call. And with the Irish sailing again, Kilburn on a Saturday night looks like it is booming.

The faces are all young. The stories are familiar and would be to any generation of Irish.

The brief Irish boom has been followed by a thundering bust, and from Malahide to Mayo the siren call of emigration once more is heard.

The Irish Post newspaper, which has been the bastion of the Irish community since 1970, is reflecting those new changes too.

The Post is a remarkable newspaper.

Its founder, the late great, Brendan Mac Lua, stood up for the Irish during the worst of The Troubles. And his newspaper became a powerful voice in cases such as the Birmingham Six and the Guildford Four, miscarriages of justice against innocent Irish that were widely condemned.

Current news editor Siobhan Breathnach says the impact of Mac Lua has lasted. There will be a census in Britain which for the first time will ask the question about Irish ethnicity -- a pet project of the Post.

It will be fascinating, not just for the numbers of Irish-born but also the numbers who are British who relate to their Irish ancestry.

While it will not be as large, percentage wise, as Americans who claim Irish ancestry, it will provide an invaluable insight into how the Irish influence has lasted down the generations of the British.

There are obvious examples – rock star Shane MacGowan and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who credited his Irish grandmother, from Co. Donegal, with much of his empathy for the issue.

But there are millions of others too, who will now have the opportunity to state their claim to a heritage that was long hidden.

It will make for very interesting reading.

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sirpeter | Nov 05, 2010, 07:29 AM EDT

@Towngate..Plenty English come over to Ireland too,it works both ways.Here's a history lesson,there was an economic war between Ireland and England. In the Treaty of Irish independence in 1921, the British government demanded "compensation" for the transfer of buildings, equipment etc. The Irish government refused, the British imposed economic sanctions,the Irish retaliated etc..Guess what? After 5 years, in 1938, the two countries signed an agreement to end the trade war. Under this settlement the Free State give Britian £10,000,000 to pay off the annuities and in return Britian pulled out of her naval bases in Ireland.Who got the better deal there?Just before the war.ha ha.As for barring the Irish from going to Britain,the Irish would have barred the English going to Ireland.You think it was a one way path.You seem to have no idea how intertwined both countries are,and after the war England had a fierce shortage of labour.Don't be so grateful to England,it's they made your family poor in the first place.It was English policy for centuries to keep Ireland nonindustrial,least we challenge John Bull (England)As for now free movement of labour in the EU..We gave jobs to the eastern Europeans didn't we? The rich like cheap labour.

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amkilshane | Nov 04, 2010, 07:11 PM EDT

We Irish are again using the emigration solution. England never required a visa or as much as an ID for Irish which is amazing given the security issues during the troubles. Anyone who has emigrated to the US and gone through all the red tape or worked in Germany where you needed to register with the police to get a work permit knows that London was a much easier trip. Yet we never warmed up to or gave any credit to the British for this convenience. Its just a pity the Irish that went to Britian never took advantage of the educational system there, which probally is the best in the world in terms of access.

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Towngate | Nov 04, 2010, 04:43 PM EDT

Yes indeed Niall, " Paddy's Navy " has set sail again! - into the unexpectedly generous,friendly,warm,welcoming arms of the 'hated English enemy'! My youthful voyage was in the late 50's and I remember comparing the tension at home as my Parents dispaired for their childrens future in Irelans and the relief of the reception and job opportunities when we landed in England. We avoided the pull of the 'County Kilburn' ghetto and instead assimilated into the mainstream of the society we were grateful to be in. I often wonder what would have happened to Ireland if, having been almost 'booted out' of Ireland, the British had barred entry of the people and or had imposed draconian trade tariffs on all commercial activity between us - instead of the Free Trade Agreement, Freedom of movement - without need for a Passport, free education and even granting us the right to vote! It is important to state that our gratitude in no way dulled our awareness of the troubled history of our countries, nor the excesses of what Pearse called the English 'Murder Machine'. Like millions of other Irish economic (and social) refugees, we have tried to live as respectful Guests of the people who live on the big island next door to Home. My hearts desire is to see all our differences understood and accepted,and then get on with being the best of friends! My life and work requires me to stand astride the mere 62 miles wide Irish Sea, and as I have one foot firmly planted on each shore .... I do not want them to drift and further apart, for obvious reasons!

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ancavker | Nov 04, 2010, 03:11 PM EDT

Things are bad in the UK as well. Why are the Irish emigrating there? Of course they do not have the issue of being illegal as they would in the U.S. but still? I recently returned from England, and there is unemployment all around,and huge government cutbacks coming. I did not speak to on person who was optimistic about the state of the economy in England. Oh and by the way the English people of Irish ancestry in England are much friendlier to Americans, including Irish-Americans than the Irish in Ireland are. I guess I should nto be surprised. One final note why are the Irish running yet again, to England or the U.S? Things are bad in Greece, Spain,and, Portugal, and yet I have seen no storeis of those people leaving their countries. The Irish are an odd bunch indeed.

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irishfez | Nov 04, 2010, 11:11 AM EDT

Didn't realize there were so many Irish born and English of Irish heritage. I hope IrishCentral lets us know the Census results

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