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“Hidden” Diasporas? Second- and Third-Generation Irish in England and Scotland

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Rethinking the Irish Diaspora

Part of the book series: Migration, Diasporas and Citizenship ((MDC))

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Abstract

Bronwen Walter challenges the low profile of the Irish diaspora in Britain in the celebration of The Gathering in Ireland in 2013. This is part of an ongoing denial of the scale and significance of emigration to Britain, reflecting expectations of higher economic returns from Irish-American investors. Drawing on qualitative data from the Irish 2 Project, Walter shows that Britain also fails to acknowledge the specificity of Irish backgrounds, though there are important differences between England and Scotland. There is reluctance in England to disaggregate the “white” ethnic category, whilst in Scotland Irish-descent identities are still controversial and strongly contested.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    I was explicitly asked to remove references to “diaspora” from the accompanying study, Walter, B. with B. Gray, L. Dowling and S. Morgan, “Irish Emigrants and Irish Communities abroad: A Study of Existing Sources of Information and Analysis for the Task Force on Policy regarding Emigrants” (Dublin: Department of Foreign Affairs, 2002).

  2. 2.

    Individual interviewees are identified by number and location. Each has been given a pseudonym.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, UK

    Bronwen Walter

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  1. Bronwen Walter
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Applied Social and Policy Sciences, Ulster University, Belfast, United Kingdom

    Johanne Devlin Trew

  2. School of Arts, English and Languages, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom

    Michael Pierse

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Walter, B. (2018). “Hidden” Diasporas? Second- and Third-Generation Irish in England and Scotland. In: Devlin Trew, J., Pierse, M. (eds) Rethinking the Irish Diaspora. Migration, Diasporas and Citizenship. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40784-5_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40784-5_8

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-40783-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-40784-5

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