Conclusion: “The New Irish”?

Abstract

My conclusion connects this study of Irish social and aesthetic interculturalism to the wider context of migration and social policy in the European Union today. After considering how Irish ‘coffin ships’ of the Great Famine have been offered as a ghostly double for boats of refugees capsized in the Mediterranean today, I suggest interculturalism as social policy in the European Union must be founded in anti-racism, equality and radical structural revision, rather than disinvestment in structural transformation which may enable greater access and equality with adequate accommodation for minority ethnic groups. I end with an analysis of the Gombeens’ Tales of a Yellow Town, which tracks the emigration of a large group of Brazilian nationals to the small Irish town of Gort and premiered when this population was at its height, before the closure of a local factory prompted their general exodus. By ending here, I contend that regardless of the instability or unpredictability of the fates of the ‘new Irish,’ their presence has undeniably initiated a new period of inquiry that has changed the scope of Irish theatre and performance studies.