Emigration - Immigration Stories

I realise the "Am I a racist" thread is locked, and I'm not trying to take the p1ss by starting this one, but here's one personal example relating to the movement of people in search of better opportunities.

In the early 1930s, my grandparents emigrated from Belfast to Australia, where my da was born. After my grandma died, my granda and da moved back to Belfast.

In the early 1950s, my da emigrated from Belfast to London. In the late 50s my ma emigrated from Cork to London. They met, got married and had me and my brother.

In the late 60s, the whole lot of us migrated back to to Belfast. In the early 70s, the whole lot of us subsequently migrated to Dublin.

In the mid 80s, I was a week away from emigrating to England, only I actually managed to get a job here after all. At the end of the 80s, my brother emigrated to England. Someone had to keep the diaspora ticking over.

My brother is married to a woman whose grandparents emigrated to England from India. Which means that, under the granny rule, my nieces are entitled to play hockey for Australia, India, Ireland, Northern Ireland and England. Not all at once, obviously.

70 years, four generations of emigrants / immigrants / "non-nationals". Lee Marvin's "I Was Born Under A Wandering Star" was actually a homage to the Nightdub family. I offer up this tale as an example of how the whole concept of nationality / "our country" / "foreigners" is completely outdated and why anyone should be let move to and live and work in whatever country they desire. Including Ireland.

Amen to that, good Doctor. Great post. :)

:ball: PP

And so say all of us :)


You could reduce it even further by looking at internal migration. My mother moved to Dublin from Mayo and my father moved down here from Belfast (an economic migrant and an asylum seeker, as I like to remind them ;) ), but I still consider myself a 100% Dub (well, a 100% southside Dub, I don't associate much with our brethren from across the waves ;) )

As they say, the definition of a Dub is a culchie's child.

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Originally Posted by Dr.Nightdub

In the early 1950s, my da emigrated from Belfast to London. In the late 50s my ma emigrated from Cork to London. They met, got married and had me and my brother.

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So you been lurking on foot.ie as 50% Cork. :eek:

The other thing i noticed is your family really doesn't like Belfast. ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dr.Nightdub

I realise the "Am I a racist" thread is locked, and I'm not trying to take the p1ss by starting this one, but here's one personal example relating to the movement of people in search of better opportunities.

In the early 1930s, my grandparents emigrated from Belfast to Australia, where my da was born. After my grandma died, my granda and da moved back to Belfast.

In the early 1950s, my da emigrated from Belfast to London. In the late 50s my ma emigrated from Cork to London. They met, got married and had me and my brother.

In the late 60s, the whole lot of us migrated back to to Belfast. In the early 70s, the whole lot of us subsequently migrated to Dublin.

In the mid 80s, I was a week away from emigrating to England, only I actually managed to get a job here after all. At the end of the 80s, my brother emigrated to England. Someone had to keep the diaspora ticking over.

My brother is married to a woman whose grandparents emigrated to England from India. Which means that, under the granny rule, my nieces are entitled to play hockey for Australia, India, Ireland, Northern Ireland and England. Not all at once, obviously.

70 years, four generations of emigrants / immigrants / "non-nationals". Lee Marvin's "I Was Born Under A Wandering Star" was actually a homage to the Nightdub family. I offer up this tale as an example of how the whole concept of nationality / "our country" / "foreigners" is completely outdated and why anyone should be let move to and live and work in whatever country they desire. Including Ireland.

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Fair play-great postl similarly my dads family migrated (escaped) to the UK from Burma so they wern't murdered by the regime who had just taken over while my mums family came over here from Ireland to get work. First generation of my family to be born in the UK but no English blood in me-Burma and Ireland forever :)

Dr.Nightdub your nieces cannot play hockey for Northern Ireland... they don't have a team... they can play soccer for Northern Ireland which makes your post 100% accurate now. Good post.

Here's my story. My great grandfather and his wife emigrated to Chile in the late 19th Century where my Grandmother and Grand uncle on my father's side were both born in Valparaiso. My Great grandmother died over there as far as I know. My grandfather decided to bring the children back to the oul sod and then he died on the ship back home, somewhere near England, and is buried in Liverpool. My grandmother met her husband a County Armagh man son of a farmer in Dublin and got married and had six children one of whom was my father. My father emigrated to England in the 1950's firstly spending 2 years in Liverpool and then moving to London in 1957....

My mother's grandfather was the son of a County Offaly farmer in the late 19th Century, who was not going to inherit the farm. There was no work so he joined the British Army and was sent to Cairo in Egypt. Where he and his County Cork born wife had a baby son my mother's father. They settled in Newtownards Co. Down where the boy grew up. He went to study in De La Salle Waterford when it was a teacher training college at the turn of the 20th Century. He taught in Belfast and married a local woman. He was in the Ulster branch of the Irish Volunteers in 1916 and was involved in the War Of Independence. He decided to move south in the 1920's having alternated between teaching and being a travelling book seller and took up a position in the Irish Civil Service. My mother who had been born in Belfast was the only one in her family not born in Dublin. She emigrated to London shortly after her mother died in 1956......

She met my father in 1958. They married in 1960 and returned to Ireland in 1961. I was born the following year and in 1965 they emigrated to Canada settling in Montreal. I started primary school there and they decided to come home in 1971. Having completed my schooling here in 1979 I went to UCD graduating in 1983 and of course there were NO JOBS to be had anywhere. I was planning to emigrate myself at the end of September in 1985 but got a job in August working in the State Sector.

So under FIFA's rules I would have been eligible to play international football for Chile, Northern Ireland, Egypt and the Republic of Ireland. Unfortunately I didn't have enough talent to make any of their teams.

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Originally Posted by Dr.Nightdub

In the late 50s my ma emigrated from Cork to London.

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West Cork, even! ;)
I always knew you were an oddball, Doc.

It's no harm for people to remember the dark old days in Ireland where people were left with almost no choice but to leave these shores in search of work.

Pete & Peadar: as I've said before, just because a man's mother was born in a stable, doesn't make him a horse. :p

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Originally Posted by Dr.Nightdub

Pete & Peadar: as I've said before, just because a man's mother was born in a stable, doesn't make him a horse. :p

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Well that is actually true. According to our recent constitutional change. In order for the man to be accepted as a horse being born in a stable ,the man's parents would have to be resident in the stable for a period of 5 years , be eating oats daily be able to neigh convincingly before being accepted as a citizen of Stablea !:D