Leaving the north : migration and memory, Northern Ireland 1921-2011 / Johanne Devlin Trew.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Trew, Johanne Devlin.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Emigration and immigration.

Northern Ireland--Emigration and immigration.

Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland--Emigration and immigration--Personal narratives.

Genre:

Personal narratives.

Physical Description:

xvi, 348 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Liverpool : Liverpool University Press, 2013.

Summary:

Leaving the North is the first book that provides a comprehensive survey of Northern Ireland migration since 1921. Based largely on the personal memories of emigrants who left Northern Ireland from the 1920s to the 2000s, the book traces their multigenerational experiences of leaving Northern Ireland and adapting to life abroad, with some later returning to a society still mired in conflict. Contextualised by a review of the statistical and policy record, the emigrants' stories reveal that contrary to its well-worn image as an inward-looking place - 'such narrow ground' - Northern Ireland has a rather dynamic migration history, demonstrating that its people have long been looking outward as well as inward, well connected with the wider world. But how many departed and where did they go? And what of the Northern Ireland diaspora? How has the view of the 'troubled' homeland from abroad, especially among expatriates, contributed to progress along the road to peace? In addressing these questions, the book treats the relationship between migration, sectarianism and conflict, immigration and racism, and repatriation and the Peace Process with particular attention to the experience of Northern Ireland migrants in the two principal receiving societies - Britain and Canada. With the emigration of young people once again on the increase due to the economic downturn, it is perhaps timely to learn from the experiences of the people who have been 'leaving the North' over many decades; not only to acknowledge their departure but in the hope that we might better understand the challenges and opportunities that migration and diaspora may present. Book jacket.

Contents:

Part I Theory, History and Demography 9

1 History, Memory, Migration 10

Diaspora, Migration and Identity 10

Life Stories and Migration Research 15

Oral History and Irish Migration 15

Oral Narrative Research in the Context of Societal Conflict 16

Migration, Time and Generation 18

Memory and Emotion in Migration Research 19

History, Memory and Postmemory 19

Mechanisms of Autobiographical Memory 23

Reminiscence Bump 24

Structure of Life Stories 25

2 Northern Ireland: Migration History and Demography 28

Demographic Summary 29

British Empire Migration 31

Assisted Emigration Schemes 35

Northern Ireland: Migration and Empire 38

Interwar Migration, 1920s-1930s 38

Post-War Migration, 1940s-1960s 45

Characteristics of Migrants, 1920s-1960s 49

Migration, 1970s-2000 51

Migration Since 2001 54

Refugees and Asylum Seekers 61

Conclusion: An All-Ulster Perspective 62

Part II Voices of Migration and Return 63

3 "They were always missed, they were always mentioned': Migration, Generation and Family History 64

Memory, Generation and Emigration: Roseena's story 64

Understanding Migration and Generation 67

Families, Histories, Emotions 69

'She grieved him all her life': Narrating Migration and Loss 70

'It was all just land and trees': Narrating Settlement and Return 78

'It was a culture shock': Narrating Generation and Immigration 82

Conclusion 85

4 'Are you Catholic or Protestant?' Religion, Migration and Identity 87

Majorities and Minorities: 'Reality very often is not what you would wish it to be' 87

Majorities and Minorities in Northern Ireland 90

The Demography of Northern Ireland Migration and Religion 94

Religion, Migration and Conflict 94

Religion, Migration and 'Brain Drain' 96

'A big black cloud had lifted': Leaving the North 102

'Are you Catholic or Protestant?' Religion and Identity Abroad 110

'They don't sec Northerners as Irish': Encounters in 'Diaspora Space' 117

'There's nothing wrong with being British and Irish': Migration and Identity 121

Conclusion 126

5 'Doubly invisible': Being Northern Irish in Britain 128

'Northern Ireland's my soul': Home and Identity in Britain 128

The Irish in Britain: Demography and Visibility 131

'No different than the nineteenth century': Being a Presbyterian Navvy 138

'Pagan England': Family Migration to and from Britain 140

'Flying the flag': Doing Business in Britain 143

The people with hair left': Social Exclusion in Northern Ireland and Britain 146

'Traumatised by being an Irish person in England': Suffering, Silence and Victimhood 152

Conclusion 156

6 'Avery tolerant country': Immigration to Canada 158

Brave New World 158

Canada, British and Irish migration 160

'Is this what I came to Canada for?' Interwar Immigration 166

'The horizons go on forever': Post-war Immigration 168

'Second-class Canadian": 1970s Immigration 174

'Amazing credentials and they don't get work': Immigration Since the 1980s 178

'A very tolerant country': life in the 'peaceable kingdom' 183

'The secret of Canada': Conclusion 188

7 'I'm back where I belong': Return Migration 191

Returning Home: 'I'm back where I belong' 191

Return migration: definitions 193

Dream of Return: 'Nobody knows me there' 195

Failed Return: 'Take your political views and shut up' 197

No Return: 'Nor in my name' 202

After Return: 'We found we were in trouble with both sides' 205

Transnational Returning: 'A dream that I would have' 212

Ultimate Return: 'I don't want to go home to live, I want to go home to die' 214.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 284-327) and index.

ISBN:

1846319404

9781846319402

OCLC:

861322632