British Migrants and Irish Anxieties

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Abstract
There is a long history of migration from Britain to Ireland, but it is rarely theorised as migration. Drawing on historical and contemporary sources as well as ongoing qualitative research, this paper makes visible the extended presence of British nationals, as migrants, in Ireland. In discussing the conflicted geographies of belonging of recent British migrants to Ireland, the paper highlights the ways in which postcolonial and nationalist discourses may suggest boundaries to belonging. However, these boundaries are undermined by the positioning of British migrants as not-quite-migrants in the changing landscape of migration in contemporary Ireland.

Abstract

There is a long history of migration from Britain to Ireland, but it is rarely theorised as migration. Drawing on historical and contemporary sources as well as ongoing qualitative research, this paper makes visible the extended presence of British nationals, as migrants, in Ireland. In discussing the conflicted geographies of belonging of recent British migrants to Ireland, the paper highlights the ways in which postcolonial and nationalist discourses may suggest boundaries to belonging. However, these boundaries are undermined by the positioning of British migrants as not-quite-migrants in the changing landscape of migration in contemporary Ireland.

Source: Social Identities: Journal for the Study of Race, Nation and Culture, Vol. 19, Issue 5, 2013. First published online 16 Sep 2013

Author(s):Mary Gilmartin
Publisher:Taylor & Francis Online
Publication Date:16 Sep 2013
Geographic Focus:Ireland and UK
URL:http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13504630.2013.835513#tabModule
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