ABSTRACT

Irish migrants in Great Britain and other English-speaking countries have been described as an 'invisible' or 'hidden' minority for more than ten years. Based on multi-sited fieldwork among Irish migrants in Britain and Germany, and among European migrants in the Ireland, the chapter considers the transformation of identities and the meaning of 'community' in relation to culture and place among such 'invisible' migrants. Emigration has played a significant role in the demographic development of the island of Ireland. Since about the 1880s, the vast majority of Irish emigrants have moved no further away than Britain, a country not just geographically, but also – superficially, at least – culturally close. Irish migrants in Britain have historically experienced the host society, by and large, as hostile. Until the second half of the nineteenth century, language was a distinctive marker of identity. Published research on Irish migration has paid little attention to destinations outside the English language area.