ABSTRACT
This chapter engages with the transformative period of Celtic Tiger (1994–2007) which paved way for a national conversation on the topics of race, identity, and ethnicity that shapes Contemporary Ireland and frames the question of ‘What does it mean to be Irish’. The question of what it means to be Irish is traced back to the implementation of Direct Provision (2001), the 2004 Referendum, and the re-emergence of the political movement the Black Lives Matter movement (2020). The influx of migration during the Celtic Tiger period meant that Irish identity became fluid and multi-ethnic thus challenging the default identity of Irishness. The evolving nature of Irish identity exposes the need to move away from viewing Irishness under the microscopic lens of whiteness and move towards the need to understand the lived realities of those with a hybrid identity whose presence contributes to Ireland being viewed as a multicultural and diverse nation.
There is a strong presence of Afro-Irish culture in contemporary Ireland. Their presence calls for a need to engage in the topic of citizenship, nationality, and race to create a more comprehensive understanding of what the future of Ireland ought to look like. In my presentation, I will highlight the lived realities of the Afro-Irish community and the series of challenges that they face such as racism and resistance to being viewed as Irish. By exploring these lived realities, the chapter will reinforce the need to understand how Contemporary Ireland is at a cultural crossroads and a more positive representation of multi-ethnic cultures, heritages, and hybrid identities reflect this new Ireland.
