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THE CELTIC CONNECTION • MARCH 1993
NEW FACES IN THE SEANAD
DUBLIN — The Seanad election count took place in February. For those of you who don't know, I should explain that the electorate for the bulk of the seats is made up of local councillors, TDs and outgoing senators. Graduates of the National University of Ireland elect three and TCD graduates elect the same number. The last eleven are chosen by the Taoiseach. This time, it is assumed that four of these will be the nominees of Dick Spring.
With so many TDs losing their seats in the election it meant that there were many new, but familiar, names looking to be returned to the Seanad. Quite a few were successful but it meant the loss of seats for some outgo-
ing Senators. Fianna Fail, having lost ground in the last local elections, was expected to lose about five seats and that is exactly what happened. Fine Gael, Labour, and Democratic Left each picked up one and the PDs won two.
Among the former TDs to succeed were Madeline Taylor-Quinn (FG), Frank Fahey (FF), Gerry Reynolds (FG), Michael O'Kennedy (FF), Tom Enright (FG), and Joe Doyle (FG). Outgoing senators who failed to get re-elected were Charlie McDonald (FG), Sean McCarthy (FF), Des Hanafin (FF), Larry McMahon (FG), Olga Bennett
(FF) , Tras Honan (FF), Pol O Foighil (Ind) and Tom Raftery
(FG) . — Liam Ferrie
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THE IRISH IN BRITAIN
Cut Off from Friends and Family Back Home
By JOSEPH MAHER
Health and welfare of the Irish community in Britain has been, until recently, unexplored ground lacking any scientific foundation. The Institute of Irish Studies at Liverpool University pioneered extensive studies in this particular field, and published a preliminary report called: Generations of an Invisible Minority in 1991.
Among its conclusions, the study charges that the Irish community has been largely neglected and overlooked through sharing the same language and pigmentation as the native British. It declares, "...the experience of Irish people, who are the largest minority community in Britain, has remained all but invisible." All previous official research has concentrated on visible minorities, such as Asian and West Indian groups.
The implication that Irish immigrants have been assimilated to a point where their situation is no different from that of the original inhabitants has long been accepted by the local authorities, but the Liverpool survey shows that assumption to be completely invalid. The re-
[>ort states that Irish immigrants ead shorter lives than those who remain in Ireland.
Men from the Irish Republic, by a margin of 30 percent, are more susceptible to premature death than other English residents; they are also more likely to meet death by violence. The research notes the high admission rate to psychiatric hospitals of immigrants, especially Irish women. Curiously, women from Northern Ireland enjoy a longer life span than men from the North, living to 70 years on average.
However, the men do reach a higher average age than their fellows from the Republic. Census returns show more than two million Irish immigrants living in Britain. They are the largest ethnic minority, yet having the highest mortality rate of any racial group therein.
So far, no single explanation for this situation has been found. Alcohol has been considered, but rejected as part of the popular "stage Irishman" myth; 25 percent of the Irish in Britain are total abstainers. Donal Mooney, editor of the London Irish Post, excludes poverty as a significant factor, noting that in general the Irish are much better off than many other ethnic groups.
In October 1992, following the Liverpool report, the Innisfree Housing Association of London, in conjunction with the National Schizophrenic Association and
with the support of the Department of Health (U.K.), organized a conference on mental health and the experience of the Irish in Britain. Chaired by Ms. Karen McHugh, this pioneer effort was the first serious attempt to examine the health of the Irish in Britain as a distinct cultural community.
The Innisfree Association confirms many of the Liverpool findings, disclosing that Irish immigrants hold the highest psychiatric admission rate for all categories except schizophrenic; which is led by the Afro-Caribbean group. However, Irish women register an alarmingly high score among admissions for depression — twice that of native English and Afro-Caribbeans.
"The solitary immigrant is immediately
exposed to isolation and
loneliness "
Horticultural transplanting calls for the utmost care and preparation. Successfully moving a human being from one environment to another demands equal expertise. Behind an apparent outward resemblance, Irish immigrants merge inconspicuously into the host culture without any fuss, demanding no unnecessary attention. There is a subconscious desire to be accepted; IRA activities in England can only reinforce such attitudes. The treatment suffered by the wives and families of the Birmingham Six speaks for itself.
Irish immigrants usually arrive as single individuals while other newcomers mostly land as family units, offering each other mutual comfort in an alien environment. The solitary immigrant is immediately exposed to isolation and loneliness, remaining psychologically dependent on the extended family left behind; here is the cause of widespread depression.
The recent recession is an even greater factor, hitting the Irish community hard. Mass unemployment has had a catastrophic effect on the sense of personal economic security, causing waves of stress and uncertainty even among those still having
jobs.
Statistics from the 1981 census unveil another part of the picture — the inferior position of Irish immigrants in the general housing market. Not only are they the most numerous customers for private rental accommodation, sleeping rooms and bedsitters, they form over 30 percent of residents in London's short-stay hostels. Public housing, awarded on a points system, is for families only.
The Innisfree Housing Association helps homeless, young immigrants to the limit of its ability; many suffer from stress and mental health problems. It has now applied to the Housing Corporation for support in developing a new pilot project, a six-bed shared housing unit which would offer assistance and emotional support for those receiving or needing psychiatric treatment. Two full-time qualified social workers will staff the centre.
Total cost is estimated at between two and three thousand pounds. It is hoped that the facility will be only the first of many required to meet the needs of immigrants in Britain.
More and more job seekers travelled to Britain as the recession devastated the Republic; 40,000 came to London in 1991. At the Irish Centre in North London, Father Denis Cormican has had up to 1,000 requests a month for help from new arrivals. He ex-
Elains, "I deal every day with omelessness and unemployment, but the main problem is loneliness. They come from tightly knit communities and find themselves stranded in the big city. The particular style of Irish social life is missing here."
By contrast, the weekly Friday-night dance at the Camden Irish Centre is packed to the doors. Live music, coloured lights, a floor crowded with lively, laughing, good-humoured couples — no signs of loneliness. But it could also be a modern version of the Cinderella fairytale. After the dance is over, what then? For many perhaps, a late-night bus or tube back to a lonely room in the suburbs. Maybe the promise of a date for Saturday night. At least, there is always next Friday, and the next, and the next...
Survival depends on our ability to adapt to new conditions. Nineteenth Century theory of evolution called it "the survival of the fittest." How far must the immigrant adapt to the host culture? Are we, perhaps, looking at an endangered species? The question is not a simple one, neither is the solution.
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