The Process of Migration and the Reinvention of Self: The Experiences of Returning Irish Emigrants

Irish migration at the end of the twentieth century encompasses complex multidimensional processes. Whereas Irish emigrants were once drawn exclusively from the agricultural and laborer classes, in the closing of the twentieth century emigration came to permeate the entire system. Thus, Irish migrants are to be found not just among the of skilled and semi-skilled labor, but also among the transnational elite that crisscrosses the globe. Current migration trends a radical departure from the pattern that has characterized Irish for more than two centuries. Nowadays, more people are Ireland than leaving, bringing the country's migratory profile into line with its European partners. Indeed, Irish government agencies currently engaged in campaigns to recruit non-national immigrants key labor market niches and to attract Irish emigrants home. Furthermore, has been a significant increase in the numbers of nonnationals asylum in Ireland over the last ten years. The study of and its meaning in the context of the unprecedented buoyancy the Irish economy directs us to new concerns about multiculturalism, policy and practices, Ireland's position in the global economy, the relationship between the Irish diaspora and the homeland. article is based on a set of qualitative interviews involving a crosssection emigrants who left Ireland in the I980s and returned in the 990s. Particular attention is paid to their motivations for leaving and experiences abroad in terms of professional and personal development. of the data reveals that these returners have been able to considerable autonomy in terms of making decisions about their , and that in many instances they have used their time abroad to themselves in terms of their professional career trajectory. Yet, they are drawn back to Ireland in a quest for "community" and better "quality of life," both of which have become more elusive in the fragmented deeply individualized society that underpins the "Celtic ."