Pandemic Perspectives on the Irish Diaspora in Germany

This book reflects on how the pandemic impacted upon qualitative social research, but also how it affected the lives of the members of the Irish diaspora on the European continent. The crisis acted as a pressure cooker for those 'living abroad,' transforming distance and migration situations to resemble times gone by, when travel was far more prohibitive and emigration felt more permanent. At the same time, 'expat lives' were being thrown headlong into a new future, shaped more profoundly than ever by digital means. This work is a close examination of how Irish migrants in Germany construct their Irishness and, in doing so, maintain their belonging to Ireland across a geographic distance transformed by the pandemic. This work seeks to draw out the underlying patterns and meanings in the day-to-day practices of Irishness by members of Ireland's putative diaspora in Germany by interweaving a multitude of ethnographic vignettes and rich interview material with relevant and interestingtheoretical concepts. Interlocutors see Ireland as a site of personal memory good, bad and in-between and of meaning-making practices. Ireland is deeply personal to them; that understood, their practices of belonging to Ireland are nonetheless embroiled in the political goal of making Ireland visible abroad.

Anthropologically documents and analyse the Irish community in Germany Provides a particular focus on state-diaspora dynamics that Irish emigrants faced during the Covid-19 pandemic Considers the debate around cultural/national authenticity, with respect to what constitute Irishness

Autorentext

Margaret Haverty is Project Manager 'International, Focus Academia' at the IHK-Exportakademie, Stuttgart, Germany

Inhalt

1. Introduction.- 2. Irish Diaspora: "They Are Part of Us".- 3. The Anthropologist's (Pandemic) Toolkit.- 4. Isolation and Connectedness: A Candle for the Diaspora.- 5. 'An Irish Night in': Irish Culture Zuhause.- 6. Prospecting Irishness: "The Irish Diaspora is One of Ireland's Greatest Resources".- 7. Remitted Visibility for Ireland.- 8. In Lieu of a Conclusion.