The third great Irish Diaspora, but this time it’s different

What do the potato famine, the 1980s and the end of the Celtic Tiger all have in common? They all led to mass emigration from Ireland.  The latest figures reported a sharp rise in the number of people leaving Ireland in the last 12 months, this figure rose nearly 10,000 on 2011 to 87,000.

To put these figures in some perspective, it is nearly double the number who emigrated in 1989 when 44,000 left. Since the onset of the financial crisis in 2008 nearly 200,000 people aged between 21 and 35 have emigrated. This is a serious number for a country of 4 million people and could be the biggest wave of people leaving since the potato famine in the mid 1800s.

Between 1845 and 1852 almost 1,000,000 people left Ireland. The alternative was bleak, almost 1,000,000 died as a result of the famine and the total population of Ireland dropped by approximately 25%. Anyone with Irish heritage (there are about 80,000,000 of us around the world) will have grown up with ballads that lamented the emigration, families torn apart and people forced to leave the homeland they loved.

In 2012 the picture is different. The economic crisis is considered homemade and fuelled by an enormous housing bubble that burst spectacularly in 2008. Cronyism, dodgy loans and unbelievable incompetence brought down Ireland’s banking sector leading to a bailout from the EU and IMF and surging unemployment.

[Related feature: Ireland could become a “feeder nation” reliant on money sent home from workers abroad]

The stories that have emerged since the Celtic Tiger’s demise uncovered a rotten hierarchy that presided over the boom years. Well-respected bankers and business people have since been revealed as irresponsible, greedy men and women with dodgy moral compasses.  Some of them are now claiming they are the victims - even if bailouts for their mistakes have cost the Irish taxpayer more than €1 billion.

This situation is driving thousands of graduates and school leavers to abandon post Celtic Tiger Ireland. It is perhaps no wonder then that tens of thousands are heading to Australia where the financial crisis barely touched its economy.

Today’s waves of emigrants are giving themselves geographical and psychological space from the problems that abound at home.

Interestingly, while in the past Irish emigrants headed to the US, visa restrictions mean that less than 5% of this new wave have moved to America in the last 12 months. Instead the most popular destinations are the UK and Australia.

Commodity-producing nations have been particularly interested in Irish immigrants. In fact, the Canadian Immigration Minister visited Ireland earlier this week appearing on chat shows and telling the public how Canada is easing restrictions on Irish immigrants. Canada, Australia and New Zealand have been welcoming plane-loads of young Irish people in search of work with open arms in recent years.

How times have changed. Not that long ago Irish immigrants were looked upon with suspicion by some, seen as trouble makers and big drinkers.

These days highly educated graduates are being wooed by the likes of Australia and Canada, which is a testament to Ireland’s education system. Globalisation and a rapidly changing economy require workers who are highly skilled especially in the technology and commodity sectors. Countries now look to Ireland to find the skills they need at home.

Another big difference with other periods of emigration is that in 2012 it is welcomed by the Irish. It gives people a chance to travel and expand their minds. Add to that is the ease of air travel that can see you leave Dublin and arrive in Sydney in 24 hours for a fairly affordable fare. Skype, email and instant messages also help to bridge the gap with home.

But the big difference with this generation of Irish emigrants is that they are not lamenting the motherland. There will be no ballads this time round.

Instead the Irish who leave want to expand their minds and soak up other cultures, environments and learn new things from their adopted homelands. Higher levels of education and the embarrassing financial mess at home are also helping to fuel emigration, which this time round is seen as an adventure of a life time.