Recently returned Irish emigrants are being asked to share their
experiences of coming home in a new survey launched today by Crosscare
Migrant Project. The project is asking returned emigrants to reflect on their experience to help support and prepare other emigrants considering a similar move.
The survey launch was on Monday November 14th at Wood Quay Offices, where Crosscare Migrant Project, in conjunction with Dublin City Council's Social Inclusion Unit, hosted a special event entitled 'Moving to Ireland'.
The event began with a special screening of a new independent documentary 'Coming Home.'
Coming Home is a landmark documentary charting the journeys of five Irish emigrants, spread across four continents, as they pursue a common dream of returning to live out their remaining days in Ireland.
A film by Cathal Kenna, it explores each emigrant's personal journey, tracing their initial departure from Ireland stretching back to the years of mass emigration from Ireland in the 50's and up to the more recent wave of emigration in 2008.
Cathal Kenna said: "Having now lived through two periods of mass emigration and seeing how it has affected people in our small country, I found myself fascinated with the stories of those who have left, those who came back and those who will never come home."
After the screening this morning, the producer and some of the cast were present for a Q&A session, followed by inputs from Ciara Kenny, writer of Generation Emigration in the Irish Times, and Sarah Owen of Crosscare Migrant Project who spoke on their work and experience with Irish emigrants.
The audience was made up of recently returned Irish emigrants and new migrants living in Ireland, and they will be invited to share their experiences on their transition to Ireland.
Launching the first Ireland-wide survey of returned emigrants, Sarah Owen said: "Through our work with Irish organisations worldwide, we are aware of increased numbers of people thinking about coming home, particularly from Australia and Canada. We know that people are worried about the cost of moving home and getting children into school before they return. We're asking people who have come back in the last two years to share their thoughts and experiences to help others prepare for their move home."
The emigrants survey is now live and available at: www.surveymonkey.com/r/returnedirish
For further details about the film 'Coming Home (including future screenings) see: www.cominghomedocumentary.com
Read about Crosscare Migrant Project here: www.migrantproject.ie Crosscare Migrant Project is a project of Crosscare, the social support agency of the Dublin Archdiocese, see also: - www.crosscare.ie