Posted on 05/04/2006 10:02:00 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
In a stunning reversal, hordes of Irish immigrants are waving goodbye to the Statue of Liberty and heading home.
"A lot of them don't want to go back," said Seamus Dooley, chairman of the Gaelic Athletic Association. "They're here illegal, so they don't have a choice."
The GAA kicked off its 94th season yesterday in Gaelic Park in The Bronx - but with 10 less teams.
The group - which plays Emerald Isle sports like hurling - has lost 200 players in two years.
It's tempting for many to bolt now while the economy in Ireland is booming. The Irish government reckons that 14,000 people moved to Ireland from the U.S. from 2000 to 2004.
In the same period, the number of Irish-born residents living in The Bronx has dropped by 36 percent.
"My neighborhood is dying," said Irish native Joan Henchy, referring to Woodlawn in The Bronx. "Our businesses are dying."
"We want the same things that were offered to our grandparents and great-grandparents," she said. But their ancestors didn't have to deal with 9/11. Since then, "It's a lot harder to get a job without papers," said one Irishman who's lived here for over 10 years.
Trips home used to be a piece of cake, but now immigrants are fingerprinted. Overstay the three-month tourist visa and one risks being banned for life.
Marie, 29, an illegal immigrant with a 31/2 year old son, was at Gaelic Park yesterday. She's waiting to see if the Senate acts before deciding whether to leave. Meanwhile, she can't have a bank account, drive a car or buy a house.
"And they say 'the luck of the Irish,' " she said.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
They just need to get Mexican illegals to play the games Irish illegals won't.....
Huh? Wassup with the Irish? The mexicans do this all the time.
Regardless of where they came from, they are here illegally. Deport them now.
I must agree with you, and I'm the husband of a naturalized citizen.
The Irish ran out of NY City when the Blacks moved close to them.
The Irish are the Big Bigots !!
Illegal entry is one thing but using false ID is another. That would be a crime.
Well, I don't know about anyone else, but whenever I see some red-headed guy with a florid complexion, I just know he's an illegal alien and I want him deported. [/sarcasm]
This isn't really news.
The bulk of the illegal Irish went back years ago. This article only exists to draw the sympathy of Irish Americans for illegal Mexicans.
The difference of corse is that 15 years ago Ireland adopted US/UK economic policies and generated huge economic growth. As for Mexican economic policy, let's just say it's stuck on stupid!
You hit the NAIL ON THE HEAD. This is about the media drumming up sympathy but missing the real story:
Irish are back in Ireland, working and increasing proseprity three, in a low-tax economy.
Mexico's failed socialism is sending us millions of illegals as a way to export their poverty and unemployment.
That's the difference.
Just don't ask them to drink where the Irish won't. There'll be a lot of Mexicans dieing of thirst, if that's the case.
Thanks. Excellent resource. :)
Every one of them *I* know holds at least one job, and is indistinguishable in terms of lifestyle from a US working class stiff.
I will say, at the risk of getting flamed, that many of them DO work in jobs that native-born Americans simply do not do -- childcare/housekeeping, etc.
Byebye now! Don't let the Golden Door hit you in the arse on your way back to Ireland!
If there were a Mount Bigotry, you'd be its Zenith.
The Irish: Drinking the beer Americans won't drink!
Long live Guiness!
Oops. Guinness! My bad.
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