The Story of Us: Belonging, Identity, and Migration

This presentation by Maurice Lyons, UCC, examines migration as a defining feature of Ireland’s economic, political, and social development, with particular focus on the mass emigration of past centuries and patterns of inward migration in the contemporary period. It analyses the structural and socio-economic forces that compelled Irish emigration, as well as the challenges of identity, integration, and exclusion encountered abroad.

In parallel, it considers the experiences of migrants in modern Ireland, interrogating issues of belonging, public discourse, and social cohesion. By drawing these contexts into dialogue, the presentation highlights continuities and divergences in migrant experiences, offering a critical perspective on how historical memory informs present-day attitudes towards diversity, inclusion and migration.