Fractured journeys: spotlight on the Irish in Melbourne

This chapter explores the experiences of 203 migrants from Ireland who arrived in Australia between 1980 and 2001, and who had not lived outside of Ireland prior to arriving in Australia. This ensured that post-migration identity and belonging could be explored through the lens of those whose only point of reference was their homeland. Two prevailing perceptions in Australia at the time are challenged. First, that migrants from Ireland in the 1980s and early 1990s were economic refugees, fleeing Ireland’s recession years, and, second, that these migrants experienced minimal cultural adjustment because of the legacy made by Irish settlers in Australia’s formative colonial years.