Introduction

This chapter outlines the rationale for the book, highlighting the relative dearth of knowledge about contemporary flows compared to their historical predecessors. Recent migration from Ireland is contextualised in terms of historical volumes, origins, and motivations for travel, highlighting Australia’s changing status as a destination for Ireland’s migrants, relative to the United Kingdom and United States. It explores the changing significance of Ireland’s migrants vis-à-vis other migrant groups in Australia over time as well as changing perceptions of Ireland’s immigrants from ‘No blacks, no dogs, no Irish need apply’ and the shame at having convict origins to more than 2.4 million (9.5%) of the Australian community claiming Irish ancestry in the 2021 census. Importantly, it addresses the relative invisibility of Ireland’s migrants within Australia’s multicultural society and the presumption of a homogenous Irish identity of immigrants from Ireland. It provides an outline of the key themes explored in this book, particularly push and pull factors, identity, belonging, maintaining connection (with Ireland and within Australia) and employment pathways, as well as an overview of the book structure.