The “Irish question”: marginalizations at the nexus of sociology of migration and ethnic and racial studies in Britain

Abstract

Despite constituting one of the largest migrant groups, the Irish have been overlooked in most British sociological research on migration and ethnicity. We explore how this came about and examine its costs in relation to stigmatization and national security. The relative silence among British sociologists throughout the war in Northern Ireland and its impact on the Irish in England, requires further explanation. This neglect resulted in a failure to learn lessons from the past especially about the potential impact of counter-terrorism practices on Muslim communities. Furthermore, we show how unpacking the compressed category of whiteness helps to understand the dynamic interplay of other identity markers such as accent, religion, nationality and class in shaping how different groups of white migrants, especially Eastern/Central Europeans, have been perceived, represented and racialized in various public discourses.

Reflections on sociology of Irish diaspora

“…The relative absence of emigration and diaspora in Irish sociology that I discuss here (although this absence is not restricted to sociology in Ireland, see Hickman and Ryan 2020) exists despite emigration being a defining feature of Irish history and contemporary experiences. The Great Famine has had enormous attention, in terms of its impact both in Ireland and on the massive emigrations that followed (thanks to many a dedicated historian of diaspora).…”

Methodological nationalism and the Northern Ireland blind-spot in ethnic and racial studies

“…The one exception, ironically, proves the rule. It is an article that critiques the marginalization of the Irish in ethnic and racial studies in the UK (Hickman and Ryan 2020). Our article can be usefully read as a compliment to Hickman and Ryan's article.…”

Terrorism, migrant crisis and attitudes towards immigrants from outside of the European Union

“…Fear of terrorism can act as mediator between news on terrorist attacks and perceptions of particular out-groups (von Sikorski, Schmuck, Matthes, & Binder, 2017). Such views can, of course, change over time as evidenced by how the Irish have been recategorised as being security threats as opposed to labour migrants at different points in the 20th century (Hickman & Ryan, 2020). Political and media discourses play a significant role in this, especially with the increasing securitisation of migration policies (Walters, 2008;Williams & Baláž, 2014), which tends to drown out those voices calling for greater community solidarity and the sharing of collective grief in the wake of terrorist events.…”

“…For example, during the ‘troubles’ of the 1970s–1990s in Northern Ireland, political and media discourses in the United Kingdom presented the Irish as ‘suspect communities’, which were ‘inherently violent and as a community likely to be harbouring the IRA’ (Hickman & Ryan, 2020, p. 103). Moreover, lessons were not learned when it came to the impact of similar narratives on Muslim communities (Hickman & Ryan, 2020, p. 104). Indeed, portrayals of immigrants and refugees selectively have become increasingly negative since 11 September 2001 in Western countries.…”