Most
Lithuanian immigrants arrived in
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
in the 2000s, when the
Irish economy started booming. According to Census 2011, there are 36,683 people of Lithuanian birth resident in the Republic of Ireland. Approximately one third of these Lithuanians live in
County Dublin
"Action to match our speech"
, image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg
, map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...
.
History
In the beginning of the 20th century there was some immigration of
Lithuanian Jews
Lithuanian Jews or Litvaks () are Jews with roots in the territory of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania (covering present-day Lithuania, Belarus, Latvia, the northeastern Suwałki and Białystok regions of Poland, as well as adjacent are ...
.
Robert Briscoe, who served as lord mayor of Dublin in 1956-57 and 1961–62, was son of Lithuanian a Jewish immigrants to Ireland. In contrast, the current immigration is of majority Catholic Lithuanians, as Lithuania contained few Jews in 2000.
In 1935,
Feliksas Vaitkus
Feliksas Vaitkus (1907–1956), also known as Felix Waitkus, was an American-born Lithuanian pilot and the sixth pilot to fly solo across the Atlantic.
Biography
His parents came from Lithuania in 1904, settling in the old "Lithuanian Downtow ...
, the sixth person who had a successful
flight over Atlantic Ocean with a single engine single seat fixed-wing aircraft, landed in Ireland. Vaitkus flew his transatlantic flight with ''Lituanica II''. Vaitkus had to fight the worst possible weather conditions and was helped considerably by hourly broadcasts from an Irish radio station. He learned that Dublin was fogged in, as well as all areas heading east as far as the
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.
The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...
. He knew that he could not make it to
Kaunas due to his low fuel supply, and being exhausted after a 23-hour struggle fighting the elements, he felt it was best to come down somewhere in Ireland. He spotted an open field in Cloongowla at
Ballinrobe
Ballinrobe () is a town in County Mayo in Ireland. It is located on the River Robe, which empties into Lough Mask two kilometres to the west. As of the 2016 census, the population was 2,786.
History Foundation and development
Ballinrobe is c ...
,
County Mayo and came down, with the aircraft suffering extensive damage. He was lucky to survive and not sustain any significant injuries. ''Lituanica II'' was crated for shipment to Lithuania, where it was restored. Vaitkus made his way to Kaunas, by ship and train, where he was given a hero's welcome.
Edward W. Baranauskas ''The Second Transatlantic Flight. Felix Waitkus: Forgotten Hero''
Organisations
The Lithuanian Association in Ireland Limited, officially registered in January 2005, has been active since 1999. The association organises Lithuanian concerts and other events in Dublin, Cork, Monaghan
Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Ireland. It also provides the name of its civil parish and barony.
The population of the town as of the 2016 census was 7,678. The town is on the N2 road from Dublin to Derry and Lette ...
and Portlaoise, runs eight Lithuanian weekend schools in Dublin, Cork, Dundalk
Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...
, Galway
Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on ...
etc. for Lithuanian children, runs a mailing list ''lithuaniansinireland
with over 700 members, publishes information for Lithuanians in Ireland on a web sit
and organises monthly Lithuanian gatherings around Ireland.
''Saloje'' (On the Island
published twice a month, which has around 5000 readers, and the weekly ''Lietuvis'' (Lithuanian
5000 copies) are the most popular local papers among the Lithuanian community.
See also
* Lituanica
''Lituanica'' was a Bellanca CH-300 Pacemaker airplane flown from the United States across the Atlantic Ocean by Lithuanian pilots Steponas Darius and Stasys Girėnas in 1933. After successfully flying 6,411 km (4,043 miles), it crashed, ...
References
External links
Newspaper "Saloje" (On The Island) for Lithuanians in Ireland
{{Immigration to the Republic of Ireland
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
Ethnic groups in Ireland
Irish people of Lithuanian descent