The Polish minority in Ireland numbered approximately 122,515 (2.57% of the population) according to 2016 census figures.

History

After Poland joined the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

in May 2004, Ireland was one of three existing EU members to open its borders to Polish workers (the others being the United Kingdom and Sweden). Ireland quickly became a key destination for Poles wishing to work outside the country; in 2004 a website advertising Irish jobs in Polish received over 170,000 hits in its first day. In the period immediately following the 2008 economic downturn, the number of Polish people in Ireland declined, with some reports suggesting that 30,000 were leaving Ireland per year, and the Central Statistics Office reporting a decrease in the number of Polish people applying for PPS numbers. Polish people living in Ireland can vote in Polish elections. On Election Day there are special ballot stations provided in Belfast, Cork, and Limerick as well as in the country's embassy in Dublin. Consequently, Polish political parties campaign in Ireland for electoral support.

Language and media

As of 2021, Polish is officially an established Senior Cycle subject in post-primary educati
(Senior Cycle subjects: Polish)
and hence can be taken as part of the Irish Leaving Certificate examination. The biggest Polish umbrella organization is the Polish Educational Society in Ireland (PESI), a non-profit organisation established in 2012. PESI sponsors Polish supplementary schools in Ireland and widely cooperates with Polish government bodies and organisations working for the maintenance and promotion of the Polish language abroad. The large number of Poles in Ireland led to the provision of a number of media outlets catering to them. Newspapers: ''Polska Gazeta'' and a section in Dublin's

Evening Herald ''The Herald'' is a nationwide mid-market tabloid newspaper headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, and published by Independent News & Media who are a subsidiary of Mediahuis. It is published Monday–Saturday. The newspaper was known as the ''Even ...

entitled "''Polski'' Herald". Dublin cable television channel,

City Channel City Channel was an Irish television network that began broadcasting in October 2005, which focused primarily on local and regional television. It operated three stations: City Channel Dublin, City Channel Galway, and Channel South. The channel ...

, also features a programme aimed at Poles in Ireland entitled Oto Polska (This is Poland). Online media in Ireland include:
Gazeta.ie
- the website with advertisements
Nasz Głos
- the official website of "Nasz Głos" The Free Polish Weekly
Galway.pl
- the largest website of the Polish community in the West of Ireland
Nadajemy.ie
- the biggest social networking website for Polish people in Ireland
Mycork.org
- the first Polish forum in Ireland and website of the Polish community in Cork
Polish-chaplaincy.ie
- a website of Polish chaplaincy in Dublin
Polish Lutherans
- a website for Polish Lutherans in Ireland
ABC EduLibrary
Polish cultural centre and library in Cork
Together-Razem Centre
- non-profit organisation supporting Poles, Central and Eastern Europeans

Notable people

* Stan Gebler Davies, journalist * Paddy Ruschitzko, hurler

References

{{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

History

Language and media

Notable people

See also

References