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Homeward bound: Michael Russell and Sinead Murphy

Leaving New York is more of a wrench than leaving Ireland

I am moving back to Ireland and have said goodbye to people I may never see again

The Irish Times ABROAD

Irish Times Abroad is a new home for Irish-connected people around the world, with first-person Generation Emigration stories, news, interviews, features and opinion by and about the Irish overseas.

Join the Irish Times Abroad Network to keep up to date with our best journalism, and to contribute your own experiences and opinions.

Dublin most expensive place for expats to live in euro zone

Out of 209 cities included in Mercer’s annual cost of living survey, Dublin was ranked as the 32nd most expensive. Photograph: Getty

Soaring rents cause Irish capital to overtake Paris in Mercer’s annual cost of living survey

‘When I left Ireland it was still a criminal offence to be gay’

Brendan Fay: ‘I feel a depth of gratitude for the determined LGBT activists here and in Ireland who rose up in dark times and struggled for civil rights.’ Photograph: Ray Hegarty

For Pride 2018, we raise the rainbow. We hold hands. We tell stories of how we got from there to here

Welcome to My Place . . . Beirut

Niamh Kelly: “Recent history is seen all around Beirut, with many buildings still exhibiting bullet holes and shell marks from the civil war.”

Niamh Kelly: ‘One of the best things about this city is the food’

Kay McNulty, the Irish ‘mother of computer programming’

Pioneering computer programmer Kathleen ‘Kay’ McNulty Mauchly Antonelli

While raising seven children, she continued, uncredited, to programme computers her husband developed

I rent out my Irish house but live abroad. Do I have to pay tax?

If I own a house in Ireland but work abroad is the rental income taxed in Ireland?

Ask the Experts: Revenue has different rules for resident and non-resident landlords

Who knew the beaches of Dublin could be so interesting and so lovely?

After moving home from abroad, our family is rediscovering their beauty, rain or shine

'I went to Belgium for six months; 24 years later, I’m still here'

Micheal O Conchuir, Sinead Tiernan, Eabha, Ciara and Orla. Tiernan, from Castlebar, Co Mayo, works for the European trade union movement in Brussels

Q&A: Sinead Tiernan from Co Mayo on working for the European trade union movement in Brussels

After disappearing 60 years ago, my uncle returned from Canada

Patsy Keegan - the uncle who got away

His visits became annual, but we never found out why he left all that time ago

Nina Hynes: ‘Irish fear of the establishment is disintegrating slowly’

Nina Hynes: ‘Our sense of worth became about how much we were earning, as opposed to valuing a piece of music or art on its own merits.’

Craw festival in Berlin will explore solutions to Ireland’s social problems

How children in London are learning the Irish language through play

Parent Matt Healy reading a story at the London Irish Playgroup in the London Irish Centre in Camden. Photograph: Malcolm McNally

A playgroup is helping parents introduce Irish language to youngsters in a fun way

Welcome to My Place

Niamh Kelly: “Recent history is seen all around Beirut, with many buildings still exhibiting bullet holes and shell marks from the civil war.”

Welcome to My Place . . . Beirut

June 24, 2018

Niamh Kelly: ‘One of the best things about this city is the food’

Irish Connections

Steve ‘Crusher’ Casey is memorialised by a bronze statue in his hometown of Sneem. Photograph: Peter Dorgan/Wikimedia Commons

Was ‘Crusher’ Casey Ireland’s toughest emigrant sportsman?

Irish wrestler was World Heavyweight Champion for six years, while fighting in WWII

Coming home?

Coming home?

The Irish Times guide to returning to live in Ireland, with information on jobs, housing, health and education, and advice from Irish emigrants who’ve already moved home

Ask the Experts

If I own a house in Ireland but work abroad is the rental income taxed in Ireland?

I rent out my Irish house but live abroad. Do I have to pay tax?

Ask the Experts: Revenue has different rules for resident and non-resident landlords

Working Abroad

‘New York is great, once you get over the real estate issue’

‘New York is great, once you get over the real estate issue’

Wild Geese: Hazel Jane Lyons rents a one-bed loft in Tribeca for €4,000 a month

Greece has had a tumultuous decade but I am glad I took the risk and came

Greece has had a tumultuous decade but I am glad I took the risk and came

Q&A: Ruth Gallagher works in shipping litigation in Athens

Emigrant Voices

After disappearing 60 years ago, my uncle returned from Canada

After disappearing 60 years ago, my uncle returned from Canada

His visits became annual, but we never found out why he left all that time ago

An Irish woman in Argentina: Now, both my countries have voted for abortion

An Irish woman in Argentina: Now, both my countries have voted for abortion

The decriminalisation of abortion in Argentina has been brought within striking distance

Irish in US

Nick Carswell: 'I am not the stereotypical immigrant in the US. As a white person, I enjoy a very real privilege in America... I might almost pass for a US citizen. But I am not.'

Trump’s America empowers public displays of racism

June 16, 2018

‘Immigrants not welcome’: graffiti sprayed on Browne’s Irish Market in Kansas City

Irish in Britain

Will Ed Sheeran apply for an Irish passport after Brexit? Photograph: Antonio Calanni/AP

Are Irish passport applicants in Britain becoming ‘more Irish’?

Applications have doubled since Brexit. Are people doing it just for travel, or is there more to it?

Leaving? Our guides will help

All three major cities in New Zealand - Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch - get more than 2,000 hours of sunshine a year.

More from Abroad

The lost story of James Joyce’s daughter as a Parisian dancer

James Joyce’s daughter Lucia was a remarkable dancer – something that has been buried in her troubled history

Ed Sheeran wows intimate crowd at London Irish Centre

Fans pay up to £3,500 to attend fundraiser alongside the great and good of city’s Irish

Kay McNulty, the Irish ‘mother of computer programming’

While raising seven children, she continued, uncredited, to programme computers her husband developed

Ed Sheeran: ‘My Irish heritage is something I’ve always been proud of’

London’s Irish community get ready for a blast of Ed Sheeran

How children in London are learning the Irish language through play

A playgroup is helping parents introduce Irish language to youngsters in a fun way

An Irish woman in Argentina: Now, both my countries have voted for abortion

The decriminalisation of abortion in Argentina has been brought within striking distance

300 Irish doctors got visas for Australia this year. Why?

The scale of emigration by doctors is not sustainable. It needs an urgent response

My daughter has woven the loss of her father into her life

This Father’s Day, my best thoughts are with those who miss their dads

Welcome to my place . . . Copenhagen

A trip to Tivoli gardens - which inspired Disney World - is obligatory for visitors, says Daniel Joseph Barry

Trump’s America empowers public displays of racism

‘Immigrants not welcome’: graffiti sprayed on Browne’s Irish Market in Kansas City

What’s stuck in their craw? Irish artists create Berlin festival

Arts event in Neukölln is about ‘clearing up our own backyard as emigrants’

'Dad laughed like he'd heard a good story told by another man, not his son'

At that moment, he felt I’d grown up: I could tell a good story

Was ‘Crusher’ Casey Ireland’s toughest emigrant sportsman?

Irish wrestler was World Heavyweight Champion for six years, while fighting in WWII

‘I hoped I would walk off the plane and feel at home but Dublin feels foreign’

June Eric Udorie: Ten years have passed and I am returning to my birthplace as a young woman

‘New York is great, once you get over the real estate issue’

Wild Geese: Hazel Jane Lyons rents a one-bed loft in Tribeca for €4,000 a month

Irish in Berlin, boating in Hawaii, and Irish passport applications

Top stories on Irish Times Abroad this week

Greece has had a tumultuous decade but I am glad I took the risk and came

Q&A: Ruth Gallagher works in shipping litigation in Athens

Emigrants: What’s ‘stuck in your craw’ about Ireland?

We want to hear from readers abroad on their solutions to Irish problems

‘We felt Ireland forced us out, we felt betrayed’

I was a teacher, my husband a carpenter but we struggled to find somewhere to live

We lost our baby. Then I got the call every emigrant fears

Back in Sydney we're trying to pull our lives back together. But it is hard

Anti-immigrant graffiti attack on Irish bar in Kansas City

‘Immigrants not welcome’ sprayed on Brownes Irish Market, which was founded in 1887

When I held the letter of congratulations for my Irish passport application, I cried

They drilled it into our heads as children that we should never forget where we came from

Welcome to my place... Cádiz

‘As you would expect, fish is king. Dogfish, calamari and shrimp fritters are specialities’

Man who upcycles furniture for Irish in London wins award

Awards showcase the work of volunteers who support the Irish community in England

How do I make a will for my family when I live abroad?

Ask the Experts: Inheritances between spouses are exempt from Capital Acquisitions Tax no matter what their nationality

‘Never dilute your Irishness to fit in like past generations did’

Wild Geese: James Hourigan, London

Leaving an IT job to set sail for the high seas in Hawaii

'It is a great place to live. You go about in shorts, a T-shirt and flip-flops day and night'

'There's so much I love about Ireland, but I felt suffocated there'

I found space to experiment and create when I moved to Berlin

The Irish woman who became Canada’s first major poet

Isabella Valancy Crawford was one of Canada’s first writers to make a living as a freelancer

In spite of the emigrant’s pain of disconnection, we love our country

We see what Ireland hasn’t been and what it could be. What it will be.

#HomeToVote should inspire Ireland and embarrass politicians

Young emigrants are still committed to Ireland. They deserve a vote on its future

'Being Irish, I’m political. It’s an eventful time to live in America'

Still in love with the US after all the years and all those presidents, but an Irishman at heart

Three months, 82 litres of blood and 37 operations later, ‘Dodger’ came out of his coma

Each day my wife whispered in my ear, ‘come back to us, Keisha needs you’

Welcome to my place... Klagenfurt, 'Austria's Donegal'

Tour guide Patricia Gerlich on the city’s history, the best sites to see, and where to try Käsnudeln

Why must emigrants still come home to vote?

The #Hometovote movement has highlighted the issue for the second time in three years

Adopted man finds his Irish family after DNA test in America

Kevin Battle was adopted from the Sean Ross Abbey. Years later he has found his siblings

Advice for returning emigrants applying for social welfare

What is the ‘habitual residence condition’, and how can you prove Ireland is ‘home’?

‘We were totally won over by the views over the forest’

Wild Geese: Andrew Cromien and Lorna Lee opened a guest house in Vence, France

What's it like to be an Irish man in the US Army?

'I get slagged for my accent, but I’ve been well treated and welcomed'

Monica de Wichfeld: Chanel designer, gun-runner and rebel to the end

Extraordinary Emigrants: Fermanagh woman gathered intelligence on the Nazis for Britain

High motor insurance costs could hold back the construction industry

Construction workers returning from abroad are being driven away by the cost of car insurance

Returning emigrants ‘at risk’ due to welfare refusals

Irish abroad: Inconsistent decisions leading to poverty, homelessness, report finds

Returning emigrant teachers facing ‘Kafkaesque’ bureaucracy in Ireland

There is a crisis in teacher supply in key subjects – but securing regular hours and well-paid work can still be daunting

On May 25th, I publicly acknowledged my abortion after 1,349 days of shame

I couldn't come home from New York to vote. So I shared my story instead, hoping to convince others

Returning emigrants may struggle to get full State pension under new rules

Under proposals, a person may need 40 years of contributions to be eligible

How would Irish emigrants have voted if they could?

Irish Times Abroad ‘virtual vote’ shows 91.7% of citizens abroad would have voted Yes

#Hometovote proves emigrants’ enduring connection to Ireland

Traditionally we dealt with difference through exile and silence. All has changed

‘Were we being passport Paddies or was there a level of patriotism?’

Zoe Lyons talks about comedy, identity, acting and thick skin as a lesbian artist

‘In tears’: Irish in Australia celebrate after long-distance abortion campaign

Emigrants gather in Perth, Sydney, Melbourne and Cairns as referendum results announced

Nine out of 10 emigrants surveyed would have voted for repeal

Irish Times Abroad 'virtual vote' shows high percentage for Yes among citizens abroad

Welcome to my place . . . Glasgow

It may not be the prettiest place but the people make up for it, says Andrew Horne

‘I’m so proud to be Irish today’: Emigrants respond to abortion referendum result

Few could come home to vote, so they’ve been watching from afar, full of emotion

Irish abroad: Have your say on the referendum result

We want to hear from readers living overseas who couldn’t have their say, or flew home to vote

'There’s a very deep history with Ireland as an emigrant nation'

Other countries look to Ireland for ways to connect with their diaspora

Can we make voluntary PRSI payments while working abroad?

Ask the Experts: I worry about my partner’s Irish pension in the future

Wild Geese: a love of horses took a Galway student to Kentucky

Cormac Breathnach realised academic life was not getting him close enough to horses

Welcome parties greet emigrants home to vote at Dublin Airport

‘I am going to really struggle to come back if it’s a No vote,’ says returned emigrant

It’s all about #Hometovote on Irish Times Abroad this week

Top tweets, epic journeys, and frustration among those watching referendum from afar

Coming #HomeToVote: top tweets from emigrants making epic journeys back

Voters travelling long distances and helping each other out to make it to the polls

Irish father faces deportation from Australia over visa delays

Dan Hall has been given seven days to leave the country - and his wife and three kids

Why we’re flying home to vote: ‘I want to be proud of my nation’

Irish emigrants are beginning to make their way back to have their say in the referendum

The vote: returning emigrants warned of 18-month rule

Irish abroad not planning to return within time frame not deemed resident

My life was informed by the Eighth Amendment but I can’t vote on it

I want my goddaughter’s life to be free of the subconscious fears that have ruled mine

Why UK universities are funding Irish students to come home to vote

Students unions agree eligible voters should not be denied their democratic right

The famine-era emigrant who became the greatest showman

Extraordinary Emigrants: Captain Paul Boyton was known as ‘the Fearless Frogman’ for his daredevil feats

Abortion Support Network: ‘In a perfect world, our phone would never ring’

London-based volunteer agency gave €84,000 in aid to help pay for terminations last year

Irish comedians abroad call for Yes vote in abortion referendum

Video’s participants include Aisling Bea, Sharon Horgan and Chris O’Dowd

Australian Ambassador calls on more Irish to head down under

Number of Irish emigrating to Australia has dropped 70% since 2012

Irish abroad: Are you flying home to vote? Or annoyed you can’t have a say?

We want to hear from readers overseas ahead of the Eighth Amendment referendum

Death in the sun: The dark side of Australia’s backpacking industry

Death of Belgian in Queensland raises questions over exploitation of workers

Dolores O’Riordan taught me to face everything horrifying life has to offer

I now relate to her as a mother, a lover, a woman in the world overwhelmed by heartbreaking beauty

Living in Ukraine, a country rotten from corruption but full of noble people

Irishman Ronan Goggin is head of public information at the European Union Advisory Mission Ukraine

Welcome to My Place . . . Berlin

‘You could never do this in Ireland’ is a phrase I hear every Irish visitor to Berlin say

‘Friends said we were mad to leave London but we’ve got a new lease of life on Hook Head’

This couple made a snap decision to leave UK but it didn’t take them long to set up a cool new B&B

Can I transfer my Spanish pension back to Ireland?

Ask the Experts: I want to make sure I will have an income when I retire

Irish in Britain on the royal wedding: ‘I’m agog with indifference’

Will they don a fancy frock and scoff replica wedding cake, or ignore it completely?

Abortion where we live abroad: 'People are shocked at Irish law'

Irish from Canada to India on how legislation compares to Ireland, and what they think

Wild Geese: ‘Cities like Cape Town and Nairobi are already world-class innovation hubs’

Aisling Quirke’s entrepreneurial instinct found a natural home among fintech opportunities in Africa

‘Brexit fills me with a heavy heart, but I've built a life in Scotland’

Eiméar Cooney from Co Meath works as an occupational therapist in Aberdeen

#HometoVoteNo, emigrant nurses, royal wedding, and a ‘rose-tinted Ireland’

Round-up of the top stories from Irish Times Abroad this week

Why I’m travelling home from London to vote No to abortion

I’m part of a #HometoVoteNo campaign, organised by London Irish United for Life

Irishwoman Ann Glover, the last woman hanged for witchcraft in Boston

Extraordinary Emigrants: Ann became a symbol of the wrongs perpetrated against the dispossessed

As an infant in 1977, I appeared in my first Tom Murphy play

The playwright Tom Murphy was, and always will be, my hero, writes Lisa Tierney-Keogh

‘When I was growing up, it was, if you’re Irish you’re a terrorist’

Kit de Waal holds tightly to her roots; Brummie, Irish, West Indian and working class

Irish teachers freed in China after detention over ‘visa issues’

Women, from Kildare and Offaly, held after raid on private language school

When things go wrong abroad, who do you call?

Department of Foreign Affairs’ consular services helped 2,500 travelling abroad in 2017

The rose-tinted view of the Ireland we left behind

As emigrants we divorce ourselves from the reality of everyday life in Ireland

Irish in Britain: What do you think of the royal wedding?

Will you watch it on the telly, bake a cake, go to a street party? What’s the atmosphere like?

The Irish footballer who left his family to manage FC Barcelona

I was beguiled by my husband’s tales of the grandfather he had never met, so I wrote a book about him

Australia’s immigration debate moves from fringe to centre ground

Sydney Letter: Much of the growing concern is from coming from people wondering how their children are ever going to be able to afford a house in Sydney, Melbourne or other state capitals

Fix for undocumented Irish in US must be part of ‘universal’ solution

Mayor of Boston Marty Walsh tells Galway event solution cannot just be for the Irish

Irish teachers held in China may not have known they were breaking law

Teaching English in China can be tricky affair due to unregulated agencies

Two Irish teachers detained in Beijing

TD says: ‘Girls are being looked after in prison but have not had the opportunity to call home’

New laws needed to allow Irish prisoners abroad return home

Most of the 29 prisoners awaiting transfer are in the UK

The misunderstood art of networking

The importance of knowing how to make professional connections that count

Noise cancelling headphones, Netflix and Fast Track boarding – tips from frequent travellers

Top 1000: Some of Ireland’s frequent business travellers on how they make business travel more comfortable and productive

Marked women, unmarked graves and my typical Irish childhood of sexual harassment

I buried my experiences as deep as the resting place of those poor Tuam babies

We need to build on Ireland’s migration success story

Influx of skills has improved competitiveness and allowed economy to grow more rapidly

Ireland's cultural diaspora

A tractor in Sligo town. Photograph: Brendan Kelly

Home and away: Ireland seen through a second-generation filter

Visual Art
Martin Doyle and Brendan Kelly

Brendan Kelly’s photographs capture the essence of an Ireland and Irishness past

Tracing the family tree A step-by-step guide to researching your Irish family ancestry

Ask the Experts Have a question about emigrating, life abroad or moving home?

Picturing the Irish Diaspora Living abroad? Add your pic and story to the interactive gallery

Keep in touch Got a story or experience to share about living or moving abroad? Let us know

Connect and Share

Follow @genemigration

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Cadbury used to advertise its milk chocolate with the slogan, “A glass and a half of full-cream milk”. Photograph: iStock

What’s really inside your bar of Cadbury Dairy Milk?

One year and one refurb later, Blackrock home doubles in price

Homeward bound: Michael Russell and Sinead Murphy

Leaving New York is more of a wrench than leaving Ireland

“By complete accident, there’s a family photo of my sister’s wedding hanging on the wall just above where I park the wheelchair at night.”

I know that I have a disability. It’s impossible to forget

Real news has value

Generation Emigration Survey How do emigrants who left Ireland since the crash feel about life?

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