I love a lot of things about the United States – its summer weather, its energy, its buildings, its food. Under normal circumstances I’d probably have spent a couple of weeks there, visiting our son and his family. But these are not normal circumstances.
In the pre-Trump era (yes, there was such a time, Virginia), we’d have visited New York. In the Noughties, we took in British Columbia in Canada, drove down to San Francisco, stayed in Montecitto (yep, same place that Prince Harry has just quit), down to Phoenix, further down to Tucson. No wonder half of Americans don’t have passports – their own country is vast and varied.
One year in New York, we were avoiding the mid-day sun and were forced (OK, we freely chose) to go into an Irish bar/restaurant. It was cool and dark inside, and the drinks and food were delicious. The young woman who served us was delightful and from Sligo. “How long are you over here?” I asked . “Six years.” “Have you ever been home in the six years?” She looked at me with the compassion you’d bestow on a weak-minded child. “Ah no, I don’t go home. I’d like to but I don’t.” Only then the penny dropped: she was undocumented.
Figures are hard to come by, but they reckon anywhere between 10,000 and 50,000 undocumented Irish live and work in the US.
I envied that young Sligo woman. I envied her youth, I envied her spirit of adventure, I envied the open, exciting world that she was experiencing. Too much is made of the pain of emigration. Not that it doesn’t exist, but there can be big compensations for young people.
Alas. These days Trump is in the driving seat and steering the Republican party over a cliff-edge. I’d feel uneasy about even visiting the States. I mean, supposing Orange Face viewed my PAT+JUDE bi-weekly podcast. Or read my blogs – like this one. I could end up in a South American cell, chained to the wall.
The Irish-American population is becoming frayed and assimilated into the broad-stream of American society. But it still exists and is a delight to experience. And it will become increasingly important as we move closer to a referendum on reunification.
Don’t pity the poor Irish emigrant too much. Many of them, despite Trump, are having a ball.
Very good jude
Thank you, James…
Trump being a pig ignorant WASP hates black and brown people. Of course he is a hypocrite, all three of his wives were born outside America. As was his mother.