Could the Irish government do more to involve the diaspora in public affairs?
Of the estimated 3 million Irish citizens living abroad, 1.2 million were actually born in Ireland. Two-thirds are in Britain, 500,000 in USA, 250,000 in Australia, 75,000 in Canada, 40,000 in New Zealand, and 35,000 in South Africa. A further 40,000 are in other EU countries than Britain. It has been estimated that there are 70 million people abroad with Irish ancestry. The amended Article 2 of the Republic s Constitution, changed as a result of the Belfast Agreement, states that “the Irish nation cherishes its special affinity with people of Irish ancestry living abroad who share its cultural identity and heritage”. This represents a new deterritorialised definition of Irishness. Presidents Robinson and McAleese have both suggested that the diaspora has a role to play in the peace process: half of Irish abroad are Protestant. But, according to the opinion of Paul Gillespie writing in The Irish Times, the diaspora has little or no official recognition in government, especially when co
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