We talk about the brain drain as though we’re concerned but we don’t actually try to solve it!

Belfast City Airport frontage

Jonny McCormick is the Director of Rosseau Ltd and runs a podcast called Spoke. In the true nature of a soapbox post, this is a ‘one perspective’ rant – but I’d love to hear your thoughts on what I’m saying so please do let me know what you think in the comments! We constantly hear about the brain drain in Northern Ireland. How our talented young people (and increasingly people of all ages) are leaving to find work and opportunities …

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Why I Left My Job and My Favourite Place in the World

Emma Canavan is a former journalist with BBC Northern Ireland and is currently travelling around the world this is her story from her blog and we wanted to share her story with you. When I was younger, through my teens and university life, I had high expectations of what life has to offer. I wanted to be a journalist and a presenter. I wanted to travel the world, see amazing places, meet amazing people and, somehow, help make the world …

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After Haass: Risk of growing local disputes into toxic regional problems

I’ve got my iPhone beside me as I write. I’m writing on my laptop. But if I break off and have a spare moment later I can pick up this article on the iPhone and continue working. I use the little thing for calls, texting, taking photos, taking video, editing video, video conferencing, scanning articles, as an internet connection for my laptop, GPS navigation, and – of course – surfing the internet. I can use my fingerprint to unlock it, …

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The brain drain from Northern Ireland continues…

I wrote a few weeks about the increasing brain drain from our province. Typically in Northern Ireland we view emigration as a problem that mostly impacts the Irish Republic rather than us. However, today thanks to a question by Phil Flanagan to the Finance Minister, we have found that emigration from Northern Ireland now is actually worse than it was during some of the worst years of the Troubles. Now here I must put a note that emigration from Northern …

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Colin Broderick’s ‘That’s That’: Book Review

While the phrase popularized by Seamus Heaney ‘whatever you say, say nothing’ endures as a code for Northern Irish character toughened by the Troubles, Colin Broderick’s telling of his childhood reveals the language unspoken. He gives us a glimpse at those in the IRA who were never by necessity singled out by their supporters, but who carried themselves with an air of entitlement, entrusted as they were by the Catholic community with their protection and their idealism in a time …

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Just saying: “Any crack? No. Youse all f***ed off”

Great stuff… Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty

Irish emigration – most to go Britain

I’m probably lagging behind on this so apologies if you’re au fait but I’ve just caught up with the Irish( republic)  emigrant figures for the last year  – 76, 400 to end of April 2011, up 17%, according to the Irish Times report. I decided to search for them as most of the news stories I saw last year highlighted the US and old Commonwealth countries as emigration destinations but barely mentioned Britain. Can that really be true I thought? …

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The Fight to Keep an Irish Cultural Centre II

I’m grateful there’s been a great deal of interest, after my letter in yesterday’s Irish Times and post here, in what the Irish Cultural Centre is about and what makes it distinctive. I’d wondered if I might provide a bit more detail, for those kind enough to be curious. There’s a website devoted to Saving the Centre, explaining its fundraising efforts and the campaign to keep the doors open, and offering a bit more information for the curious.   (The Centre’s principal …

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The fight to keep an Irish Cultural Centre

I just thought I might share a letter which the Irish Times ran this morning.  (This seems a bit unhumble, because it’s by me, but I’ll ask all of your forgiveness.) Madam, – I was pleased to read of Culture Ireland’s “Year-long, €5 million, arts-driven charm offensive on the US” (LifeCulture, June 3rd). It is a shame for those emigrating to London that the home of Irish culture here might well be lost within nine months. Hammersmith’s Irish Cultural Centre does …

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Emigration returns to top of Ireland’s pile of concern…

Fascinating set of figures from Hays Ireland: # 35% of the respondents left Ireland during the last three years to find work, some because they felt like they had no other option. # Of those who left, 27% headed to the UK, 22% to elsewhere in Europe, 15% to Australasia, and only 7% headed to North America. # Three out of five emigrants said that the quality of life was better where they had moved. According to the ESRI, the …

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