Irish people in mainland Europe

This article is about contemporary Irish presence in European countries. For past Irish migrations, see Flight of the Earls and Flight of the Wild Geese.

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Ethnic group

European IrishTotal population

3,900,000 Irish trips to Continental Europe in 2006. 4% of or 2.8 million Irish people live in Continental Europe (CSO).[full citation needed]
Regions with significant populations
Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia
Languages
English, Irish
Religion
Christian (Roman Catholicism, Protestantism)
Related ethnic groups
Irish people, Overseas Irish

Irish people in mainland Europe are members of the Irish diaspora that reside in Continental Europe. Most of them live in France, Germany and Spain, with smaller numbers in Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and historically Greater Russia.

## Western and Central Europe

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### Central Europe

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Irish presence in Central Europe dates back to the Middle Ages, when Irish monks established several monasteries, including the Schottenstift in Vienna in 1155.[1]

The O'Rourke family of Irish origin had a branch in Poland, the most famous member of which was Edward O'Rourke, Catholic Bishop of Gdańsk. The seats of the Polish line of the family were Wsielub and Basin.[2][3]

There were 1,830 and 257 Irish people in Poland and Slovakia, respectively, according to the 2011 Polish census and 2021 Slovak census.[4][5]

### France

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Thirty thousand Irish live in France; this number includes more than 15,000 in Paris.[6]

### Germany

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Irish citizens relative to total Irish population in Germany, 2022

Irish presence in Germany dates back to the Middle Ages; by the turn of the 13th century, Irish Benedictines established monasteries in Regensburg, Würzburg, Constance, Erfurt and Nuremberg, and several priories.[7]

Over 2,800 people moved to Germany from Ireland in 2012, including almost 800 German citizens.[8] As of 2021, about 35,000 Irish live in Germany.[9] Together with Germans interested in Irish culture, some of these emigrants organise Irish cultural events across the country.

### Low Countries

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In Belgium, St Anthony's College, Leuven was an important centre of early modern migration, hosting priests and theological students from the 1600s until the early 1980s. The college's students helped preserve national traditions and the Irish language during the penal laws period. Sean O’ Dubhghaill suggests a population of around 11,000 Irish nationals in 2019, though advertising for The Gathering Ireland 2013 claimed a much higher number of around 400,000 people with either Irish nationality or heritage.[10] Belgium's national statistics office Statbel distinguishes between Belgians, neighbouring nationalities (France, Netherlands, Luxembourg and Germany), EU and non-EU nationals, but does not disclose exact figures for individual nationalities.

There were 10,241 Irish people registered as living in the Netherlands at the beginning of 2023.[11] The leader of the Dutch agrarian party Farmer-Citizen Movement, Caroline van der Plas, is of maternal Irish descent.

According to Statec, approximately 2,400 Irish nationals reside in Luxembourg as of January 2024.[12]

## Eastern Europe

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### Latvia

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Historically, both Latvia and Ireland had been under the rule of the Vikings. Their populations also share similar cultural and genetic ties.[13] In recent centuries, particularly during the Great Famine and Ingrian War, some Irish families resettled on Latvian land; the Irish diaspora in Latvia numbered around 800 as of 2015.[14][needs update]

### Lithuania

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Lithuania is home to about 1,000 ethnic Irish.[14]

### Russia

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Main article: Irish Russians

## Gallery

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* Abbey Convent of St. Gall, located in the Swiss city with the same name, was founded by the Irish Benedictine monks.

* Chiesa di Sant'Isidoro a Capo le Case is the National Church of Ireland in Rome.

* St. Anthony's College (The Irish College) of Leuven, Belgium.

## References

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1. ^ Parsons, Nicholas (2009). Vienna: A Cultural History. Oxford University Press. p. 103\. ISBN 978-0-19-537606-7.
2. ^ Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom XIV (in Polish). Warszawa. 1895. p. 65.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
3. ^ Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom XV (in Polish). Warszawa. 1900. p. 91.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
4. ^ Ludność. Stan i struktura demograficzno-społeczna. Narodowy Spis Powszechny Ludności i Mieszkań 2011 (PDF) (in Polish). Warszawa: Główny Urząd Statystyczny. 2013. p. 261\. ISBN 978-83-7027-521-1.
5. ^ "Ethnic composition of Slovakia 2021" (in Slovak and English). Retrieved 10 January 2024.
6. ^ étrangères, Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires. "Présentation de d'Irlande". France Diplomatie : : Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires étrangères. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
7. ^ Majorossy, Judit (1997). "Irish in Central Europe in the Middle Ages. Some Aspects of the Irish Monastic and Literary Activity during the 11th–15th Centuries". International Conference of PhD Students. University of Miskolc, Hungary 11-17 August 1997. Section Proceedings: Humanities. Miskolc. pp. 144–145.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
8. ^ "Irish Times". Irish Times.
9. ^ "Irish People in the World". Archived from the original on 2023-03-07. Retrieved 2021-11-29.
10. ^ O’ Dubhghaill, Sean (2019). An Anthropology of the Irish in Belgium: Belonging, Identity and Community in Europe. Springer Link. p. 47\. ISBN 978-3-030-24147-6.
11. ^ "Bevolking; geslacht, leeftijd, generatie en migratieachtergrond, 1 januari" (in Dutch). Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). 1 January 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2024..
12. ^ "Population par sexe et par nationalité au 1er janvier" (in French). STATEC (Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques), 1 January 2024. Retrieved 25 April 2024. https://lustat.statec.lu/vis?lc=fr&pg=0&tm=irlande&df[ds]=ds release&df[id]=DF_B1101&df[ag]=LU1&df[vs]=1.0&pd=2015,2024&dq=A.
13. ^ "The Latvians and the Irish – connections of the heart". Ireland. Ireland.ie. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
14. ^ a b "The global Irish: Where do they live?". The Irish Times. 2015-02-04. Retrieved 2024-08-30.

## External links

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* http://www.irishineurope.com/
* EuropeanIrish.com - The Irish Music, Sport and Cultural Scene in Continental Europe
* Keeping in Touch Newsweek International

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