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. 70 million Irish 1st and 2nd Generation live abroad, 4% in Continental Europe, equates to 2.8 million Irish people in Continental Europe(Central Statistics Office (Ireland)[full citation needed].)
Regions with significant populations
All over continental Europe, particularly France and Spain
Languages
English, Irish
Religion
Christian (Roman Catholicism, Protestantism), Atheism
Related ethnic groups
Irish people, Overseas Irish

Irish people in mainland Europe are members of the Irish diaspora who reside in mainland Europe.

## Demographics[edit]

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While the Irish population in Continental Europe is about 450,000-550,000, it was estimated that there are 2.8 million first, second, and third-generation Irish living there.[citation needed] There are an estimated 5 million people with active interests in Irish music, Irish sports, Irish dancing, Irish culture and Irish literature. For example, Poland's Irish Embassy has confirmed that while there are approximately 500 Irish residents in the country, there are between 50,000 and 100,000 people involved in the Irish music, dancing and cultural scene. Italy, with an estimated Irish population of 2,000 to 5,000, has a website receiving 100,000 regular visitors, mostly covering Irish music and culture in Italy. Similar levels of interest in Irish culture exist all over Europe.

## Western and Central Europe[edit]

### Central Europe[edit]

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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]

There were 1,830 and 257 Irish people in Poland and Slovakia, respectively, according to the 2011 Polish census and 2021 Slovak census.[2][3]

### France[edit]

Thirty thousand Irish live in France; this number includes more than 15,000 in Paris.[4]

### Germany[edit]

Irish citizens relative to total Irish population in Germany, 2022

Irish presence in Germany dates back to the Middle Ages, as by the turn of the 13th century Irish Benedictines established monasteries in Regensburg, Würzburg, Constance, Erfurt and Nuremberg, and several priories.[5]

Over 2,800 people moved to Germany from Ireland in 2012, including almost 800 German citizens.[6] As of 2021, about 35,000 Irish live in Germany.[7] Together with Germans interested in Irish culture, some of these emigrants organise Irish cultural events across the country.

### Low Countries[edit]

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.[8] Belgium's national statstics 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.[9] 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.[10]

## Irish Russians[edit]

Main article: Irish Russians

## Gallery[edit]

* 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[edit]

1. ^ Parsons, Nicholas (2009). Vienna: A Cultural History. Oxford University Press. p. 103\. ISBN 978-0-19-537606-7.
2. ^ 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.
3. ^ "Ethnic composition of Slovakia 2021" (in Slovak and English). Retrieved 10 January 2024.
4. ^ 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.
5. ^ 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)
6. ^ "Irish Times". Irish Times.
7. ^ "Irish People in the World".
8. ^ 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.
9. ^ "Bevolking; geslacht, leeftijd, generatie en migratieachtergrond, 1 januari" (in Dutch). Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). 01 January 2023. Accessed 25 April 2024. https://opendata.cbs.nl/statline/#/CBS/nl/dataset/85510NED/table?ts=1714047105563}}.
10. ^ "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.

## External links[edit]

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

* v
* t
* e

Irish diaspora

Americas|

* Argentina
* Brazil
* Canada
* Newfoundland
* Quebec
* Caribbean
* Barbados
* Jamaica
* Montserrat
* Puerto Rico
* Saint Kitts
* Chile
* Mexico
* United States
* Baltimore
* Boston
* Chicago
* Holyoke, MA
* Indianapolis
* Louisville
* New York
* Omaha
* Philadelphia
* St. Paul
* Scotch-Irish
* Syracuse
* Uruguay
* Irish Traveller Americans

Asia|

* India
* Japan

Europe|

* Mainland Europe
* Great Britain
* Scotland
* Russia

Oceania|

* Australia
* New Zealand

Related topics: Military diaspora, Wild Geese, Flight of the Earls
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