Ireland has transformed into a multicultural society, with over 15% of its workforce being of migrant descent. This article examines the presence and experiences of African immigrants in Ireland, using statistical data and historical context to provide a comprehensive overview.
Black people, also known as Black Irish, have lived in Ireland since the 18th century, concentrated in major cities and towns. Increases in immigration have led to the growth of the community across Ireland.
Population Density Map of Ireland
Demographic Trends
On 26th October, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) released Profile 5 Diversity, Migration, Ethnicity, Irish Travellers and Religion of the 2022 Census. Profile 5 looks at the diversity of the population in Ireland, including country of citizenship, ethnic group or background, and languages spoken. Census figures show that one in ten (12%) of people living in Ireland were non-Irish citizens, an increase from 11% in Census 2016.
The remaining 37% were citizens from countries outside of the EU and UK, including countries in Asia (16%) and Africa (5%). 76,425 people identified as Black or Black Irish, equivalent to 1.5% of the population. In April 2016, there were 535,475 non-Irish nationals living in Ireland, a 1.6 per cent decrease on the 2011 figure (544,357). The proportion of the population who were non-Irish nationals has also fallen from 12.2 per cent in 2011 to 11.6 per cent in 2016.
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Persons with dual-Irish nationality increased by 87.4 per cent to 104,784 persons in 2016. As a proportion of its resident population, Galway City was the most multi-cultural with 18.6 per cent of its residents recorded as non-Irish. Of these, Polish nationals were dominant. Just over 17 per cent of the resident population of Dublin city were non-Irish with Polish, Romanian, UK nationals, Brazilian, Italian, Spanish and French making up more than half of the total 91,876 non-Irish in the city in 2016.
Over the 5 year period since 2011, only eight counties recorded an increase in their non-Irish national population. Looking at non-Irish population by town shows that Ballyhaunis had the highest proportion of non-Irish nationals with 941 persons representing 39.5 per cent of the total population.
Historical Context
Black people, Africans and people of African descent have lived in Ireland in small numbers since the 18th century. Throughout the 18th century they were mainly concentrated in the major cities and towns, especially in the Limerick, Cork, Belfast, Kinsale, Waterford, and Dublin areas. During the 18th century it was common and even fashionable for middle-class Anglo-Irish families to take Black servants into their households as a sign of wealth and prestige. In particular, having a young Black servant attend an Anglo-Irish lady of the house was considered a sign of exceptional wealth and high position in society.
One of the most well-known Black servants in Ireland during this time was Tony Small. During the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783), Small fled his owners from South Carolina, finding Lord Edward Fitzgerald in a near-death condition and assisting his recovery. Subsequently, Lord Edward returned to Ireland, where Tony Small became a dear friend to the family.
Although many Black servants in Anglo-Irish households were enslaved Africans, not all of the few Black people in Ireland during this period were enslaved. Many were independent domestic workers, travelling musicians, artists, soldiers and tradesmen. Others were servants who received a salary and were considered free people. A small number of formerly enslaved Black Americans relocated to Ireland. In addition to Tony Small, the preacher John Jea and the scholar William G.
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Some Black people who settled in Ireland assimilated into the wider Irish population, including entering into mixed marriages and having children with white Irish people. 'Mulatto Jack' was also a child of interracial marriage. Abducted from Ireland in the early 18th century, he was subsequently sold as a slave in Antigua. After helping plot a slave rebellion, he was discovered by the colonists, and his release was negotiated for several months until agreed upon provided his instant deportation back to Ireland.
One estimate suggests that, over the course of the 18th century, the total number of Black people in Ireland may have been between 2,000 and 3,000, though not all present at the same time. In the mid-20th century, the Irish government ran schemes aimed at attracting students from African nations, with the aim of providing them with skills that would be useful in the growth of newly independent countries. In 1962, there were 1,100 African students in Ireland, comprising roughly a tenth of the student population.
The increase of Ireland's non-white population started with the Irish boom of 1997 to 2009 is due in part to the laws which had governed Irish citizenship since the creation of the Republic of Ireland in 1937. These laws, which granted citizenship jus soli, were, for a period, interpreted by the Department of Justice as allowing parents who were not Irish citizens to remain in the state based on the rights of their Irish-born citizen children.
In 2001 the government under Taoiseach Bertie Ahern sent Tánaiste Mary Harney on a world trip to invite people to come to Ireland. Harney visited 5 countries in Africa, including Nigeria and South Africa which eventually saw many people migrating to Ireland. The Celtic Tiger boom of 1992-2007 also increased immigration into Ireland from all parts of the world, including Africa, and this led to delays in processing applications at the Garda National Immigration Bureau.
Some failed asylum cases received considerable media attention, such as that of Pamela Izevbekhai, who claimed that her daughters were likely to be subjected to female genital mutilation following deportation, and that another daughter had died from the same procedure in 1994. Individual areas have been noted as having larger groups of people descended from Sub-Saharan Africa than most of the country.
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A number of African American soldiers were stationed in Northern Ireland as part of American involvement in World War II. The reaction of those in Northern Ireland was 'largely color-blind', with acceptance generally offered from both Catholic and Protestant communities, who viewed the visiting soldiers primarily as American. The Stormont government refused to enact segregation laws at the behest of the American military, though there were instances of unofficial segregation and racism, largely drawn from ignorance.
It is suggested that there was, however, differing treatment of white American and black American troops by the Northern Irish population, especially in the later years of the war. The lack of a color bar, by and large, in treatment in Northern Ireland led to feelings that equality was attainable at home as it was abroad. Many women who involved themselves in relationships with American soldiers, black or white, risked ostracism by their community.
At the time of the 2001 United Kingdom census, of the total population of Northern Ireland (1,685,267), 255 people described their ethnicity as Black Caribbean, 494 as Black African and 387 as Other Black, meaning that the total Black population was 1,136. As well as help from the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, the EU-funded Afro-Community Support Organisation Northern Ireland (ACSONI) was formed in 2003 to represent the views of black people.
It was noted that approximately 275 mixed-race children were born and held in Mother and Baby Homes between 1922 and 1998. Pregnancies between White Irish and black couples rarely resulted in marriage, with resulting children often taken into these institutions, leaving them with incomplete records of family history. Mixed-race children were subject to discrimination in these institutions, with fewer being offered for adoption at the same rate as White Irish babies.
Ireland has never elected a Teachta Dála (TD) or Senator of African descent. Likewise, there has never been any Black cabinet member, or leader of a major government institution. Black people are underrepresented in Irish politics. In 2007, Nigerian refugee and politician Rotimi Adebari was elected as mayor of Portlaoise, the first Black mayor in Ireland.
As of 2021, there were only two Black councillors out of 949 - Cllr. Uruemu Adejinmi, who represents Fianna Fáil on Longford County Council, and Cllr. Yemi Adenuga, a former Gogglebox Ireland star who represents Fine Gael on Meath County Council. Adenuga was the first Black female councillor elected in Ireland.
Former asylum seeker Ellie Kisyombe, originally from Malawi, ran for Dublin's North Inner City constituency with the Social Democrats during the 2019 Local Elections, becoming the first former asylum seeker to seek election in the Republic of Ireland. Track and field athlete Israel Olatunde is a sprinter who has represented Ireland on numerous occasions.
Challenges and Discrimination
Despite anti-discrimination policies, discrimination towards Black Africans persist across Europe including in Ireland. A 2016 survey of over 25,500 migrants across the 28 EU countries by the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights shows that respondents with North African, Roma and Sub-Saharan African background indicated the highest levels of discrimination based on ethnic or immigrant background (at 45%, 41%, and 39%, respectively) (EU-MIDIS 11). The respondents reported experiencing recurring discrimination with an average of 4.6 times a year, and with the highest five-year rate reported in the area of employment.
Compared to White respondents, another study of almost 15,000 adults in Ireland showed that Black respondents also report experiencing higher discrimination in the workplace (McGinnity et al. 2017). Two Irish studies that focused on citizenship and the economic recession showed that visibly different ethnic groups, in particular, Black African and non-white European groups reported very high rates of discrimination when looking for work, and their experience of discrimination did not decrease over time (Kingston et al. 2015).
In 2014, despite the recent access of naturalised Irish of African descent to European citizenship, they were reported to be 16% less likely to be employed than native Irish (Kelly et al. 2016). Racial inequality in the labour market is however not new in Europe. Racial inequality in the labour market is however not new in Europe.
In a study concerning African migrants in Ireland, Coakley and Mac Einri (2011) maintained that although the families they interviewed were all motivated to engage in the world of waged work, they consistently referred to problems encountered particularly during the job search process.
In the 2011 census, 60% of white Europeans as against 37% of Black Africans were in employment, while 1% of white Europeans were said to be looking for their first jobs against 4.5% of Black Africans. While many might credit this disparity to the 2009 recession, the 2016 census shows that the labour market outcome of Blacks in Ireland has worsened. For example, Western Europeans recorded the lowest unemployment rate (French, 7%, Germans, 8%, Italians 9%) followed by Eastern Europeans; Black Africans recorded the highest unemployment rate at over five times that of Western Europeans at 42.3% (Nigerians 43%, Congolese 63%).
In 2017 the Garda Representative Association (GRA), which has around 10,500 members, reported there was not a single person of African or Caribbean origin in the force.
A résumé call-back field experiment carried out in Ireland showed that immigrants in general experience disadvantage in terms of wages and occupational position (McGinnity et al. 2009). The authors of the experiment found that candidates with Irish names were over twice as likely to be invited to interview for advertised jobs as candidates with identifiably non-Irish names, even though both submitted equivalent CVs.
While the Irish study did not find significant differences in the degree of discrimination faced by candidates with Asian, African or German names, a similar OECD 2014 report which mapped the nationalities against which rich countries discriminate showed the résumés of Africans and Blacks in Ireland had the highest representation for those with a call-back ratio greater than two.
Data from the Central Statistics Office, Census Profile 5. Although race has been widely acknowledged as an illusion that is socially constructed, skin colour and nationality of descent continue to influence socioeconomic outcomes.
Participants were asked if they had ever lived outside of the Republic of Ireland for a period of one year or longer. The question also asked the year of arrival in the State and the country of previous residence. 46% of Irish households who immigrated reported home ownership, compared to 9% of non-Irish households. In total, over 13,000 (80%) of households headed by a non-Irish citizen who migrated in the year leading to the census rented their home from a private landlord with an average weekly rent of €372.
Contributions and Integration
The Truth About the Black Irish - 66 #irishhistory
Despite the challenges, African immigrants have made significant contributions to Irish society. Many Irish people of African descent are Gaeilgeoirs (speakers of the Irish language). The poem 'For Our Mothers', by Nigerian-Irish poet Felicia Olusanya (FeliSpeaks), is part of the 2023 Leaving Certificate school curriculum.
Over 750,000 people living in Ireland spoke a language other than Irish or English at home. Polish was the most common language spoken at home with 124,000 people speaking the language. 81% of these reported to speak English well or very well. Romanian was the next most common foreign language with over 50,000 people speaking it.
In a recent study where I compared the labour market outcomes of migrants of Nigerian, Polish and Spanish descent living and working in Ireland (Joseph, 2017), three data sources showed that Ireland has a white over black ascendency. What this means is that white Europeans are stratified at the top of the economic ladder and Blacks at the bottom.
The analysis of a database of 625 people of migrant descent who accessed an employability programme (EP) between 2009 and 2011, after controlling for all measurable variables, shows that race appeared to be the only macro variable that accounted for any significant difference in outcome in the participants’ quest to attain paid employment. However, when the participant’s progression was categorised into paid and unpaid employment, the Nigerian group recorded the lowest progression rate into paid employment (at 40 per cent), as against Poland (60 per cent) and Spain (69 per cent).
Despite the widely held belief that Blacks in Ireland are spongers who are unwilling to work, the data show that Nigerian migrants had a higher participation rate in the labour market than any other group. This is in spite of the difficulties reported by the Black interviewees in navigating the labour market.
Nigerian Community in Ireland
According to the 2022 census, there were 8,368 resident Nigerians in Ireland in 2022. 20,559 persons usually resident in the state in 2022 were born in Nigeria, an increase of 3,990 since 2016. The first significant mass-migration of Nigerians to Ireland comprised Nigerians from the United Kingdom. Most came only with the intention of extending their UK visas and then returning, but the ones who failed settled down in Ireland as illegal immigrants.
Among Nigerian respondents to a 2008 survey, 40% had no friends or family in the country at all prior to arrival, double the rate of other migrant groups such as Indians and Lithuanians (EU citizens), though slightly less than Chinese. Prior to 2004, citizenship laws entailed that any child born in Ireland was an Irish citizen, regardless of the nationality of the parent or their link to Ireland.
A 2008 survey found that 86% of Nigerian respondents had been employed before migration to Ireland, while just 8% were full-time students. 27% had been self-employed, a much higher rate than other migrant groups surveyed. 25% had worked as managers and executives, 11% in business and commerce, 17% in local or central governments, 12% in health-related occupations, and 5% in personal services.
Compared to other migrant groups (including fellow EU citizens), Nigerians have been noted for their involvement in electoral politics and community organisations. There are many Nigerian organisations in Ireland. Most are affiliated with the Houston, Texas-based Nigerian Union Diaspora (NUD), which is the umbrella Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) for the economic and political empowerment of the people of Nigerian descent outside Nigeria.
Community organisations established by Nigerians within Ireland include the Nigerian Association of Ireland and the Igbo Association of Ireland. A Nigerian-run beauty pageant, The Most Beautiful African Girl is also in Ireland. Nigerians have also established several magazines such as Bold & Beautiful and Xclusive.
According to the Irish population and housing census of 2011, 10,093 people spoke Yoruba at home, making it the most widely spoken African language in the country, while 3,875 spoke Igbo. In a 2008 survey, about one-third of Nigerian respondents were in education on a part-time or full-time basis, mostly at tertiary institutions.
Map of Nigeria
Recent Developments
The Monitoring Report on Integration 2024 indicates that migrant employment and rates of participation in the labour market have remained higher than those of Irish-born residents since 2022. Labour market outcomes for African migrants show continued improvement, maintaining progress first observed in the Monitoring Report on Integration 2022. Migrants also face higher levels of poverty and deprivation than Irish-born residents. Recent positive developments in migrant integration include strong growth in the African employment rate and improvements in citizenship processing times.
In 2023, over 18,200 naturalisation certificates were issued, up more than a third from 2022. Political participation of immigrants has increased, with the number of immigrants both running and winning a seat doubling in the 2024 local elections, albeit from a very low base.
The findings paint a mixed picture, with many positive outcomes for migrants and some more concerning outcomes. This may indicate that foreign qualifications are not receiving the recognition they deserve, leaving some migrants overqualified for their jobs.
Conclusion
The presence of African immigrants has enriched Irish society, bringing diverse perspectives and skills. While challenges such as discrimination and labor market inequalities persist, ongoing efforts towards integration and inclusion are crucial for ensuring a more equitable future for all residents of Ireland.
