Reluctant Diasporas of Northern Ireland: Migrant Narratives of Home, Conflict, Difference

Abstract

This article discusses diaspora with specific regard to Northern Ireland as a contested homeland, now vaunted as a post-conflict zone. Taking a practice-led approach, I examine evidence of diasporic consciousness and transnational practices through life-narrative interviews with migrants from Northern Ireland during two studies on contemporary migration (2004–08). I conclude that developing a sense of belonging to the Irish diaspora may be problematic for Catholics, Protestants and others originating within the contested space of Northern Ireland. I suggest that studying local and family diasporas in the Irish context, with a focus on individual agency, may ultimately be more useful in understanding migration and its impact on processes of identity formation.

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