Welcoming the stranger
Subtitle: Irish migrant welfare in Britain since 1957
By: Patricia Kennedy
Publisher: Irish Academic Press
Published: 2015
Place of publication: Sallins, Co. Kildare, Ireland
Language: eng
Number of pages: 252
ISBN-13: 9780716532941; 9780716532934; 9780716532958
Subjects: Irish; Religious aspects; Church and social problems; Immigrants; Charities; Chaplains; Irish Chaplaincy in Britain (Scheme); Clergy; Social conditions; Catholic Church; Emigration and immigration; History
Description: This lively book tells the untold story of the crucial work carried out by the Irish Emigrant Chaplaincy on behalf of Irish emigrants in Britain for over half a century. The service was established by the Catholic Church in 1957 and the hidden history revealed in the book includes: political intrigue, economic booms and busts, MI5, international relations, miscarriages of justice, Papal Encyclicals, and the struggle for equality and justice. The work of the Irish Emigrant Chaplaincy was conducted against a background of battling the odds and the establishment. It's the story of Irish and British migration history in modern times and Anglo-Irish relations unfolding over turbulent and politically sensitive decades, and comes at a time when the Catholic Church is under increased scrutiny in relation to child sexual abuse and, more recently, the scandal of the Magdalene Laundries. Based on archival research and over 80 interviews with those who benefited from, or administered, this vital service, the roll-call also includes the most prominent world and church leaders of the period: Margaret Thatcher, John Hume, Mary Robinson, Mary McAleese, Cardinal Hume, and Cardinal O Fiaich. Welcoming the Stranger is the first book to demonstrate how the Irish government was forced to take responsibility for the Irish abroad. [Subject: Social History, Irish Studies, British Studies, Diaspora Studies, Migration Studies, Religious Studies]5880 Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (EBSCO, viewed April 7, 2015).
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 240-245) and index.
Table of contents: title: Cover; Front Matter; Title Page; Contents; Foreword; Acknowledgements; List of Plates; Introduction; Chapter 1; Emigration from Ireland to Britain; title: The Start of the Journey; Chapter 2; The Church and Migration: Universal and Local; Chapter 3; Origins of the Irish Emigrant Chaplaincy; Chapter 4; Ministering to Labourers and Hotel Workers; Chapter 5; Reaching out around Britain; Chapter 6; Influencing Housing Policy in Britain; Chapter 7 ; Expansion and Consolidation; Chapter 8; The Irish Council for Prisoners Overseas (ICPO); Chapter 9; The Task Force on Policy Regarding Emigrants; Chapter 10 From 2007 Onwards