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Hunger for Home
Irish emigration to Britain never had the same sense of permanence as emigration to North America. The relative nearness of the two islands meant that emigrants could keep in close contact with their families in Ireland and frequently travel home for holidays. From the middle of the 20th century improved and cheaper sea passage across the Irish Sea made visits home more feasible. Irish emigrants in Leeds were favourably placed as the city was well-connected by rail with the city ports of Liverpool and Holyhead which offered regular sailings to Ireland. The introduction of car ferries made it easier to bring the whole family to Ireland, and as air-travel became cheaper emigrants could fly from Leeds / Bradford Airport into Dublin, or directly into the smaller regional airports, such as Knock or Galway.
Holidays
The arrival of emigrants home on holiday was cause for celebration in rural Ireland. The young and single working emigrant could afford to go home on holiday once or twice a year, often for a week or a fortnight during the summer and at Christmas. This was an opportunity to spend time with parents and family, to catch up with friends and neighbours, and also with other emigrants who were home on holidays. Information about life in urban Britain, about work and living conditions, and indeed the social scene, was shared locally and often greatly influenced others to follow in their footsteps. During the summer, in particular, the extra pair of hands to help with farmwork or on the bog was much appreciated.
For those with young families the greater expenses involved in going home often restricted the number of trips. Women in better circumstances could spend whole summers in Ireland with their children, their husbands often staying behind to work and joining them later. Children born and raised in Leeds experienced a much different world in Ireland, and for a few short weeks rural life replaced urban life. The redbrick terraced housing and backstreet playgrounds greatly contrasted with farmsteads and open fields. Children were allowed greater freedom to roam than their parents would ever allow in the city. Grandparents, aunts and uncles made a fuss of the visitors and children were the centre of attention. They got to know their Irish cousins, who would often join them in Leeds when they were old enough to emigrate. For many these childhood holidays and the sounds and smells of rural Ireland would long remain as idyllic memories. At the end of the summer tears were invariably shed as families were again separated.
Family Ties
It was not unusual for Irish women return home to give birth, or to have their children baptised. Sometimes, too, a sister living in Ireland might go Britain to assist a sister who had given birth. There were other less joyous reasons for return trips. Emigrants returned home to care for sick or elderly family member, or to help out with farmwork during such difficult times.
It was common for emigrants to return to Ireland at short notice following the death of a loved one. The tradition of the Irish wake - where family, friends and neighbours gather to celebrate life and mourn death - was strong, particularly in rural Ireland. Emigrants often didn’t return to Britain for several days, much to the annoyance of some employers. For many, the death of parents affected the pattern of visiting Ireland, and often marked the end of "going home", particularly if all their brothers and sisters had emigrated.
Return Migration
Many Irish emigrants left with the intention of spending a few years working in Britain before returning home to settle. The reality was that most settled in Britain and gradually lost the ambition to return. Some did return, however! The 1970s witnessed a short economic boom in Ireland and as a result some emigrants took the opportunity to return to Ireland with their British-born children. The return to live in Ireland was often as difficult as the initial move to Britain, and the difficulties encountered were the exact reverse of those experienced when first migrating, such as problem adjusting to the slower pace of life, and moving from an anonymous society to one where everyone "knows your business". Irish writer Frank O’Connor wryly observed that "an Irish person’s private life begins in Holyhead!" Other problems remained the same whilst they were away: the lack of a satisfactory social life, poor economic situation and severity of the Irish winter. Many who returned soon realised that holidaying in Ireland and living in Ireland were two very different things. Some adapted, others re-migrated to Britain.
During the Celtic Tiger years, too, the unprecedented level of prosperity enticed Irish emigrants to return to their native land. At this time a different set of problems were encountered. Ireland had gone through dramatic social and economic change in a short space of time, and was virtually unrecognisable to those who had left decades earlier.
