To be fair, all is not rosy for Poles in Ireland. Any more than it is for the indigenous population in these times. Many will testify to experiencing discrimination getting jobs and at work, to the fear that they will be first to be let go if the worst happens, to money worries, that finding housing is an uphill struggle. Some feel isolated. Some return home, though fewer than their government might hope.
But, it appears, the overall experience is/has been a good one for a community that the embassy says has grown since 2004 to 150,000, and is both stable and mostly committed to this State for the long haul. The evidence of our series this week is of bright and enthusiastic young people – 92 per cent were under 44, according to the 2011 census – with new families, integrating enthusiastically into communities the length and breadth of the island.
They maintain a strong sense of their Polishness and are working hard to pass it on – there are 40 weekend schools now operating here, five under the auspices of the ministry of education in Warsaw. They offer tuition in the Polish language, history and culture, as well as afterschool activities such as scouts and art classes. More than 16,000 Polish children are enrolled in our national schools and a further 7,000 attend secondary schools.
The nature of the community has also changed significantly – Poles will now be found in all walks of life and business, Irish and Polish. Indeed the business profile of many towns is being transformed: in Killarney alone there are three large Polish supermarkets, a Polish tailor, a Polish restaurant, Polish hairdressers, a Polish tyre centre and Polish beauty salons with an increasingly mixed clientele. Dublin now has two Polish-language law firms and several Polish health clinics.
The influx has brought external benefits too – the Irish-Polish trading relationship is now worth €1.5 billion a year.
Polish energy and culture is changing Ireland for the better: witamy was – na zdrowie! Welcome, cheers!