Return migration from England to Ireland: the impact of accent on feelings of belonging

The advent of the ‘Celtic Tiger’ saw Ireland transform from a country with high levels of emigration to one of significant immigration. Many of those who migrated to Ireland in the past years are ‘returned migrants’; people who left Ireland, often to work in the UK, and have now returned ‘home’. In many cases they have brought their foreign-born children ‘home’ with them, and these ‘children’ are the focus of this study. This paper examines the impact that accent may have on feelings of belonging of the children of returned migrants from England to Ireland. The qualitative approach in this research is based on interviews with five participants; all of whom moved to Ireland, from England, at the age of ten years or older and are now adults. The research explores the ways in which accent has worked to either help them belong, or mark them as ‘outsiders’; and the findings and conclusions are drawn using a range of theoretical frameworks, such as theories around ethnicity, migration, diaspora, social and cultural capital, and social identity.