How the Irish in Britain feel about Brexit

This week The Irish Times asked readers in the UK how they intend to vote on the EU referendum and why. Here's what they had to say.

Jamie Ralph (28)

Communications professional, London. From Co Galway; moved to the UK in 2013
My vote to remain will be heavily influenced by what the European Union has done for Ireland. That feels rather selfish given I am being asked to decide on the future of Britain, and not Ireland.

People view the EU differently in Britain than they do in Ireland. The roads are not dotted with “funded by the European Union” banners nor did they buy into the single European currency. Britain would have survived the recession and financial crisis without the EU. Could we say the same for Ireland?

The generations of Irish emigrants who have come before us are entitled to feel differently. The Ireland they were born and bred in was not an EU/European Economic Community member and I’m sure some of them will be voting for their adopted country to leave. For my generation, the EU is nothing but a positive entity.

Jessica Hyland (29)

Video game artist, Portsmouth. From Dublin; moved to the UK in 2005
It's unlikely my career will ever take me back home, but in the case of a Brexit I might look into it, less from necessity than discomfort with what such an outcome says about the values of too many people in this country.

The freedom to live and work anywhere in the EU is an amazing thing that everyone in the EU, whether they choose to exercise that right or not, benefits from. Allowing people to work or study or settle wherever suits them best makes our communities more diverse and tolerant of different cultural values.

I think a lot of Brits overestimate the negative impact of EU migrants; we pay far more in taxes than we take in social welfare, and we have valuable skills and perspectives that contribute to local and national economies.

Michael O’Neill

Moved to Britain from Northern Ireland in 1976
I voted in the 1974 UK referendum to join the Common Market (as it was then). I now intend to vote Leave. I am disenchanted with the power of bureaucrats in Europe who dictate to elected parliaments which laws they can and cannot implement. I may not agree with acts of parliament, but I am able to influence them through a vote.

This one factor, in my opinion, outweighs any other. The economy, immigration, environment and other issues are less important than a democratic power to influence policy. What I voted for in 1974 is not what I am living through now.

Kevin Morrison (54)

Senior project manager in financial services, London. From Derry City; moved to Britain in 1980
I've decided after a lot of research to vote Leave. My principle reasons are over regulation; the EU is a very inefficient and costly organisation; and the anticipated population growth in the southeast of England, where basic infrastructure is already at creaking point on housing, transport, NHS and education. I don't believe it is the Taoiseach's role to come across the lake and lecture us on how to vote. People from the Republic of Ireland who live here don't get a vote back home.

Róisín Buckley (31)

Research assistant at Imperial College London. Moved to the UK from Co Clare (via Australia) in 2013
Since coming to London I have had scholarships and research support from both Norwegian and Spanish companies, to study at Imperial. I am voting to remain because EU membership supports science, research, international collaboration and researcher mobility. Leaving the EU would have a negative impact on UK universities and reduce the opportunities in research here for Irish people like me.

Joanna Clarkson (54)

Subtitle editor, Kent. Moved to the UK in 1982
I can't think of a single friend who is in favour of Brexit, and while I suppose my friends might be considered left leaning and liberal, there is a worrying level of disengagement with Europe, casual racism, and certainly a degree of xenophobia in the Leave campaign. So many people are now seeking out an Irish granny, so that if the worst comes to the worst, they can still be citizens of Europe. If Ireland and the UK didn't have a "special relationship", I'd be booted out for not earning £35,000 even though I've worked here for 34 years.

Kevin McPhillips (52)

Freelance change manager, Linlithgow, Scotland. Moved to UK from Co Dublin in 1986
I've long considered myself European, and often remember the phrase from reading Peig at school "is ar scáth a chéile a mhairimid" – we live in each other's shadow. The principle is still the same. To leave would put an invisible wall between the UK and her neighbours.

Michael Curtin (60)

Retired police officer, northwest England. Born in UK; father from Co Clare
I will be voting to leave. My main reason is the contempt shown for democracy by the EU, for example the imposition of the EU constitution after it was rejected by the people of France and the Netherlands. The Irish were told, "wrong answer try again", after voting against the Lisbon Treaty. EU commissioners impose laws on people of the EU who have no ability to vote them in or out of office.

I have loyalties to both Ireland and the UK, but I feel strongly the wish for the UK to return to the democracy it was before it entered the EU. As many would say, I want my country back.

Oscar Crentsil (23)

Postgraduate biochemical engineering student at University College London. Originally from Mullingar ; moved to the UK in 2015
As a young adult it can be hard to find politics interesting, but the Brexit debate is everywhere you turn here in London. I'm going to vote Remain because I wouldn't have been able to study here if I was considered a non-EU student, due to the massive difference in fees for EU and non-EU students. They say it is likely there will still be free movement between Ireland and England in the case of a Brexit, but this can't be guaranteed, and the last thing I want is to have to apply for a visa every time I visit the UK in the future, as my father lives in Birmingham and I have lots of friends in London now.

John Garry

Software engineer, Cambridge. Originally from Dublin; moved to the UK in 2005
I am going to vote to remain. This is primarily due to the dependency Ireland has on the UK. If the UK were to leave the EU, it would have a devastating effect on the Irish economy. So it will be a patriotic vote.

If I were British, I would probably vote to leave the EU. I believe in the single market, but I also believe the power of European law has greatly diminished national sovereignty. The people of a country should be able to make their own laws.

Declan McSweeney (56)

Works for a homeless charity in Liverpool. Originally from Co Offaly; moved to the UK in 2011

I will be voting to Remain for many reasons. To leave would be to step into the dark, into total uncertainty regarding trading arrangements. I am very conscious of the effects which Brexit is likely to have on the Irish economy and the issue of the relationship between the Republic, as an EU state, and Northern Ireland outside the EU. One of the main arguments put forward for Brexit is reducing immigration from EU countries, but I can see no credible explanation from people like Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers about how a border of 500km can be adequately monitored. Simply saying that the common travel area predates the EU ignores the fact that there is now a considerable movement of people which clearly did not exist in the days of the Iron Curtain.

The Brexit camp does not see the irony that while they see themselves as British patriots, their actions may well lead to the destruction of the UK. If England votes to leave, and Scotland to remain, I have no doubt Scottish nationalism will intensify and there will be a renewed demand for an independence referendum. An independent Scotland is likely to join the EU. The implications of such a move for Northern Ireland, whose unionist population has historically been much closer to the Scots than the English, are difficult to predict.

Anne Ward (66)

Illustrator, Totnes. Moved to the UK from Dublin in 1973
I'll be voting to remain as will my three daughters - the eldest was born in Holles Street Dublin before we left to come over here in 1973 - and their partners. If Britain comes out, which I hope it won't, I'm all set to renew my Irish passport and return to Ireland.

I live in a small town in southern England which is very liberal and where the majority of people will be voting to stay in.

I worry about what Brexit would do to both the North and the Republic if borders have to be reinstated. Having lived both in Dublin (where I was born) and in Belfast where I studied (and where my mother is from, before she escaped to Dublin) I remember the border and how porous it was. Reinstating that would be a step backwards. Tariffs would have to be imposed on goods and services and it would undo all the good work achieved by the Good Friday Agreement, which I believe was helped along by incentives like generous subsidies for the North from the EU. It would also (as I remind people here who are paranoid about being swamped by immigrants!) be a possible back door into Britain for immigrants, as they could easily get through the border to the North and hop over to Scotland via Stranraer.

My grandson, who is nearly 16, wants to study and travel abroad which would be much more difficult if Britain made an exit from the EU.

Nuala Giles Doyle (48)

Bournemouth. Moved to the UK in 1998
I am voting "Remain" in the referendum for several reasons: Firstly in an increasingly globalised world that is also simultaneously polarising along ideological lines, I believe European and Western nations should align and cooperate, not just for economic and competitive reasons but also to protect our democratic traditions and hard won human rights that not every country in the world enjoys. It would be a shame if the UK were to turn into an insular inward-looking nation.

Secondly I’m voting Remain as I have two children who hold both Irish and British passports. I want them to enjoy a future where they can travel, study and live in member countries of the EU if they wish. I fear a Brexit could result in a weakening if not the eventual break-up of the EU.

Lastly I am voting Remain for “Irish” reasons as I fear the current good relations between Ireland and Britain could be damaged, border checks would most probably reappear into Northern Ireland and it would be easier for malign forces to undermine the peace process.

Brian Fenton (27)

Theatre production assistant, Kent. Moved to the UK from Cork in 2011
I'm voting Remain, and have begun to campaign for the cross-party Stronger In group. The EU isn't perfect, but I can't honestly see any proper argument for a Brexit vote - especially for us Irish in the UK. Britain exports more to Ireland than it does to China and India combined - do we really want to jeopardise that? Ireland would be the only place where (post-Brexit) a border would need to be erected, between Northern Ireland and the Republic - do we really want to go back to all that? The EU has been good for worker's rights, the environment, the arts. I fly home to Cork when I can, to see my family, and benefit from cheaper travel and, more importantly, the freedom to travel. I'm proud to live and work in the UK, I love it here, and I don't want this country to be handed over to the Tory right who want more austerity but with less regulation.

David Mulligan (25)

Naval architect, moved to Scotland in 2012

I’m voting to leave because the EU is undemocratic and the single currency is a mess and the only way it will work is by creating a complete federation, which the French will never agree to, so it should just go back to a free trade zone as it was initially intended to be. The entire EU project is slowly disintegrating and all Brussels is currently doing is kicking the can down the road. And I seriously doubt Brussels can reform itself, so I believe Britain will be better off outside and create its own trade agreements with the rest of the world.

Katie Walsh (25)

Team manager for semiotics at Flamingo Group, London. Originally from Galway, moved to the UK in 2014

With Irish people having a vote, it has really resonated with me just how welcome and accepted we are in England; regardless of the troubled history and the sea between our countries, we are treated as if we were one. This shared kinship may potentially be lost if Britain leaves the EU.

The referendum is particularly poignant when Ireland is in the midst of the 1916 celebrations, a time that has been used for reflection on our past troubles and given us a chance to look forward to a more positive and peaceful future. I feel that if Britain leaves the EU this may cause unwanted conflict and a divide that we thought would not be unearthed again. This may not only have adverse effects in Ireland, but for the Irish in the UK also. I am voting to stay so that relations in both countries can remain peaceful and positive.

Damien Delea (31)

Eectrical engineer. Moved from Co Cork in 2009
Having lived in the UK for over six years and enjoyed a seamless integration into the cultural melting pot here in London (I'm soon to marry a British-Indian woman), I'm exposed to the complex thoughts and feelings of my British friends and colleagues on the subject while still retaining the outsider's perspective.

If Britain were to leave the EU, it would be tantamount to saying to the rest of the EU that its citizens have been identified by the British as purely a hindrance to its interest and cannot be helped. As a European citizen, I would imagine that this would cause a bitter feeling toward Britain, which in this age, is best avoided. I believe Britain would be in a much stronger position if it remained with the EU and I’ll be voting Remain.