Last November, Generation Emigration ran an "Ireland and Me" competition, inviting readers overseas to tell us about their relationship with the old country. We received more than 120 poignant, insightful and funny pieces, from all over the world.
The winning entry by Chris McClay, and runner up by Bridget Farmer - two very different tales of making a new life in another country - were published in print, while dozens more have appeared online.
In the lead up to St Patrick’s Day, The Irish Times has published an eBook bringing together a selection of these “Ireland and Me” reflections.
Reading the submissions together gives a complex overview of what it means to be Irish, what it means to be an emigrant, and what it means to love - and often resent - the country in which you were born but no longer live.
One writer had only lived abroad for two months, while another has been gone 57 years. But for most who wrote in, no matter how long they’ve been away, Ireland will forever be the place they consider “home”, even if it’s no longer their only one.
The eBook is available to download here. It is free for Irish Times subscribers, and is also available through Amazon and iBooks.
To read some individual 'Ireland and Me' stories, click here.
