Health concerns over Irish in UK

Irish emigrants in Britain are neglected at home because of a "sense of shame" about their departure, according to the author of a new study on the health of Irish people in London.

Dr Michael Curran says there is a "culture of denial" in Ireland about the fact that over 1 million Irish-born people live in Britain.

"No one wanted to know about the Irish in Britain, and no one wanted to put resources into their welfare," says Dr Curran, of the department of psychology in Trinity College, Dublin. "It has been glamorous to talk about the Irish in the US or Australia, while the problems of emigrants in Britain are neglected."

He says an appeal by a Government-appointed taskforce on emigration for €10 million funding to support advice, repatriation programmes and research has been turned down.

The Irish in Britain are unique. "They are, by and large, the only people who immigrated in large numbers while single, who are white and who speak English. But because they're lumped in with other whites, they tend to be invisible in the statistics".

"The Irish are over-represented everywhere across the water - in the prisons, in mental hospitals, even among the rich."

Dr Curran's study, "Across the Water: the acculturation and health of Irish people in London", surveyed over 1,000 Irish emigrants living in the British capital, living in both traditional and non-traditional Irish areas.

Surprisingly, it found that the emigrants living in Irish communities tended to have better mental health than those who had assimilated into British society.

"There is some indication that ethnic density has a positive effect on mental health; in other words, that it's better in the ghetto. This goes against the standard image, but it may have to do with having your own network and having protection against discrimination."

However, the health of Irish emigrants generally in Britain is significantly worse that that found in the general population. The Irish have lower life expectancy, elevated rates of cancer, heart disease, depression and schizophrenia, and suicide among young males than other groups.

For example, the suicide rate among young Irish men in Britain is almost twice that in the general population. There are striking parallels between the suicide rates among young emigrants in Britain and the rate in the west of Ireland, Dr Curran adds.

His study also found that mental health problems are not the sole preserve of traditional groups such as the homeless or alcoholics. Gay and lesbians, for example, continue to feel marginalised even after emigrating.

He says there is a need for more research into the special needs of the Irish abroad, particularly in Britain.