Mayo charity reuniting emigrants with their Irish roots
By Tom Gillespie
OVER the past 21 years Safe Home Ireland, a Mayo-based Irish emigrant support service, has facilitated the return of 2,153 people to their native counties, of which 326 were from Mayo.
The charity was established in Mulranny in 2000, by Dr. Gerry Cowley, and works in assisting with the Irish diaspora in making informed decisions as to whether to return home as well as assisting with crisis returns.
Achill-based Bernadette Connaghan has just taken up the post as communications and information officer with Safe Home Ireland and she is spearheading a fundraising drive for the organisation.
She said: “While we now are a national charity with a global remit, we are also extremely proud of our Mayo roots.
“We are celebrating our 21st anniversary this year and as part of the year long celebrations we set a target to raise €21,000 to help assist people who return home in a crisis situation.
“One of the objectives of Safe Home Ireland is also to keep people connected. To ensure that the diaspora still feel connected to home, we held two virtual concerts, the first on St. Patrick's Day and the second on Mayo Day, May 1. These are still available on our Facebook page to view. Going forward we have a poetry, storytelling and spoken word event on Monday, June 21, with another gala event planned for Tuesday, December 21.”
Bernadette continued: “We were set up to facilitate the desire for elderly Irish emigrants abroad to return home to live in their native area.
“Over the years, the organisation has evolved from simply providing a housing option for older Irish born emigrants.
“We now provide a range of other services including information and guidance to all emigrants abroad and outreach and advocacy support to those who return home regardless of age, circumstances or geographical relocation on return.
“Emigration is an intrinsic part of Irish life and has directly and indirectly affected every family and community throughout Ireland. No country has been as affected by emigration over the past two centuries as has Ireland.
“Current estimates indicate there are up to 70 million people who claim Irish heritage worldwide. The Irish diaspora is diverse and comprises people of different interests, different beliefs and different reasons for living outside Ireland. What is common with most is the desire to ‘stay connected’ with Ireland and for many others is the desire to ‘come home’ at some point in the future.
“While the process of returning to Ireland can be straightforward in some cases, particularly for people who have lived overseas for no more than a few years, others can face more challenging decisions when factors such as age, family circumstances, health condition, housing and income become factors to contemplate. The decision to ‘stay or go’ can then become more complex with multiple factors and people to consider and Safe Home Ireland can assist people in the process.”
Safe Home Ireland, she said, offers an information and advocacy service to anyone who may be contemplating returning or moving to Ireland, adding: “While we do not manage or build any properties of our own, we can assist qualifying older Irish born emigrants to return home, primarily to social housing schemes back in their native areas.
“We work in conjunction with local authorities and housing associations who provide housing for our qualifying applicants throughout Ireland.
“As part of our outreach work we can carry out home visits and information clinics. This is restricted to the UK only due to limited resources.
“We have recently partnered with the US-based County Mayo Foundation, who are working with us to enable us to reach out to US-based emigrants who are considering moving home to their native areas.
“We provide an outreach and advocacy service to people who have returned home and who need assistance with general adaption and reintegration in Ireland. This could include assistance with paperwork involved in applying for services, accessing rights, as well as signposting on to other relevant services that may be of assistance.
“Safe Home Ireland acts as a link with home for emigrants who decide to remain on in their adopted countries. We do this primarily through our monthly newsletter, which is disseminated widely, as well as through the various social media platforms.
“We realise that ‘coming home’ is not for everyone but we know that staying connected with Ireland is particularly important for most emigrants.
“The most important message we would like to get across to anyone considering returning or moving to Ireland is to ‘do your homework first’, plan your move well in advance, get as much information as possible and be prepared for the emotional challenges involved in returning home.
“This is particularly important if you have lived abroad for a long time or if you were not born in Ireland. We suggest you treat the return as a new emigration experience, allow enough time to settle back in and most importantly enjoy the new experience of reconnecting with the Irish lifestyle.
“Our applicants have come from all corners of the globe and to all 26 counties. For the majority, their return was a positive lifelong dream and could not have been fulfilled without the intervention and support of Safe Home Ireland.”
If you or someone you know is thinking about returning or moving to Ireland you can get in touch by email at info@safehomeireland.com; by phone +353 98 36036 or by post: Safe Home Ireland, St. Brendan’s Village, Mulranny, Westport, Co. Mayo.
Also, check out their website https://safehomeireland.com/ and you can follow them on Facebook and Twitter.