Ireland today feels like it’s in the middle of a conversation about immigration & identity. 

 We often think ourselves part of the great diaspora making communities amongst ourselves in other nations. 

 And we think immigration to our island is something relatively new. 

 But in reality, Ireland’s history with migration is a lot more than the famine and economic crises, it’s previously been a place that welcomed (and sometimes rejected) communities from all across the globe .

Shane Beatty is joined by Kieran Connell, History lecturer in Queen’s University Belfast.