A Land of a Hundred Thousand Welcomes? Understanding Established and Outsiders Relations in Ireland

Abstract

This paper examines the discriminatory and exclusionary treatment experienced by migrants in Ireland. After outlining the tremendous socio-economic changes that have taken place in the country, it discusses the rise of ethno-racial discrimination in Ireland before examining how these discriminatory and exclusionary practices have so far been interpreted largely within a post-structuralist frame of reference. After outlining the problems inherent in this literature, the paper examines how applicable an Eliasian established–outsider framework is for explaining these exclusionary processes whilst simultaneously noting the differences between Elias's Winston Parva study and the Irish situation.