A STUDY carried out by the Global Limerick Network (GLN) has found there is significant support for a platform to provide greater communication between Limerick and the estimated 3.5 million people worldwide with a connection to the Mid West.
Coordinated by Limerick City and County Council and supported by a working group drawn from the local community, the GLN conducted an online survey ‘Connecting with Limerick’ as part of its plans to create a network between Limerick and its diaspora.
The survey yielded 364 responses, the majority (45 per cent) of which came from people who have been living outside Limerick for more than six years.
More than half (53 per cent) of respondents said they had left their home county to seek better employment opportunities, while 20 per cent left Limerick to seek a better standard of living.
Some 82 per cent indicated their desire to receive future communication from Limerick, including local news, information on local activities, and items of historical and cultural interest.
The study was launched at City Hall on Monday by Minister for Diaspora Affairs Jimmy Deenihan.
“This study represents another important step in Ireland’s growing engagement with our people overseas and underlines the value of local communities around Ireland taking responsibility for reaching out to people from their area living elsewhere,” he said.
Minister Deenihan said that the role of local authorities in the development of Ireland’s engagement with its diaspora would be a key feature of the Statement on Diaspora Policy, which is currently being finalised.
Respondents also indicated a desire to establish a platform for creating connections with fellow Limerick people to highlight the emigrant experience and the supports required while living away and in returning to Limerick.
Many of those surveyed also said there was a need for “greater intensity” surrounding the positive promotion of Limerick, both in Ireland and overseas.
Pat Daly, GLN chairperson and director of Economic Development and Planning with Limerick City and County Council said: “It is hoped that the establishment of the GLN and the publication of this study and survey can help to deepen consciousness around emigration and our relationship with the huge Irish Diaspora around the world which has resulted from it. The GLN is an attempt by one place, Limerick, to show we are not powerless in how we engage with the issue, despite its many complexities, and that it is important to make a start.”
For more information, go to www.limerick.ie/GlobalLimerickNetwork.
