Integration in Ireland The Everyday Lives of African Migrants

The integration of new immigrants is one of the most important issues in Europe, yet not enough is known about the lives of migrants. This book draws on several years of ethnographic research with African migrants in Ireland, many of whom are former asylum seekers. Against the widespread assumptions that integration has been handled well in Ireland and that racism is not a major problem, this book shows that migrants are themselves shaping integration in their everyday lives in the face of enormous challenges. The book will appeal to scholars and students interested in migration and ethnicity and to a general reading public interested in the stories of integration in Ireland. The book is situated within current anthropological theory and makes an important contribution, both theoretically and empirically, to understandings of the everyday and a site of possibility and critique.

Fiona Murphy and Mark Maguire are both Lecturer in Anthropology at National University of Ireland, Maynooth.

Contents ListList of figuresAcknowledgementsIntroduction1. Taxis, deregulation and racism in irish border towns2. Inside the politics machine3. Enchanting Ireland4. Hallelujah Halloween5. Miss Nigeria, and emergent forms of life6. ConclusionReferences