Most Irish people move to the United Kingdom, due to its close proximity, historical ties, and the Common Travel Area (CTA) for easy movement, but Australia is seeing a huge surge in recent years, becoming a top destination, particularly for younger generations seeking work and lifestyle, with the United States, Canada, and the Middle East also remaining popular destinations.
Irish Australian settlement patterns are not significantly different from those of the Australian population as a whole – that is, a third live in New South Wales and a quarter live in Victoria, with 13 per cent living in Queensland (compared to only 18 per cent of the general population).
Pushed out of Ireland by religious conflicts, lack of political autonomy and dire economic conditions, these immigrants, who were often called "Scotch-Irish," were pulled to America by the promise of land ownership and greater religious freedom.
United Kingdom. Although the UK is no longer a member of the European Union following Brexit in 2020, it maintains the Common Travel Area (CTA) agreement with Ireland. It remains one of the top countries for Irish emigrants. Thousands of Irish professionals move to the UK annually seeking better economic opportunities.
Newfoundland is one of the few places outside Ireland where the Irish language was spoken by much of the population as their primary language. It is also the only place outside Europe with its own distinctive name in the Irish language, Talamh an Éisc (Land of the Fish).
Today, the ethnic Irish are the single largest minority group in both England and Scotland, most of whom eventually made it back to Ireland. The dispersal of the Irish has been mainly to Britain or to countries colonised by Britain.
For most people, a household salary of €100,000 would put a family in the category of “rich”. And if you earned that last year, you were among the top 6.6pc of employees, Revenue figures show. The average gross pay for a PAYE worker nationwide was €42,100 in 2024, while the Dublin average was €49,500.
Since Brexit and as of 2025, Irish citizens are the only nationality in the world with the right to live and work in both the European Union and the United Kingdom.
Dublin and Cork have both been ranked among the 100 happiest cities in the world, according to the Institute for Quality of Life's 2025 Happy City Index.
2. High Cost of Living. Ireland, particularly cities like Dublin, has a high cost of living. Housing is a significant expense, with rental prices for a one-bedroom apartment in Dublin averaging €1,500–€2,000 per month.
An employment permit will not issue unless at the time of application at least 50% of the employees in a firm are EEA nationals (50:50 rule).
In the United States, the term "Black Irish" was initially used in the 19th century to derogatorily describe Irish refugees of the Great Famine. It later shifted into a term used to describe people of Irish descent who have black or dark-colored hair, blue or dark eyes, or otherwise dark coloring.
Find Koroit in the Great Ocean Road region between Port Fairy and Warrnambool. This little township holds its own, confident and always true to itself and the rolling green pastures fringing it. Character-filled Koroit is one of Australia`s most complete examples of an early Irish settlement.
At the 2021 census, the most commonly nominated Anglo-Celtic ancestries were: English Australian: 8,395,928. Irish Australian: 2,410,833. Scottish Australian: 2,176,777.
Ireland and Australia have a reciprocal health care agreement (RHCA) that entitles visitors from Ireland to Australia to receive medically necessary treatment as public inpatients or outpatients in Australian public hospitals, on the same terms as Australian residents (i.e. free of charge).
The person is ordinarily resident outside of the State (or island of Ireland) for a continuous period of 7 years and without reasonable excuse has not during that period registered annually an intention to retain Irish citizenship by filing a Form 5.
Irish Passport Ranking & Strength
The world reach of the Irish passport is approximately 86%. You can access 109 countries without a visa, 55 countries with a visa-on-arrival, and 8 countries on eTA authorisation. Only 26 countries will a UK passport holder need to get a visa.
The Living Wage for 2025/26 is €15.40 per hour. This is a €0.65 (4.4%) increase from the 2024/25 rate of €14.75 per hour. The new Living Wage rate is €1.90 above the current National Minimum Wage of €13.50 per hour.
The term Irish nose refers to a nasal shape commonly associated with individuals of Irish ancestry. It is typically defined by a slightly rounded or bulbous tip, moderate projection, and a straight to subtly convex bridge, reflecting Northern European craniofacial characteristics.
Obama's maternal roots have been traced back to Moneygall in County Offaly, Ireland in the 19th century. Moneygall has a population of 298 people.
Hereditary Haemochromatosis is Ireland's most common inherited disease and affects thousands of Irish adults. For someone to develop Haemochromatosis both their mother and father will have a defective gene.