Hierarchies of race, gender and mobility in the journey to Irish citizenship

Abstract

Ireland has both contributed to and benefited from international circuits of labour migration. Yet the same political, social and economic forces associated with globalization and resulting in Ireland attracting immigrants have also intensified discourses of ethnicity, exclusion, and citizenship rights based on race, gender and culture. This chapter examines the historical legacies of racism and social relations in relation to women migrants who come to work or seek protection under international law in Ireland. Placed at the forefront of ‘Fortress Europe’ Ireland contributes to harmonizing national policy and legislative changes with common European policies on migration and refuge in which the securitization of migration takes priority over protection and human security. In this examination of the reception of migrants in Ireland the author argues that women who are displaced inside EU borders fall into existing exclusions and discriminations underpinned by policies of selection and exclusion in Irish society.