Our collective stories offer a glimpse into the Irish in Australia in 2013 and my wish is this: to remind the Irish at ‘home’, that we are here, in Australia, writing, visualizing, and contributing to the Irish story.

The Gathering: Greetings from the Irish in Australia is a celebration of Irishness through a global and cross-cultural lens. A holistic celebration of all things Irish that traverses notions of geographic and cultural limitations, is the premise for this book.

The objective of this project is to examine notions of Irishness and the minutiae of asserting an Irish identity or association when geographically disconnected from country. The methodology employed in developing the book is to invite professional artists, some who are academics in their own right, inspired thinkers and academics living in Australia to engage and respond to the proposition: What does Irishness mean whether at home or away? The content of the varied textual and visual contributions form an anthology that reflects a ‘glocal’ response to cultural Ireland, its history and legacy of mass migration.
As a form of anthropology, this book contributes to the shaping of brand Ireland through the formation of neo narratives that establish both physical and psychological reconnections with Ireland, across physical and psychological borders. The book and its contents showcase the creative nature of cultural Ireland’s capacity to reimagine and celebrate the creative spirit that pulsates past and present Irish history.

The intention of the project is not to fetishize Irishness but to engage with the national and cultural psyche of the country, particularly in a time when Ireland is undergoing unprecedented political, social and economic change. Greetings from the Irish in Australia is a creatively innovative project that extends the connection of all things Irish towards a contemporary and discursive conversation in mediated space.