Polish minority in Ireland


The Polish minority in Ireland is an ethnic, linguistic, cultural and national minority in the Republic of Ireland. While Poles have lived in Ireland for years, the population rose sharply after Poland's accession to the European Union. Polish citizens in Ireland numbered 93,680, according to 2022 census figures.

History

After Poland joined the European Union in 2004, Ireland was one of three existing EU members to open its borders to Polish workers. Ireland quickly became a key destination for Poles wishing to work outside the country; in 2004 a website advertising Irish jobs in Polish received over 170,000 views on its first day.
In the period immediately following the 2008 economic downturn, the number of Polish people in Ireland declined, with some reports suggesting that 30,000 were leaving Ireland per year, and the Central Statistics Office reporting a decrease in the number of Polish people applying for PPS numbers.
Polish people living in Ireland can vote in Polish elections. On Election Day there are special ballot stations provided in Belfast, Cork, and Limerick as well as in the country's embassy in Dublin. Consequently, Polish political parties campaign in Ireland for electoral support.
Polish citizens, as with all other foreigners resident in Ireland, can vote and run as candidates in local Irish elections, even when they do not have Irish citizenship. Nine Polish candidates ran in the municipal election of 2009, nine in 2014, and three in 2019. None managed to win a mandate.

Language and media

As of 2021, Polish is officially an established Senior Cycle subject in post-primary education and hence can be taken as part of the Irish Leaving Certificate examination.
The 2022 census of Ireland found that 123,968 people in Ireland identified as Polish speakers: 63% of these were Polish citizens and 35% were Irish citizens.
The biggest Polish umbrella organization is the Polish Educational Society in Ireland, a non-profit organisation established in 2012. PESI sponsors Polish supplementary schools in Ireland and widely cooperates with Polish government bodies and organisations working for the maintenance and promotion of the Polish language abroad.
The large number of Poles in Ireland led to the provision of a number of media outlets catering to them. Newspapers: Polska Gazeta and a section in Dublin's Evening Herald entitled "Polski Herald". Dublin cable television channel, City Channel, featured a programme aimed at Poles in Ireland entitled Oto Polska until the channel closed in 2011.
For online media in Ireland see External links below.

Population Distribution

The following table shows the distribution of Polish citizens across the Republic Ireland over three different censuses.
Local Authority201120162022
State12258512251593680
Carlow227522751875
Dublin City13406107047215
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown354131432088
Fingal10604114197881
South Dublin832784855739
Kildare719272055586
Kilkenny217723101566
Laois230027282298
Longford163119071508
Louth187521071734
Meath387644703942
Offaly187119311560
Westmeath235723311832
Wexford401539963356
Wicklow275129052244
Clare266028522462
Cork City and Cork County159151627613007
Kerry404542343362
Limerick City and County608856364384
Tipperary420540713255
Waterford City and County225023302058
Galway City409938722597
Galway County343436312914
Leitrim763831698
Mayo293428022131
Roscommon136013671227
Sligo155715211124
Cavan188821901719
Donegal210420031609
Monaghan1085983709

Notable people