“We’ve Lived Here For 40 Years”: Life In Ireland As A Blow-in

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THE most recent census has highlighted an oft-ignored section of the Irish population who suffer in silence every day, simply for living in an area where they were not born. As part of WWN’s ongoing ‘Life In Ireland’ series, today we delve into the sad, lonely existence of the blow-in.

Blow-ins make up almost 90% of the population of Ireland, with very few people actually still living in their place of birth. Most people migrate to neighbouring towns of further afield, due to a number of reasons such as lack of jobs, marital status, or hating the sight of everyone in their home town.

Upon arrival in their new home, these people are immediately stamped with the ‘blow-in’ label and ostracised from the rest of the community, with many finding the blow-in label to be utterly permanent.

“We moved to Carrickavannagh from Dublin in early 1976, but they still call us ‘the Dubs,'” sobbed Margaret McFerrin, speaking exclusively to WWN on National Blow-In Day, which was put together by the Blow-In Association of Ireland to help blow-ins all across the country.

“My husband Padraig served as a Guard here for thirty years. I was on the school committee on a voluntary basis for twenty years. I clean the fucking church every Sunday after mass, on my own time. We’re both on the tidy towns. But no, to the people of Carrickavannagh, we’re just blow-ins that came down in the last shower”.

Across Ireland, most blow-ins are treated just like nay other part of the community while in the company of their neighbours, but dismissed as ‘fly-by-night’s’ once their back is turned, with many looked down on as being ‘as bad as the foreigners’, and ‘more than likely some sort of drug dealer’, something which a spokesperson for the BIAI wishes to address.

“In Ireland, there are over 4 million blow-ins silently suffering every day,” said Margaret Harrison, a Brit who moved here ten years ago.

“These people are ostracised from their communities, and segregated from essential services such as the craic after mass and pints after the under-21 team wins some local championship. And for what? For being among the people who decided to move to somewhere more than ten minutes away from where they were born”.

If you are a blow-in and this article has affected you, then please fuck off back to whatever town you came from.

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