 | Parts of this article (those related to 2022 Census) need to be updated.(May 2023) |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 93,681 (2022) [1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| All over Ireland, especially Limerick, Dublin, Portlaoise, Cork, Waterford and Galway. | |
| Languages | |
| Polish, English, Irish | |
| Religion | |
| Catholic, Polish Orthodox, atheism |
The Polish minority in Ireland numbered 93,680, plus 17,152 people with dual Polish and Irish citizenship, according to 2022 census figures. [2]
After Poland joined the European Union in May 2004, Ireland was one of three existing EU members to open its borders to Polish workers (the others being the United Kingdom and Sweden). 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 in its first day. [3]
In the period immediately following the 2008 economic downturn, the number of Polish people in Ireland declined, [4] with some reports suggesting that 30,000 were leaving Ireland per year, [5] and the Central Statistics Office reporting a decrease in the number of Polish people applying for PPS numbers. [6]
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. [7] [8] [9]
Polish citizens, as all other foreigners residing in Ireland, can also vote and run as candidates in local Irish elections, even when they do not have Irish citizenship. So far, nine Polish candidates ran in the municipal election of 2009, nine in 2014, and three in 2019. None managed to win mandates [10]
As of 2021, Polish is officially an established Senior Cycle subject in post-primary education(Senior Cycle subjects: Polish) and hence can be taken as part of the Irish Leaving Certificate examination.
The biggest Polish umbrella organization is the Polish Educational Society in Ireland (PESI), a non-profit organisation established in 2012. [11] 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 [12] and a section in Dublin's Evening Herald entitled "Polski Herald". Dublin cable television channel, City Channel, also features a programme aimed at Poles in Ireland entitled Oto Polska (This is Poland). [13]
For online media in Ireland see External links below.
Polish people, or Poles, are a West Slavic ethnic group and nation who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in Central Europe. The preamble to the Constitution of the Republic of Poland defines the Polish nation as comprising all the citizens of Poland, regardless of heritage or ethnicity. The majority of Poles adhere to Roman Catholicism.
According to the 2021 Romanian census, 2,137 Poles live in Romania, mainly in the villages of Suceava County. There are three exclusively Polish villages, as follows: Nowy Sołoniec, Plesza (Pleșa), and Pojana Mikuli, as well a significant Polish presence in Kaczyca (Cacica) and Paltynosa (Păltinoasa). There is also a relatively sizable number of ethnic Poles living in the county seat, Suceava.
Union of Poles in Germany is an organisation of the Polish minority in Germany, founded in 1922. In 1924, the union initiated collaboration between other minorities, including Sorbs, Danes, Frisians and Lithuanians, under the umbrella organization Association of National Minorities in Germany. From 1939 until 1945 the Union was outlawed in Nazi Germany. After 1945 it had lost some of its influence; in 1950 the Union of Poles in Germany split into two organizations: the Union of Poles in Germany, which refused to recognize the communist Polish government of the Polish United Workers' Party, and the Union of Poles "Zgoda" (Unity), which recognized the new communist government in Warsaw and had contacts with it. The split was healed in 1991. The organization is a memebr of the Federal Union of European Nationalities.
Poland does not use the euro as its currency. However, under the terms of their Treaty of Accession with the European Union, all new Member States "shall participate in the Economic and Monetary Union from the date of accession as a Member State with a derogation", which means that Poland is obliged to eventually replace its currency, the złoty, with the euro.
Henryk Zieliński was a Polish historian and professor at the University of Wrocław.
Stanisław Andrzej Michalkiewicz is a Polish far-right political commentator, lawyer, former politician, opposition activist in the communist Polish People's Republic, and book author.
Schutzmannschaft Battalion 202 was a failed collaborationist auxiliary police battalion in the General Government during World War II. It was made up of 360 conscripts with German leadership. The unit was created in Kraków on March 27, 1942 with recruitment beginning in May. Only two Polish men volunteered. As a result, the Germans resorted to conscription from the regular Polish city-police called Einheimische Polizei. Once in Volhynia, the battalion stationed in Łuck originally. Soon later, in around Kostopol, half the members deserted to Polish resistance 27th Home Army Infantry Division, in defence of ethnic Polish population against the UPA massacres, and also committed a number of crimes against the civilian population, participating in the pacification of Ukrainian villages. Additional 60 Poles were rounded up and executed by the Nazis for mutiny.
Andrzej Witold Nowak is a Polish historian and opinion journalist.
Union of Poles in Lithuania is an organization formed in 1989 to bring together members of Polish minority in Lithuania. It numbers between 6,000 to 11,000 members. It defends the civil rights of the Polish minority and engages in educational, cultural and economic activities. It is the largest Polish organization in Lithuania, and was created in 1990.
National symbols of Poland are the tangible and intangible symbols, emblems or images that are found in Poland to represent the country's unique customs, traditions, cultural life, and its over 1000-year history. These symbols serve as the nation's portrayal of patriotism and dedication to their national identity. The Polish people and the Polish diaspora around the world take great pride in their native country, and associate themselves with the colours white and red. The expression biało-czerwoni ("whitereds") is widely used by Poles when referring to their compatriots. A crowned white-tailed eagle on a red shield or background has been Poland's national symbol and coat of arms since the Middle Ages. Other unofficial symbols feature visual personifications, music of Chopin, polonaise and mazurka dances, animals such as the European bison or the white stork, apples, red poppy flowers and religious insignia of the Roman Catholic church. Several have been popularised in recent years, notably the winged hussars.
Jarosław Ziętara was a Polish journalist who disappeared on September 1, 1992, and was most likely kidnapped and murdered.
Polish people in Lebanon may refer to people born in or residing in Lebanon of full or partial Polish origin. They are a small group in Lebanon. Almost all of which live in Beirut.
Japan–Poland relations refers to the bilateral foreign relations between Japan and Poland. Both nations enjoy historically friendly relations, embracing close cooperation and mutual assistance in times of need. Both are members of the OECD, World Trade Organization and United Nations.
Jan Krzysztof Żaryn is a Polish historian, professor and politician, who was a Senator in the Senate of Poland from 2015 to 2019.
Boguslaw Baniak, nicknamed Bebeto is a Polish football manager and former player who was most recently in charge of Polish club Olimpia Grudziądz. Besides Poland, he has managed in Burkina Faso and Uzbekistan.
A Polish withdrawal from the European Union, or Polexit, is the name given to a hypothetical Polish withdrawal from the European Union. The term was coined after Brexit, the process of Britain's withdrawal from the EU which took place between 2016 and 2020. Opinion polls held in the country, between 2016 and 2021, indicated majority support for continued membership of the European Union (EU). A 2022 survey indicated that "[at] least eight-in-ten adults in Poland" believed that the EU "promotes peace, democratic values and prosperity". The 2023 Polish parliamentary election was won by a coalition of predominantly pro-EU parties.
Marian Kałuski - Polish-Australian journalist, writer, historian and traveler.
The Malaya Berestavitsa massacre happened in middle of September 1939 in the village of Malaya Byerastavitsa, during the Soviet Invasion of Poland. During that event, between 8 and 50 Polish villagers were murdered by pro-communist militia mainly made up of Jewish Belarusians.
