The Irish diaspora is a measure of how much we have relied on the kindness of strangers in foreign lands and at different times; whether in the past as refugees from famine, or more recently as economic migrants. Up to 70 million people around the world now claim Irish ancestry and heritage. And today one million people who were born in Ireland live abroad. No country is, or at least should be, better placed to understand Europe's migrant crisis, and the Government - belatedly - has accepted its responsibility, by opting in to the European Commission's relocation programme for migrants from Syria, Eritrea and Iraq.
The Government yesterday finally agreed to accept a further 2,900 migrants as part of a burden sharing plan proposed on Wednesday by commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker to redistribute 120,000 more refugees from these war-torn regions.
The State, as part of earlier resettlement programmes is also receiving 1,020 migrants from Syria and elsewhere. The overall figure - 4,020 from Ireland - represents a welcome start in helping to tackle the greatest humanitarian crisis in Europe since the second World War.
Nevertheless, the Government's commitment to major, rather than token, refugee assistance should have come much sooner. The Government's change of heart came under duress: both from mounting public pressure at home to offer support and sanctuary to those fleeing from horrendous violence, notably in Syria, and following a critical rebuke from Germany's Chancellor, Angela Merkel. There she named - and shamed - Ireland, identifying it as one of three countries (Britain and Denmark were the others) that could do better in sharing the EU burden of migrant resettlement.
Ireland has had an undistinguished record in dealing with migrants and refugees. Jewish groups seeking refuge here after 1945 were not encouraged; Hungarians fleeing from Soviet invasion in 1956, while accepted, were regarded as temporary visitors, and housed in poor accommodation. And Chilean refugees who arrived in the early 1970’s were viewed with some suspicion by officialdom, fearful that some with a possible Marxist background might later pose political difficulties.
The Government’s willingness to accept some 4,000 refugees – not including other family members to follow – represents a real commitment in principle, and one that must be fully delivered in practice.
By deciding against direct-provision centres for migrants, the Government has acted wisely. It also must ensure that adequate supports are put in place - in areas of health, education and language training – to ensure the migrants become fully integrated members of Irish society.
"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free". That in the 19th century was America's welcoming message, inscribed in the Statue of Liberty – a beacon of light and hopes migrants fleeing oppression. That is an example that Germany seeks to follow with its generous offer to accept 800,000 migrants this year. One that Ireland, in a smaller way, should seek to emulate.