A chara, - In the late 1980s my boyfriend (now husband) and I, like many other young Irish people, had to leave our beloved country to seek employment in Britain. Our two children were born in the UK and although we have been shown nothing but kindness by the British people, I, for one have suffered bouts of crushing homesickness, craving for things familiar, and sadness that my children have only a "visiting" relationship with their extended family.
Now, 10 years on, jobs are plentiful in Ireland, yet we find ourselves again excluded. The reason? We simply could not afford to put a roof over our heads - even the most modest of homes in the major cities would devour so much of our income as to make our quality of life miserable.
I cannot help but feel cheated, bitter and resentful that this has been allowed to happen. I feel that we have been let down a second time.
I now resign myself with great sorrow to probably living out my days in Britain and feel my children will never experience or know the pride of what it is to be Irish. - Yours, etc., Ms A. Herlihy,
Wilson Rd,
Sheffield.