Turks in Ireland
İrlanda Türkleri | |
|---|---|
| Total population | |
| Several thousand[1] est. 2,000-3,000 (2007 estimate)[2] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Cork, Dublin, Limerick | |
| Languages | |
| Turkish, English | |
| Religion | |
| Predominantly Sunni Islam Minority Alevism, Other religions, or Irreligious |
| Part of a series of articles on |
| Turkish people |
|---|
 |
Turks in Ireland (Turkish: İrlanda Türkleri, Irish: Turcaigh in Éirinn) are Turkish people who live in Ireland having been born elsewhere or are Irish-born but have Turkish roots. By Turkish roots, this could mean roots linking back to Turkey, the island of Cyprus, or the communities of the Turkish diaspora.
History
[edit]Iberian descendants of people from Anatolia (ancient Turkey) arrived in Ireland during the Neolithic period about 6,000–7,000 years ago. These early Turkic people introduced farming to the island.[3]
Population
[edit]According to the 2016 Irish census, there were 1,043 Turkish nationals living in Ireland.[4]
During a strike in 2005 against the GAMA Turkish Construction Company, socialist news websites reported that they alone employed 900[5][6][7] to 2,000 Turkish workers.[8]
The Turkish embassy may have an investment in downplaying the number of Turks in Ireland given the negative reception of Turks in other European countries, such as German Turks, Dutch Turks, and French-Turks.[2] Thus, the number of Turkish descendants living in Ireland in 2007 was estimated by Turkish immigrants themselves to be 2,000–3,000, according to sociologist Jonathan Lacey of Trinity College Dublin.[2]
According to information from the Turkish Foreign Ministry in 2019, there were 4,500 Turkish citizens living in Ireland.[9]
Organisations and associations
[edit]- The Irish Turkish Business Association aims to promote the development of bilateral trade between Ireland and Turkey.[10]
- The Turkish Association of Ireland aims to bring the Turkish community in Ireland together.[11]
- The Turkish Irish Educational and Cultural Society (TIECS) aims to strengthen and advance the ties between the Turkish and Irish community.[12]
- Democratic Türkiye Community in Ireland is a group which began protesting against political events in Turkey in March 2025.[13]
Notable people
[edit]- Ahmet Dede, celebrity chef (Turkish origin)[14]
- Abs Breen, singer (Turkish father)[15]
- Billy Mehmet, football player (Turkish Cypriot father)[16]
- Joseph O'Neill, author (Turkish mother)[17][18]
- Ayla Peksoylu, singer (Turkish Cypriot father)[19]
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ Remarks by President McAleese at Irish Community Reception, Istanbul, Turkey, 25th March 2010, Office of the President of Ireland, retrieved 6 September 2010
- ^ a b c Lacey 2007, 154.
- ^ Rincon, Paul (17 June 2020). "Ireland's Neolithic inhabitants traced their origins to an expansion of people out of Anatolia (modern Turkey) around 6,000-7,000 years ago". BBC. Retrieved 24 March 2025.
Ireland's Neolithic inhabitants traced their origins to an expansion of people out of Anatolia (modern Turkey) around 6,000-7,000 years ago. This migration transformed Europe's way of life from one focused on hunting to one based on agriculture. Genetically, Ireland's first farmers were most closely related to people living at broadly the same time in Iberia (modern Spain and Portugal). Over generations, the farmers traversed the Mediterranean from Anatolia to Iberia, weaving their way up the French coast before making their way to Ireland by sea.
- ^ "Migration and Diversity", Census 2016, Central Statistics Office, retrieved 15 September 2023
- ^ Barry 2006, 2
- ^ sovietpop (11 May 2005), "Turkish builders strike in Ireland", Anarkismo, retrieved 31 January 2009
- ^ Dewhurst 2009, 2.
- ^ Boyd, Steven (April 2005), GAMA Scandal: Workers fight slave wages, Socialist Party, archived from the original on 13 June 2011, retrieved 5 September 2010
- ^ "Yurt dışında toplam 5 milyon Türk var: Ülke ülke veriler". 6 February 2019.
- ^ About us, Irish Turkish Business Association, retrieved 6 September 2010
- ^ About us, Turkish Association of Ireland, retrieved 6 September 2010
- ^ About us, Turkish Irish Educational and Cultural Society, archived from the original on 10 October 2010, retrieved 31 January 2009
- ^ O'Callaghan, Gavin (23 March 2025). "Ireland's Turkish community protest İmamoğlu arrest". RTÉ News.
- ^ McGuinness, Katy (2021), Ahmet Dede bags his second Michelin star with less formal dining by the sea, Irish Independent, retrieved 6 March 2021
- ^ Last FM, Abs Breen, retrieved 18 March 2011
- ^ Herald Scotland. "Genclerbirligi sign St Mirren's Billy Mehmet and hope Hearts' Michael Stewart will follow". Retrieved 27 August 2010.
- ^ Conroy, Catherine (2018), Joseph O'Neill on the culture wars: 'Everyone wants to be the accuser', Irish Times, retrieved 6 March 2021
- ^ The Economist (27 October 2010). "Family memoir The Q&A: Joseph O'Neill". Retrieved 18 March 2011.
- ^ Kibris Gazetesi. "Sesimizi dünyaya duyuran genç bir yetenek: ANGEL-I". Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 18 March 2011.
Bibliography
[edit]- Barry, Mick (2006), We are workers not slaves: the story of the GAMA struggle, Dublin: Socialist Party of Ireland, OCLC 71284523
- Dewhurst, Elaine (2009), "Access to justice and the impact of delay on migrant workers in Ireland" (PDF), Cork Online Law Review, 8, University College Cork Law Society, retrieved 6 September 2010
- Lacey, Jonathan (2007), "Exploring the Transnational Engagements of a Turkic Religio-Cultural Community in Ireland" (PDF), Translocations: The Irish Migration, Race and Social Transformation Review, 1 (2), archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2011, retrieved 6 September 2010
Further reading
[edit]- Lacey, Jonathan (2009), "The Gülen Movement in Ireland: Civil Society Engagements of a Turkish Religio-cultural Movement", Turkish Studies, 10 (2): 295–315, doi:10.1080/14683840902864051, S2CID 143202391
External links
[edit]