‘Where are you actually from?’: Racial issues in the Irish context

Contemporary Ireland is, by any metric, becoming a more multicultural and diverse nation. The increasing visibility of a multi-ethnic population has exposed the deep-rooted issues of race, identity and belonging. This chapter addresses the question of contemporary racial issues in Ireland and the role history plays in debates around race, identity and belonging. One of the ironies of contemporary Ireland is that the history of colonisation on the island is often invoked to invalidate the stories of those who experience racism. The roots of Ireland’s relationship to colonialism and race are complex and multifaceted. The chapter captures both the changing landscape of racial issues in Ireland post Black Lives Matter, and the various ways that history has been put to use in the contemporary debates around race and identity in Ireland.