Opening a window on the newer members of the Irish social family

This week sees the first episode of Declan Cassidy’s ‘Home Thoughts From Abroad’ hit the television screens, as Dublin Community Television (DCTV, Virgin Media channel 802) broadcasts ‘Brazilians in Ireland’ each evening at 7pm. Home Thoughts From Abroad is an eight part series of 15 minute episodes, funded by Coimisiún na Meán, that opens a window on the newer members of the Irish social family. The eight countries featured are Brazil, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Spain and Ukraine – all among the non-Irish national communities most prevalent in Ireland. An episode will be shown each week over eight weeks.

“I suspect that most Irish people are like me,” said Declan, “in that I’d walk past a Polish shop or Brazilian store and be curious, but wouldn’t necessarily go in. This series is about demystifying the cultures that are now very much entwined into the fabric of Irish society.”

Each episode looks at traditions, food and culture of the countries, and how that is transposed to the immigrant communities living here.

“At first, I thought that I’d focus on the national days, because on St Patrick’s Day, you get a showcase of Irish food, dance, music and traditions,” said Declan. “I quickly found out, though, that we’re quite unique in that. Most countries tend to celebrate independence from one or other super power, and they are often military displays as a result. We did touch upon national days, but making the series ended up being more about finding representatives from the communities and sitting them down for interviews. I think that, because each episode is just 15 minutes, they are very easy to watch, but they give a real sense of the cultures that are living among us and, hopefully, encourage the wider Irish society to celebrate this diversity.”