I’ve known a lot of Irish people over the years. American has loads of people who come from that blighted little island. Half of the people on the planet claiming Irish ancestry live in the United States. Living in Boston for a long time, I met and got to know plenty of Irish fresh off the boat. The last spasm of IRA terrorism brought a lot of Irish to America, often hiding out from the cops. They were generally good drinking partners and decent people. I’ve never been to Ireland and probably will never go there. The reason is, Ireland sucks!

What other conclusion can you draw? One freckle-faced mick every six minutes is hopping on a steamer for parts unknown. That 240 a day and close to 90,000 a year. Of course, the pace could very well quicken over time. There is a cascading effect when people vote with their feet. The first to go are the brave sort, willing to take a risk. If they do well, the next cohort, a group larger, but slightly more risk adverse, takes the plunge. As they settle elsewhere, their friends and relatives decide to take the chance and on and on it goes. At a certain point you get a rush for the exits. Time will tell if that happens, but the outlandishly high unemployment rates amongst the young says they will see a youth drain at the minimum.

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