Paper short abstract:

My paper discusses a case of transnational bridging as a way of coping with economic uncertainty. It examines transnational linkages between the Irish community in Munich and Ireland. Drawing on lived experience, liminal belonging forging within these transnational networks is explored.

Paper long abstract:

In the aftermath of the global crisis, economic uncertainty persists in Ireland. Some people consider emigration as a strategy of coping with concerns about their future. This strategy encompasses the strengthening of existing transnational ties and the establishment of new ones. Transnational ties can be understood as a form of bridging social capital which becomes apparent in the act of migration. My paper will discuss a case of transnational bridging as a way of reducing risks, such as unemployment or precarious working conditions. Furthermore, it explores how memories of minorities can be inscribed in the social histories of plural societies. Based on fieldwork comprising life story interviewing and participant observation, ethnographic research assesses ways of liminal belonging in transnational networks. It unravels the story of the formation and progression of the Irish community in Munich and explores how social networks between Munich and the Republic of Ireland are being maintained. Assuming that diaspora communities can be studied as social figurations which evolve over time and consist of social relations entangled in social networks, a series of life stories indicates the progression of the local community as it interacts with the receiving society. The migratory trajectories have been studied with regard to the process of identity construction by highlighting the liminal situations between integration and tradition in the life story narratives. Finally, it is argued that the formation and progression of the Irish community forged transnational spaces in the city of Munich which enhance its socio-cultural diversity.