RESEARCH SURVEY for Chicago Irish

Public Opinion toward Irish and Mainstream News Media among Irish Americans

I am conducting research on the Irish American media and Irish American identity. I would be extremely grateful if you could complete this short survey, which shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes. All answers will be treated as strictly confidential and the information given will be used for research purposes only. THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP.

CLICK HERE TO TAKE THE SURVEY.



Sincerely,

Katie Hamilton
MA Candidate, Department of Government, University College Cork
katiemhamilton@gmail.com

"If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans."

Besides going to grad school, one of the requirements for my scholarship from the Rotary Foundation is to carry out a service project during the year abroad. I have developed a journalism project, a print-video history series.

First, a bit of background: After significant economic growth beginning in the early 1990s, the “Celtic Tiger” became a global trading partner and hub for international investment. For the first time in its history, Ireland became a country of immigration rather than emigration as workers streamed in by the thousands to take advantage of the affluent job market and financial opportunity. The physical and cultural landscape changed, and the country experienced the inevitable growing pains of such a massive growth trajectory. While a natural slowdown in economic growth was expected, the global recession was not. Ireland was the first state in the European Union to officially enter recession and the International Monetary Fund rates Ireland as one of the hardest hit countries worldwide.

For the Irish, this is a time of transition unlike any other, and I will attempt to document this small chapter in Ireland’s giant book of history.

I have teamed up with the Irish American News to develop a print-audio/visual history series. My plan is to travel across all 32 counties conducting interviews. A brief write-up of each county and videos of the interviews will be featured on the Irish American News website. And at the end of my year abroad, we will have around 100 interviews with Irish citizens and a series of both printed words and videos which will document this unique moment in time and capture the true essence of Ireland’s experience, on both the macro and micro levels.

This project is about much more than the ups and downs of the Irish economy. It is about the human experience, and furthering world peace, goodwill, and understanding - for when we learn from reading and listening to the words of others, friendship and fellowship can more easily follow.

So that’s the plan... Let’s see how this goes.