Lithuanians in Ireland
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(December 2022) |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 36,683 (by birth)(2011) Thousands by descent | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| All over Ireland | |
| Languages | |
| Lithuanian,English,Irish | |
| Religion | |
| MainlyRoman Catholicism MinorityLutheran,Orthodox&Judaism |
MostLithuanianimmigrants arrived inIrelandin the 2000s, when theIrish economystarted booming.[citation needed]According to Census 2016, there are 36,552 people of Lithuanian birth resident in the Republic of Ireland, a 0.4% drop from the 2011 figure of 36,683. Approximately one third of these Lithuanians live inCounty Dublin.[1][2]
History[edit]
In the beginning of the 20th century there was some immigration ofLithuanian Jews.Robert Briscoe,who served as lord mayor of Dublin in 1956-57 and 1961–62, was son of Lithuanian a Jewish immigrants to Ireland. In contrast, the current immigration is of majority Catholic Lithuanians, as Lithuania contained few Jews in 2000.[citation needed]
In 1935,Feliksas Vaitkus,the sixth person who had a successfulflight over Atlantic Oceanwith a single engine single seat fixed-wing aircraft, landed in Ireland. Vaitkus flew his transatlantic flight withLituanica II.Vaitkus had to fight the worst possible weather conditions and was helped considerably by hourly broadcasts from an Irish radio station. He learned that Dublin was fogged in, as well as all areas heading east as far as theBaltic Sea.He knew that he could not make it toKaunasdue to his low fuel supply, and being exhausted after a 23-hour struggle fighting the elements, he felt it was best to come down somewhere in Ireland. He spotted an open field in Cloongowla atBallinrobe,County Mayoand came down, with the aircraft suffering extensive damage.[3]He was lucky to survive and not sustain any significant injuries.Lituanica IIwas crated for shipment to Lithuania, where it was restored. Vaitkus made his way to Kaunas, by ship and train, where he was given a hero's welcome.[4]
Organisations[edit]
The Lithuanian Association in Ireland Limited, officially registered in January 2005, has been active since 1999. The association organises Lithuanian concerts and other events in Dublin,Cork,MonaghanandPortlaoise,runs eight Lithuanian weekend schools in Dublin, Cork,Dundalk,Galwayetc. for Lithuanian children, runs a mailing listlithuaniansinireland[1]with over 700 members, publishes information for Lithuanians in Ireland on a website[2]and organises monthly Lithuanian gatherings around Ireland. Saloje(On the Island)[3]published twice a month, which has around 5,000 readers, and the weeklyLietuvis(Lithuanian)[4](5,000 copies) are the most popular local papers among the Lithuanian community.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^"Census 2016 Summary Results - Part 1"(PDF),Census 2016,Central Statistics Office, Figure 5.6,retrieved2023-09-15
- ^"Census 2016 Summary Results - Part 1",Census 2016,Central Statistics Office, Table EY024,retrieved2023-09-15
- ^(in Lithuanian)Karolis Vaitkevičius.Airijoje - "Lituanicos II" skrydžio pėdsakai,Lietuvos žinios No. 116 (11 453), 24 May 2006
- ^Edward W. BaranauskasThe Second Transatlantic Flight. Felix Waitkus: Forgotten HeroArchived2007-03-12 at theWayback Machine
External links[edit]
 Lithuanian diasporaand Lithuanian expatriates | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Africa | |||||||||
| Americas |
| ||||||||
| Asia |
| ||||||||
| Europe |
| ||||||||
| Oceania | |||||||||
| Related articles | |||||||||
