South Asians in Ireland

Indians in Ireland are residents or citizens of Ireland who are of Indian background or ancestry. There has been an important and well-established community of people of Indian descent in Ireland since the eighteenth century as a result of the British Raj.^[2]

There is great variation in how much the South Asian people are integrated into Irish society. Many people of South Asian descent are well-integrated and embrace the culture of Ireland. Many children of South Asian descent are born in Ireland or have come to Ireland at a very young age, and therefore learn the Irish language in schools (which is compulsory to children who have been living in the country before the age of 7). There are South Asian people who are up to 2nd and 3rd generation Irish-born. However, many South Asian people still maintain their ancestral customs and languages, and therefore many religious festivals (such as Diwali) are well-known and accepted within Ireland.^[3]

As the Irish government does not collect detailed data on ethnicity in Ireland, population estimates vary, and non-Chinese Asian people are generally grouped in one category rather than groups based on people from individual South Asian countries.^[4] Estimates say that people of South Asian ethnicity make up around 1 to 3% of Ireland's population. The Irish-India Council estimates that there are approximately 91,520 Indian-born people in Ireland while the Indian ministry of external affairs estimates about 61,386 non resident Indians and people of Indian origin.