'The only problem is the weather': Poles eye up Ireland after Brexit vote

Poles working in Ireland are expecting an influx of their compatriots over the coming weeks and months as Britain becomes an increasingly uncertain and hostile destination after the Brexit vote.

Wojciech Białek, 40, who runs a charity for eastern Europeans in Cork, says he has fielded a growing number of emails and calls recently from Poles in the UK wondering whether Ireland might prove a better bet.

“It is clear that Poles in the UK feel the security and safety are greater in Ireland,” says Białek, the founder of support group Together-Razem.

Białek, who specialises in mental health and addiction issues, says the EU referendum and subsequent mood in Britain have had a ripple effect. “There are new anxieties in the community. In Britain, people are thinking of moving to Ireland or Scandinavia,” he says. “I am even getting inquiries from Poles in Ireland who want Irish citizenship. Maybe they are afraid of a total breakdown of the EU.”

Ireland’s economic growth, the stability of the euro and 1990s Polish pop song Kocham cię jak Irlandię (I love you like Ireland) are cited as draws by some of the estimated 118,000 Polish nationals living in the country.



There are more than seven times that number of Poles in the UK according to the latest ONS estimates, but people like Artur Sadowski, a butcher, believe the gap will narrow.

“There is a new economic boom in Ireland,” says Sadowski, before taking a flight from Warsaw to Dublin. “Britain’s loss will be Ireland’s gain. My boss is now importing more meat for his money thanks to [the] fall of sterling. This means more jobs for Poles.”

At Modlin, Warsaw’s airport for budget carriers, blue tailfins with yellow harps dwarf the trees. Aer Lingus and Ryanair operate 126 flights a week between the Polish capital and Dublin and Shannon airports. They also serve regional emigration hotspots such as Rzeszów in south-east Poland.

“I heard Britain is less friendly than Ireland, especially since the referendum. I made the right choice,” says Dublin-bound Marcin Raganowicz, 34, checking in with his five-year-old daughter, Maya, who was born in Ireland. “Poles in Britain are afraid they will be thrown out. People in Ireland are really friendly. You do not hear anyone complain about Poles. The only problem is the weather.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A view across the Samuel Beckett bridge in Dublin. The capital is one of the most popular destinations in Ireland for Polish people. Photograph: Alamy

After nine years in Ireland, Raganowicz earns €500 (£423) a week stacking shelves at grocery store SuperValu. An equivalent job in Poland would pay €500 a month.

Studies of Polish migration intentions show that the UK has become a less attractive destination since the EU referendum debate began. The previous half-yearly survey published in May by Polish employment agency Work Service found that Germany had overtaken Britain as a favourite destination among Poles planning to leave.

Andrzej Kubisiak, a press officer for Work Service, says even though Ireland has a far smaller Polish population than Britain, it is in the top three most-liked countries, with 34% of Poles in Ireland saying they would like to remain there permanently.

Białek blames U2 and Polish rock band Kobranocka. “Every Pole knows the song ‘I love you like Ireland’ and the line ‘for her tender whispers and white arms, I would give up my dull life’. There is no doubt that Ireland holds a special place in the Polish imagination and in Polish hearts,” he says.