When I was an adolescent, my Irish grandfather would recite poetry taught to him by my Scottish grandmother. The poem was usually by Robbie Burns, the Ploughman Poet.
I was always disinterested.
In 1784, Burns wrote Man Was Made to Mourn. This is an excerpt.
…But oh! what crowds in ev’ry land,
All wretched and forlorn,
Thro’ weary life this lesson learn,
That man was made to mourn.
Many and sharp the num’rous ills
Inwoven with our frame!
More pointed still we make ourselves,
Regret, remorse, and shame!
And man, whose heav’n-erected face
The smiles of love adorn,
Man’s inhumanity to man
Makes countless thousands mourn!…
Not much has changed in almost 250 years. Or forever, I suppose.
Categories: Human Rights
in-sights.ca 
If Mr Burns was born in America would he stay?
US records new depopulation figures?
https://www.wsj.com/us-news/americans-leaving-the-us-migration-a5795bfa
In its 250th year, is America, land of immigration, becoming a country of emigration?
Last year the U.S. experienced something that hasn’t definitively occurred since the Great Depression: More people moved out than moved in.
The Trump administration has hailed the exodus—negative net migration—as the fulfillment of its promise to ramp up deportations and restrict new visas. Beneath the stormy optics of that immigration crackdown, however, lies a less-noticed reversal: America’s own citizens are leaving in record numbers, replanting themselves and their families in lands they find more affordable and safe.
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20260414-why-more-americans-are-now-moving-to-ireland
Michael Sable is an American stand-up comedian and communications manager who moved from Washington DC to Dublin in 2016.
Sable, who draws on his experience of being an American living in the Republic of Ireland in his stand-up routine, says that, when he first arrived, many Irish people he met were surprised he’d made the move, but now they don’t question it.
“I’ve noticed that, as the years go on, people have been less and less incredulous when hearing that an American moved to Ireland,” he says.
Sable is one of a rising number of people who have moved to Ireland from the US, with the latest data showing the figure nearly doubling from 4,900 to 9,600 between 2024 and 2025, exceeding the number of Irish people headed in the opposite direction.
It comes as the US saw more people leave than arrive last year, according to a report from US think tank the Brookings Institution. It said this was the first time that this had been the case “in at least half a century”.
The think tank highlighted “dramatic changes in immigration policy” under the second administration of President Trump, including more removals of undocumented foreign workers, and the White House “all but suspend[ing]” the US programme for accepting refugees.
Separately, more American citizens are choosing to move abroad than ever before, says the Wall Street Journal. It calculated that “at least 180,000 Americans” voluntarily left the US in 2025, which it said was a record high.
The reversal in the flow of migration between Ireland and the US marks a historic turning point in the shared history of the two countries, which have deep-rooted ties.
“The flow of young people [from Ireland to the US] looking for work just hasn’t continued. So, that is going to be a big change in the future, because you’re not going to get the same easy connection between Ireland and America,” he adds.
The trend partly reflects political shifts in both countries. As well as developing into a high-tech, export-driven knowledge economy, Ireland has undergone a social transformation in recent decades, moving from a deeply conservative society to a liberal, progressive nation, following referendums on divorce, abortion and gay marriage.
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