Introduction: COVID-19 Pandemic and the ‘Irish Diaspora’ in Germany

This introduction sets the stage for a qualitative exploration of the nuanced ways in which the Irish interlocutors construct and practice Irishness under the shadow of a global pandemic. It focuses on how contact and travel restrictions impacted daily lives and connections to Ireland. Following a critical discussion of the statistics on Irish citizens in Germany and the problematic categories used to generate such statistics, the author situates her research within the ‘Tübingen school’ of historical and cultural anthropology with its focus on the micro-level of everyday life. The chapter poses significant questions which will guide the work regarding the construction and practice of Irishness abroad, how notions of Irish identity serve as mechanisms for coping with ‘crisis’ and how the pandemic led to a “shaking up” of connections between the Irish in Germany and Ireland.