The changes from 2007 to about 2012 have an equally obvious cause. The global economy faltered badly in 2007, and the Irish economy followed suit. Banks failed, com- panies went bankrupt, the housing market collapsed, and jobs disappeared. The Irish returned to their historic role as a supplier of immigrants to other economies around the world. In recent years, the Irish economy recovered from the global Great Recession and migration patterns shifted accordingly. We should also note that recent immigration into Ireland is much more global and shares many characteristics with recent immigrants to the United States (O'Connell, 2016). These migration patterns have created significant changes in Ireland. For example, the number of Irish of African and Asian descent has increased by a factor of 8 since 1996. (They are, respectively, 1% and 2% of the total population.) Over the centuries, many diverse groups (e.g., Vikings, Spanish, and Anglo-Normans) have become part of Ireland but for the first time, the Irish are considering issues of racial diversity. Summary