The Irish empire

Ireland is just a tiny country that has never sought domination, yet it has established Irishness and Irish power bases and communities from Chicago to Vladivistok, from Australia to Argentina. There is no physical empire, but an empire of imagination, a virtual empire, whose followers outnumber the native population in Ireland by over fifteen to one. From a home population of just 4 million, some 70 million people around the world call themselves Irish, or claim Irish descent. This is a thought-provoking exploration of how the Irish have so often triumphed over adversity and established themselves all over the world. It explores the past and present attitudes and ideas which have allowed the Irish people to spread across the world without loosing a sense of identity generations later. Narrated by Fiona Shaw.