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Hinduism in the Republic of Ireland
S. Harikrishnan and Sweta Chakraborty
1 Introduction
Reporting on the “millions” of Hindus in India turning toward Christianity, an
Irish newspaper reported in 1936 that Christianity had delivered the Hindus
from “the fear of a thousand and one gods” (“Mass Movement in India” 1936: 6).
It was in a similar tone that Gershon Weiler, writing about his visit to the
Hindu’s holy city of Benares (Varanasi) a decade and a half later, stated he felt
“completely left out” and “humiliated” by his noncomprehension of the Hindu
religion. He concluded that his ight out from Benares was also a ight out from
the “fascination of the bottomless depth of India” (Weiler 1962: 7). Meanwhile,
back in Ireland, it was this confusing polytheism that attracted the renowned
poet and literary gure William Butler Yeats, who was developing a keen inter-
est in Hinduism in the early twentieth century. Yeats’s interest in Hinduism
started with his contact with the Theosophical Society in the 1880s, but soon
he was especially captivated by “tantra,” a small and rather esoteric branch of
Hinduism that features sexuality as a prominent element (Myers 2009: 111–12).
These and other early accounts of Hinduism in Ireland suggest that de-
spite the attempts of the Theosophical Society and missionary movements,
Ireland’s connections with Indian culture—and Hinduism specically—
remained largely limited in the early twentieth century. This was because even
those Europeans who spent most of their lives in India—as missionaries or
as servants of the colonial enterprise—continued “preserving their identity,
keeping native society and culture at arm’s length […] deant and seemingly
insensitive to the cultures that surrounded them” (Wickremeratne 1982: 237).
Newspaper reports from the time, and records of Yeats’s understanding of tan-
tra and Hinduism reify that Ireland’s engagement with Hinduism was minimal,
and ultimately remained “Western.”
Myers argues that while there is no clarity on the exact sources from which Yeats drew his
understanding of Kālī, it is most likely that, apart from the books he might have borrowed
from friends or libraries, his sources were limited to a set of tantric texts edited by Woodrofe
and two books by Sister Nivedita (who gave “Westerners an understanding of Hinduism”),
Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists (1913) and Kali the Mother (Myers 2009: 124).
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This limited—or rather confused—engagement with non-Christian reli-
gions in Ireland changed drastically toward the end of the twentieth century.
Migration brought in larger numbers of Hindus to the island over the course of
the twentieth century, and Hindu organisations began to be set up both in the
Republic and in Northern Ireland. Indian community and religious organisa-
tions began to be set up in the Republic in the 1970s—the India Club Ireland
(1971), Ireland India Cultural Society (1979), Temple (1978), etc. (Kapur
1997: 132–33; Taylor 2009: 34). The number of Hindus in Ireland reached 953 by
1991 (Gillmor 2006: 113) and in 2016 had surpassed 14,000. Over the last three
decades, there has been a gradual increase in immigration to Ireland, bring-
ing in a larger number of non-Christian religions, including Hinduism. Using
newspaper reports, census data, and personal interviews, this chapter explores
the creation and importance of Hindu cultural and religious organisations in
contemporary Ireland.
2 Diaspora: the Migration of Indians to Ireland
Diaspora is the term often used today to describe practically any population
that is considered deterritorialised or transnational—that is, any population
that has originated in a land other than that the one in which it currently re-
sides, and whose social, economic, and political networks cross the borders of
nation-states or, indeed, span the globe (Vertovec 1997: 277). Vertovec goes on
to explicate three discernible meanings of the term diaspora: as a social form,
as a type of consciousness, and as a mode of cultural production. With the
increasing immigration of people from South Asian countries to the West, it
was noticed that the migrant population was not emulating the host popula-
tion in order to blend in completely and neither was the “melting pot” brewing
with any consistency. Groups from migrant populations tried to recreate cer-
tain features of their homeland in the country to which they migrated in order
to alleviate anxieties and feelings of rootlessness that arose from their sudden
encounter with an alien land and culture. In a more specic study of the Hindu
diaspora, Kurien (2014) points to the importance of religion in helping migrant
populations better integrate with the host culture, while simultaneously main-
taining their cultural and personal integrity (Kurien 2014: 530). As we will see,
this montage has only fairly recently received impetus in Ireland.
Although a comprehensive history of Indian communities in Ireland is yet
to be written, some studies suggest that the rst Indian immigrants to Ireland
were businessmen who came after contact with the British Indian Army in
the eighteenth century (Kapur 1997: 49–55; Eisenberg 2011). By the twentieth
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century, Ireland had a steady but low inow of Indian immigrants, mostly busi-
nessmen and skilled labourers. However, Ireland was not a popular choice for
migration for the majority of the nineteenth and most of the twentieth cen-
tury. In fact, this was a period of signicant emigration out of Ireland, and its
population shrank from about 4.4 million in 1861 to 2.8 million in 1961 (Ruhs
and Quinn 2009). It is only toward the end of the twentieth century that we
see signs of Indian activity in the public sphere in Ireland. The 1990s further
increased this, and Ireland saw its rst wave of mass migration to the Republic
from non-European Union nations, including India. By the early 2000s, Ireland
became a “country of net migration” (Ruhs and Quinn 2009). In the 2000s,
nursing and jobs in the health sector brought in the majority of Indian immi-
grants. Nursing was a major employment for Indians during the period, with
about 40% of visas issued to nurses between 2000 and 2006 given to Indians
(Kodoth and Jacob 2013: 13–14). Since 2007, the IT and pharmaceuticals sec-
tors, along with nancial services, have replaced nursing as the largest em-
ployers of Indian migrants in Ireland. Hanumantha Rao Marepalli, a software
engineer who migrated to Ireland in 1999 and now lives in Dublin, recollects in
his interview: “When I came here, there were very few Indians […] from 2002
to 2004, a lot of people (Indians) came.” By 2011, there were close to 18,000
Indians in Ireland, making them the second fastest growing migrant group
(from 2016 census).
This increase can also be attributed to several multinational companies
moving to Ireland for the tax benets provided by the country, as well as the
growing willingness of Indians to migrate to the West for education as well as
business purposes. The universities in Ireland have been actively advertising
in India to persuade more Indian students to enrol, especially for courses such
as business administration, management, etc. The students spend large sums
of money to enrol in such courses, with the expectation of acquiring a job in
one of the multinational corporations (s) in Ireland and settling down
for a considerable amount of time. The “achievement” and “success” that is
made analogous to being a nonresident Indian (), especially one living in
Europe or America, has aided in the creation of a large Indian population that
has migrated to Ireland. Vinay Lal wonderfully described the perks of the label:
Non-resident Indians would, consequently, themselves become the very
instantiation of globalization, indeed, in many middleclass homes in
India, gures of nearly mythic proportions. The matrimonial section of
the Sunday edition of the major English dailies reected this changing
reality, creating a new column for “Green Card holders,” with the obvi-
ous implication that green card men would be able to command higher
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dowries, while green card women, with their earning potential, were
themselves a form of dowry for an Indian groom. The , unlike the
“overseas Indian” of earlier generations, has arrived; he belongs to the de-
veloped, not the developing, world; and in him cannot be writ large the
oppressive narrative of development, which condemns those who belong
to the developing world to always, but always, arrive late at their destina-
tion. (2003: 23)
3 Hinduism in Ireland
Non-Christian religions actively emerged in Ireland’s public sphere in the sec-
ond half of the twentieth century. These new cultural and religious organisa-
tions played an important role in this. The change is reected in this rather
scathing attack on the “old generation” of missionaries that appeared in an Irish
newspaper in 1974: “[…] to our generation it seems exceedingly strange that
hundreds of thousands of Europeans spent most of their lives in India with-
out even wanting to know what makes the ‘natives’ tick […] We Europeans of
the 1970s nd India’s alleged (religious) obscenities innocent indeed” (Murphy
1974: 14). Apart from a general interest in Hinduism as a religion, the cultural
organisations that emerged in Ireland also introduced concepts like yoga, and
evidence shows that a number of Irish took a keen interest in it, as seen from
a series of over twenty letters to the editor of the Irish Times between May and
August 1989. A debate ensued after Charles Stevens wrote to the newspaper ex-
pressing concern that a section of the Church had argued that all Eastern view-
points were “all about darkness,” during a public meeting in Cork (1989: 11). In
a response to this letter, a representative of Christians Concerned for Ireland
responded that “[Christian] scripture describes those who don’t know the Lord
as pagans, i.e. Buddhists, Hindus, etc. who need to repent and turn from idols
to the true God.” (Monaghan 1989: 13). While Monaghan’s letter reected a con-
servative and limited understanding of Hinduism, similar to that of the “old
generation” of missionaries mentioned earlier, the large number of letters writ-
ten in support of Stevens over two months displays a much more engaged dis-
cussion on yoga, Hinduism, and the Vedic traditions. The colonial history that
the two countries share might have propagated the identication, as well as
being able to relate to diferent and variegated cultural systems. The memories
For instance, letters by Gabriel Rosenstock (June 8, 1989), Patricia Wall on religious toler-
ance (June 8, 1989), Malcolm MacClancy ( July 10, 1989), Mary Olive Barry (July 18, 1989), and
Edwine E.H. McCloughan on the Bhagavadgītā (August 3, 1989), among others.
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of partition and religious violence shared by both countries created a sense
of empathy, and most of the Indian respondents validated that the Irish are
very welcoming and that they had little to no problem in establishing religious
organisations in Ireland.
The increase in migrant populations, and the relatability and empathy de-
scribed above, seem to have helped establish Hinduism as an important non-
Christian religion in Ireland. Between 1991 and 2002, the number of Hindus
increased by over 200% to reach 3,099 (Gillmor 2006: 113). Census data shows
that the increase in the number of Hindus continued in the 2000s and 2010s
and crossed 14,000 in 2016 (see gure 43.1). Between 2011 and 2016, Hinduism
became the fastest growing non-Christian religion in Ireland, growing by 135%
(Central Statistics Oce 2017). In Ireland, 41.7% of Hindus were of Indian
nationality in 2016, closely followed by Irish (41%), Mauritian (6.9%), and
Nepalese (3%). Of the Hindus with Irish nationality, about 2,000 were born
in Ireland.
Another interesting observation is that over the last decade, there was a
jump in the number of Hindus under fteen years of age—from 960 in 2006
to 3,349 in 2016 (ibid.). This suggests a rise in the number of second-generation
Hindus in Ireland, indicating that the classes who have migrated to Ireland
tend to bring their spouses with them and set up their families. It can be as-
sumed from observation that the youth are more likely to leave their home
countries and set up their lives in a diasporic environment. This has resulted in
a number of children (under the age of fteen) with Indian, Mauritian, or Irish
citizenship who can be bracketed as Hindus, thereby increasing the spread of
Hinduism in Ireland. Most respondents cited the socialisation of children as
the major reason for visiting temples or celebrating Hindu religious festivals in
Ireland. Sumit (thirty-eight years old), an assistant professor at one of Ireland’s
premier universities, lamented that “My 10-year-old daughter only speaks in
English and it is so dicult to teach her Hindi. I take her to the Gurdwara or
the Divālī or Holi festivals organised by the Hindu associations to at least in-
troduce her to our culture. Neither my wife nor I are religious, but we want to
keep the option open for my daughter.”
Interview with Sachin Vaishnav, April 21, 2018; interview with Marepalli Hanumantha Rao,
April 7, 2018.
Name changed at the request of the participant.
The sole gurdvāra in Ireland has been accessible to both Hindu and Sikh communities. The
Hindus ascribe a more cultural symbolism to the gurdvāra than the Sikhs, but some of the
interviewees often visit to listen to the religious music being played or to have food in
the communal kitchen (laṅgar).
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4 The Organisations to Practise and Promote Hinduism
Over the years, a number of Hindu religious and cultural organisations have
found space in Ireland, such as , the Vedic Hindu Cultural Centre Ireland
(), the Indian Vinayaka Temple (), Mauritius Hindu Ekta Ireland,
Swaminarayan Sanstha, and Sri Mata Amritanandamayi, to name a few
of the prominent ones. The International Society for Krishna Consciousness
() was established by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in 1966 in
New York and since then has been a major propagator of a particular variety of
Hinduism, the Gauīya Vaiava tradition, across the Western world. The rst
Ka temple in Ireland was opened in 1978 on Belvedere Street in Dublin, but
it has only been since the early 1980s that the group started acquiring fame and
a following. The Mauritius Hindu Ekta Ireland was set up in 2015 by a group of
six friends who decided to celebrate the festival of Navarātrī and invite their
friends and families. This localised event received such a marvellous response
from the Mauritian community that they were encouraged to establish a for-
mal organisation. The need for a temple was felt by the Hindu community, and
the Irish Vinayaka Temple () was established in 2003. These organisations
The history of indentured labour started with the transportation of Indians to Mauritius in
1835 (Lal 2003), and this growing population has led to Hinduism being the majority religion
in Mauritius.
Figure 53.1. Number of people who identified as belonging to the Hindu religion in the
Republic of Ireland (1991–2016).
Source: Compiled using data from CSO (2003, 2011, 2017); Gillmor 2006; Eisenberg 2011
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
14000
16000
1991 2002 2006 2011 2016
. Number of people who identied as belonging to the Hindu religion in the
Republic of Ireland (1991–2016)
: (, , );
;
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arrange events for popular Hindu festivals, satsaṅgs, and other cultural events
periodically.
5 Creating New Spaces
A study of Indian diasporas in Dublin from 2006 notes that a characteristic
feature of Hindus in Ireland was that they continued to practice their religious
traditions. The main motivations for this, as observed by Eisenberg (2011),
were: young Indians feel the need to honour the gods at least once a day, even
if they did not do it regularly in India; the desire to pass on a Hindu identity to
the next generations, who are born and raised in Ireland; and the need to be
occupied with religious traditions and practices in order to establish religious
institutions in the diaspora.
There may also be other socioreligious networks, which have been created by South Asian
Hindu residents, but they are dicult to identify in the absence of formal organisational
structures.
. An Easter bunny nds space among oferings at an Annakut organised by the
Swaminrayan Sanstha, 24 March 2018
:
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Although these were motivating factors in the creation of and participation
in the Hindu organisations that have been set up in Ireland, there are more nu-
anced enablers that cannot be listed out without discussing them in context.
5.1 Temples as Spiritual Spaces
The most prominent role that temples play is as spiritual spaces. Hanumantha
Rao, who is a volunteer at the Ireland Vinayaka Temple and whose children
were born in Ireland, notes that they visit the temple with him. “My family is
like a typical Andhra family […] I have my own temple at home. By birth I am
a Brahmin, so I do sandhyavandan everyday […] Hinduism is growing here,
people are sticking to their values,” he says. The Irish Vinayaka Temple became
the rst (and so far, the only) group to bring in a temple priest from India on a
“priest visa,” according to Hanumantha Rao. Another organisation, the
is set on building Ireland’s second “independent” temple in Walkinstown,
which will house almost twenty statues (mūrtis) of various Hindu gods, includ-
ing Rāma, diferent avatārs of Viu, Śiva, and Svāminārāyan, among others.
The mūrtis are being imported from India and funds were raised through the
Hindu Sammelan (Hindu consortium), which was organised by the in
the City West Hotel in Ireland in February 2018 and attended by almost 700
Hindus; other organisations, such as the Mauritius Hindu Ekta Ireland, also
contributed to the construction of this grand temple. The also organises
events such as Gaeś Chaturthī, Kavadipūjā, Mahāśivarātri, etc., mostly in the
Teacher’s Centre in Dublin or in members’ homes when an elaborate, elon-
gated ritual is required.
The spiritual version of Hinduism has been developed and tailored to suit
the needs of an increasingly anxious, globalised world. The Hindu organisa-
tions in Ireland have successfully galvanised the increased public interest
in non-Christian spirituality, especially since the 1970s and 1980s. The inter-
est in courses—especially ones dealing with spirituality and ancient Vedic
wisdom—are on the rise and are also attracting a relatively younger popula-
tion of native Irish. Orla (twenty-one years old) visited India in 2016 and ever
since has been “in love with the spirituality that is promoted through such
teachings. It is calming and has helped me through a period of depression.”
The fascination with spirituality has also bolstered the branching out of
institutions such as the Art of Living Foundation and Sahaj Yoga in Ireland,
which promote the culture of meditation and yoga and attract a large number
of followers. In addition to these transnational organisations that have a global
A Hindu Brahman ritual performed during dusk every day.
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presence, other organisations have emerged in Ireland that cater to the more
local needs of the growing population of Hindus in Ireland.
5.2 Temples as Cultural Spaces
The draw of Hindu temples is not limited to providing a spiritual experience;
they also recreate cultural spaces for communal mingling (Eisenberg 2011).
Sachin, who works for Accenture in Ireland, moved to Ireland six months ago
and echoes these views: “The satsaṅg made me recall my country […] I could
see similar faces, cultures.” Sachin, who is now a frequent attendee of the
Swaminarayan satsaṅgs, recollects how his rst experience of the gatherings
helped him settle in during his rst days in Dublin. A twenty-seven-year-old
Indian woman dressed in a traditional Indian saree who was attending the
Rāma Nāvami celebrations at said such an atmosphere helped her
cope with the loss she felt, especially during festivals: “I do not get to wear a
saree here in Ireland. I feel out of place if I wear it to oce. So, this was also
an occasion to dress up and meet people with whom I can speak in Hindi.”
Bhaskara (thirty-two years old) had never visited a temple while in India: “My
atmates are really religious, so I came with them and I also get to have Indian
food and listen to some Indian music. My visit here is denitely not religious.”
Although the religious and ritualistic practices are similar, Yogesh Bhurtun,
Secretary of the , felt that it was necessary to teach “our children the roots
of the Mauritian society and culture of Mauritius,” or as another respondent
claimed: “90 per cent Hindu families are growing as Hindu families. We know
our values […] we here think we need to pass it on to our children.”
. The Ireland Vinakaya Temple
:
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Sudhansh Varma, one of the founding members of —a strong body
with almost sixty registered members in the managerial committee—justied
the necessity for setting up a Hindu organisation in Ireland by mentioning that
the Indian culture had to be upheld and promoted in Ireland: “We look very
similar to people who come from countries other than India, but we do not
all have the same culture. It was necessary to create a distinguished place for
ourselves so that people could identify the beauty and bounty of our culture.”
Interviews suggested that temples also played an important role as spaces
for socialising. Sachin said that he was not aware of the other temples and had
not explored them yet, but he would be curious. “You never know, you may end
up meeting people over there,” he says. The new space being set up by
hopes to meet this role of the temple that extends beyond that of a spiritual
space by creating a cultural centre where organisations can host religious and
social events, competitions, etc.
6 People as Hindus
continues to attract a mix of Indian and Irish crowds to their tem-
ple. The Irish Vinayaka Temple and also attract a few Irish people, but
their regular crowds consist mostly of Indians, but also a few Sri Lankans and
Mauritians. Bringing children to the temple is a common practice among Asian
Hindus. Hanumantha Rao suggests that this is to impart Hindu culture to the
next generation: “90 per cent Hindu families are growing as Hindu families. We
know our values […] we here think we need to pass it on to our children.” In
countries where Hinduism is not a dominant religion, studies have shown that
the diaspora realise they have to make a conscious attempt to teach their chil-
dren what being Hindu means. For this, congregational forms of worship and
learning, such as satsaṅgs (local worship groups) and balavihars (educational
groups for children), are developed (Kurien 2014: 530). One observes similar
practices among the Irish Hindus. Even temples such as the Irish Vinayaka
Temple ofer special prayers on weekends. The idea is to get younger genera-
tions involved so they become attuned to their parents’ cultural roots and grow
up “as Hindus.”
The increasing number of the young population who participate and are ac-
tive members of such organisations is a “pleasant and welcome” phenomenon
for all the organisers, who feel that their aim to promote Hinduism in Ireland
is receiving greater success with every year.
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7 Integration into Irish Society
In the 1980s, an increasing number of safron-clad, clean-shaven devotees
started being featured on Ireland’s famous The Late Late Show. The show has
been important in the origin and spread of in Ireland, and devotees
Praghosa Das and Manu Das provide an interesting anecdote: “One of the rst
devotees to land on Irish soil in the early seventies came on a motorbike, with
the intention of getting a slot on the famous TV program, The Late Late Show.
The devotee’s name was Tribhuvanatha and, being Irish, he knew this would be
an excellent opportunity to introduce the edgling Krishna movement to the
people of Ireland. Although unsuccessful in his attempt, it would not be too
long before the rst group of devotees began to sing and dance on the high-
ways and byways of Ireland.”
Apart from the temple, today also runs three vegetarian restau-
rants in Dublin, which are frequented by Irish and non-Irish crowds alike.
Interest in Hinduism has risen for roughly the last three decades in Ireland,
and most respondents spoke positively of their experience interacting with
the Irish. Out of the number of Hindus employed in Ireland, 18.4% were clas-
sied as belonging to the professional class—over twice more than the na-
tional average of 8.1%. Hanumantha Rao feels this helps the Irish perception
. Crowds at the Temple Dublin
:
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of the Hindu community: “Gardai say they have no problems with us […]
most of us are professionals or students […] even my colleagues, they like
Hinduism. Irish people are curious about Hinduism now.” Sachin, who has
been here for under a year, said he has not had the chance to closely interact
with many Irish people who have shown curiosity in religious discussions. The
Broadcasting Authority of Ireland awarded Mr. Varma of with an award
in 2010 for his survey on Indians in Ireland. This survey, conducted in thirteen
series, with a half-hour slot on the radio for each programme, included 250
participants who were questioned about their experiences in Ireland. One of
these sessions focused on the ease with which Indians could practice their re-
ligion in Ireland.
The inuence of religiosity within Ireland works in favour of these organisa-
tions because the Church often calls upon them for interreligious dialogue or
interfaith cultural events. Most of the organisers of such religious associations
lauded the Irish community for being immensely accommodating and enthu-
siastic about the events that are organised. Some even identied that Irish
“core” values were similar to those of Indians, and it was only due to increasing
“Americanisation” that these values were deprecating.
These organisations are also engaged in community services, and Irish com-
munities also contribute, as Yogesh Burtun pointed out in an interview: “The
Irish participate for the bright colours, vibrant dancing, delicious food and
are very forthcoming even with donations for our community services.” The
started a project of planting more trees in Ireland called “Taru Mitra
Taru Putra” and organise monthly “Holy Kitchens” where they distribute food
among the homeless. The has fundraised for organisations such as the
St. Michaels House for disabled children, the National League of the Blind,
and the St. Francis hospice. The hospitals and churches also call upon these
organisations in the event of Hindu deaths. Although open pyres are not al-
lowed, there are several crematoriums in Ireland where the send in
their priests to perform the last rites for the deceased. The , being the
largest Hindu organisation in Ireland according to numerical strength, is also
often called upon by the Embassy of India in Ireland to help organise events
for the (Indian Council for Cultural Relations). But these organisations
do not receive any funding from the embassy, since “it is a secular country and
they might not give funding for religious organizations” (Sudhansh Varma).
Police Service of the Republic of Ireland.
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8 Individualised Practices
There are other practising Hindus in Ireland who are more reclusive and refuse
to participate in such elaborate communal gatherings. They create shrines in
their own homes and perform their daily pūjās without visiting any temple or
organisation. Ghanashyama Prabhu, a PhD student in Dublin, appreciates the
culture of silent praying in Ireland: “I visit the Gurdwara sometimes for the
music or maybe to just ofer some sevā. Even if people make temples here, they
should respect the silence that is maintained in Ireland and not set up micro-
phones or loudspeakers like they do in India.” For Ghanashyama, a Brahman
from Karnataka, the performance of religious rituals difers greatly from what
he would do back home: “I would do Sandhya archana and all other elaborate
rituals when I am at home but here, I do not even have a shrine. I am still a
practicing Hindu with strong beliefs but there are practical limitations. For in-
stance, it is too cold to take a bath here in the evening and I cannot pray with-
out taking a bath. Initially, I was very sceptical of sharing my utensils with my
atmates because they were non-vegetarian. Gradually, I have become more
relaxed.”
9 Conclusion
Sudhansh Varma is very optimistic about the spread of Hinduism in Ireland
and across the world. He quotes Bernard Shaw, Bertrand Russell, Nostradamus,
and Einstein who, according to him, all claimed that Hinduism will become
the primary religion in the world. Yogesh Bhurtun thinks it will take time for
Hinduism to become a “world religion” per se, but he feels the presence of
Hinduism has increased phenomenally since he arrived in Ireland ten years
ago. Increasing attention to Hinduism has also been paid by the various ac-
ademic institutions, like University College Dublin, Trinity College Dublin,
Dublin City University, University of Cork, etc. where the departments of the-
ology or religious studies have become much more inclusive and are paying
much greater attention to religions other than Christianity. The increasing
number of South Asian students within Ireland has also contributed to this
interest and participation.
Catholicism might have been one of the primary markers of nationhood in
Ireland at one time. Similarly, in India, as religious identities become stronger,
the impact is also felt in the diaspora. Being away from one’s country tends to
heighten yearnings to hold onto identities that help one relate with the “home”
land. Although Hinduism in Ireland is mostly made manifest through cultural
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and social symbols, the creation of new temples and the increase in ritualistic
worship might satiate the religious exigencies of practising Hindus. The cur-
rent trends denote a rise in Hindu religious spaces that are etched out in the
predominantly Catholic country of Ireland.
References
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Interviews
– Rao, Marepalli Hanumantha, personal interview (April 7, 2018)
– Vaishnav, Sachin, personal interview (April 21, 2018)
– Two participants in the temple Dublin (March 25, 2018 and April 01, 2018)
– The founder of Vedic Hindu Cultural Centre Ireland, Sudhansh Verma (May 7, 2018)
– The founder of Malaysian Hindu Ekta Centre Ireland, Yogesh Bhurtun (April 4,
2018)
– PhD scholar in Computer Engineering at Dublin City University, Ghanashyam
Prabhu (March 28, 2018)
– Three Postdoctoral scholars from Dublin City University, Trinity College Dublin
who do not wish to be named (Focus Group meeting on April 14, 2018)
– One member of Sahaj Yoga Samaj, Ireland who does not want to be named (April 9,
2018)
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