PLANS ARE currently in the making to unite Ireland’s Polish communities under a single umbrella group, it has emerged.
At present there is no united Polish representative group in Ireland, but organisers intend to link separate organisations through an overarching structure called the Federation of Polish Organisations in Ireland.
According to Kazik Anhalt of the Polish Information and Culture Centre in Dublin, the initiators of the proposal are the aforementioned centre and its counterpart in Cork.
Anhalt said there has also been “support” for the idea from numerous organisations including the Northern Ireland Polish Association from Belfast, but noted: “The question of participation of a Polish organisation from NI brings some controversy especially in the context of its political dimension.”
He also revealed that the longest standing Polish organisation in Ireland, the Irish- Polish Society, has also entered discussions with them about the idea of a “united Polish movement”.
Anhalt said the principal aims of such a federation would be to “lay down the ground for integration, to enhance the position or status of Poles in Ireland by lobbing for amendments in legislation when necessary, [and] to widely activate the Polish community regarding the European Parliament and local elections in 2009.”
He added that the organisation could also represent Poles when discussing relevant issues with the Irish and Polish governments.
Six groups from five cities have indicated their intention to support the federation, and discussions are ongoing, concluded Anhalt. There are already a number of cultural and sporting Polish groups in Ireland initiated by members of Ireland’s Polish communities, who number up to 200,000 or more.
