This book investigates the lived experiences of Italian migrant women in Ireland. Despite the longstanding presence of Italian migrants in Ireland, this diverse group of women occupies a marginal position in a migration history that is frequently overlooked and underexplored in mainstream migration research. This book conceptualizes their condition through the lens of a "double diaspora", a condition marked by dual invisibility as both migrants and women, while also underscoring the sustained importance of their roles as agentic participants in complex, multilayered forms of transnational belonging.

Drawing on more than two decades of reflexive and participatory ethnographic research, the book is grounded in rich longitudinal and multigenerational insights into continuity and change within diasporic life. More than 50 interviews with Italian women spanning first, second, and third generations of migrants reveal how personal storytelling becomes a powerful tool for negotiating gender roles and resisting marginalization. At the same time, the double diaspora of Italian migrant women operates as a socially embedded strategy of boundary-making, enabling the construction of collective diasporic identities that are both enduring and fluid. This book will be of interest to scholars and students in migration studies, diaspora studies, and gender studies.

Carla de Tona is Assistant Professor at the University of Bologna, Italy. She has expertise in the field of international migration, gender, race and ethnicity, Italian diaspora studies, memory and narratives, and sociology of education. Her latest monographs are All in the Mix: Race, Class and School Choice (with Bridget Byrne, 2019) and Migrant Activism and Integration from Below in Ireland (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012).