This reality came home with a bang this week when Ireland’s hopes of securing a new class of visa ran into the sand in the US Senate.

The E3 visas may not have alleviated circumstances for those in America but might have helped prospective emigrants.

There are several ways of looking at this.

One is that the idea of preferential treatment is unfair — especially as others from far less affluent societies need to build new lives in America.

It can also be seen as a backhanded compliment to a society that bears no resemblance to the auld sod remembered by earlier generations of emigrants.

Be that as it may, the isolation of the illegal Irish, especially at this time of the year, demands attention.

One of the ways of resolving that impasse might be to convince Washington to draw a line in the sand and regularise those already in residence while declaring that option will not be available in the future.