Reports of wild and crazy behavior among Irish emigrants to Australia have been circulating in recent weeks.

Police in Perth have been called on numerous occasions to nightspots where young Irish are misbehaving.  It has gotten to the point where local Irish organizations have been forced to intervene to try and calm the storm.

Something similar has happened in previous years here in America when Irish students visit on the annual J-1 visa summer jaunt.

Of course, plunking thousands of Irish kids down in a new country, without parental oversight for the first time ever in many cases, is always an excuse for excess and partying.

The young Irish do it to extreme, though, as has often been noted by locals in both Australia and the U.S., and it has brought about a bad reputation among many natives.

Letting off steam is one thing, but trashing apartments and making life very difficult for local families with abusive behavior is another matter altogether.

The act of emigration is a complex one that often leads to such aberrant behavior as many Irish drink to cover up homesickness or an inability to cope and prosper in a new environment.

This generation of Irish was brought up with very different expectations. As children of the Celtic Tiger they were not raised for emigration like so many in previous generations.

The fact that hundreds of thousands of them are indeed forced emigrants as against those who leave willingly is a reality that both Ireland and emigrant communities abroad have to deal with.

The fact that a percentage of them misbehave should not take away form the reality that like millions before, the vast majority wants to get on with life and contribute like previous generations have always done.