This talk examines how the concept of ‘community’ is mobilised in relation to immigration in contemporary Northern Ireland (NI), a context where ‘community’ has long been central to political and social life. Following Bryan’s (2006) critique of ‘community’ discourse in NI, I argue that the language of ‘community’ continues to reify ethnic and religious divisions within a population that is now increasingly diverse, with significant but often overlooked consequences for social cohesion. The talk also explores how ethnographic research can help to resist these reified understandings of ‘community’ by foregrounding it instead as a dynamic, contingent, and ongoing social process.

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