For several years a major goal of national planning in Ireland has been to reduce or curb emigration. High levels of emigration in the past were a clear indication of the failure of the national economy to provide a sufficient number of jobs for the workforce. Since the overriding concern has been with emigration little attention has been directed towards immigration into Ireland. Until recently little was known about the volume of immigration or the spatial distribution or the demographic and socio-economic attributes of the immigrants. However, since the publication in 1978 of Volume XI of the 1971 census of population some detailed analyses of immigration can now be made. In part I of that volume the residents of each county are classified by their place of residence twelve months previously, while in part II they are classified by their place of birth. This paper, which is based on some of the contents of that volume, attempts to highlight the main trends in immigration. The first part of the paper examines the volume, origins and destinations of immigrants up to 1971. The second part investigates in greater detail the principal demographic, educational and occupational attributes of the immigrants over the twelve months prior to April 1971.