Across the world - and especially in the U.S., people will be dressing head to foot in green, drinking Guinness and celebrating a version of Ireland that I do not recognise. Here's what Ireland isn't...
It's not The Quiet Man - John Wayne meeting the inhabitants of Inisfree, a village crammed to the gills with fiery redheads, priests, singing, drunken & fighting Oirish-men. The Irish have since been seen as clones of Victor McLaglen, Barry Fitzgerald & Maureen O'Hara. Oh, please! This isn't the sole reason that Ireland is seen in this way, but it hasn't helped. Just about every popular representation of Ireland has a heavy dose of 'The Quiet Man' in it. I really hate this film and the whole mythical Ireland that it portrays.
Thanks a bundle, John Ford
Ireland isn't Guinness. Ireland has effectively undergone 'guinnessification'. The 'black stuff' has become finely enmeshed into the identity of Ireland thanks to relentless marketing along those lines. You cannot be a true 'Oirishman' if you don't partake. Well, I'm Irish and I don't drink Guinness - and what's more, I don't even like the stuff. Horrible! Take it away...
Not the new Irish flag
Ireland isn't... all the other stuff. You know - leprechauns, shamrock, pots of gold, shillelagh (Irish fighting sticks), pony & traps, smoky bars, fiddles, tin whistles, fighting, drinking, drinking & fighting, blah blah blah. You don't need me to list them all. They represent Ireland in much the same ways as Morris Men represent the true spirit of the English. In other words, they don't.
Tura, lura, lura
Anyway, that's enough of what Ireland isn't. I will leave you with some images to celebrate just a little of what Ireland really is like. Ireland is...
Very wet - but that's why it's so green
Very beautiful - lots of great scenery
The home of some decent drinks - like Bushmills
And some wonderful food - like potato bread
So, Happy St. Patrick's Day. Stripping away the Guinness, the leprechauns, the shamrock, the drunken fights, the fiddle-dee-dee music and all the other cliches, Ireland is a modern european country which has fallen on hard times. My thoughts are with the Irish on this day, in the sincere hope that the country will rise again from the ashes and become a prosperous and happy country once again. Slainte!
Hear Hear. It's about time we Irish promoted ourselves for what is best about us. The truth is we have always punched well above our weight (in terms of population size) when it comes to education, creativity, literature and the arts, technological know-how and honest-to-goodness savvy. We export our best people to other countries and there's still plenty left at home.
ReplyDeleteThe Irish have achieved an empire by stealth. We are everywhere in the world, and for such a migrant nation, I'm proud to say that we are welcomed enthusiastically just about everywhere in the world.
The streets of Auckland were filled with people wearing green today. Chinese, Indians, Maoris and Euros of all stripes; everyone was joining in, each one of them 'proud to be Irish'.