Being Irish is changing and I often wonder from an around the world stand point.
March has passed and the mighty Saint Patrick's day is a distant memory already, now that April is here. The comparison is that being Irish seems to have changed its meaning and is becoming a little distant of a memory itself.
If you are reading this now as an Irish person it is a curiosity of mine as to how you see the whole thing itself too.
I ventured out around the world and represented the country of Ireland to be the almighty country to hail from and that the Irish are the single most best people ever to walk the planet. Was I wrong?
What are the changes I notice. Of course we are keeping in line with becoming more politically correct and this is a wonderful thing, or is it really? Since when did we the Irish really begin to care about such things as politically correct. We are or have always been a little more barbarian in nature. Do not be upset to have a likening to barbarians, it is how we have been for centuries. Take a look at our language, the gaelic language and you will see how it is not the soft spoken language of love like Latin. No it is rough and course around the edges. Ta athas orm (taw awe has orm) I have Happy. That's a little ogre like right there, kinda scary.
We were never the righteous or pompous type of people. Irish people were through our very own history, the underdog, the slave to the britts, the work force or labourers of the world. So what happened? We didn't have money and all fancy things, we were just happy to be happy and made do with very little. We shared our teapots with each other. If we had bread we shared it with each other. To get this bread we went out and worked hard for it. No job too strenuous for us nor did we have any high uppity opinions of ourselves. Being Irish used to mean we will get stuck in and work, we will help our fellow man. We never recognized any other persons colour or background or religion to be anything of a reason to make an opinion about a person. Ireland has always welcomed everybody.
An island nation with a rooted background in farming and fishing. This is who we were through, like I said centuries. The work on the land became scarce and with a hugely Catholic influence family sizes just kept growing. Not enough work to go around as Christy often sings about and off we went. The Irish headed for London for work. Be it the man/boy in a family who headed out in the world for work and usually labouring on construction sites or the woman/girl who looked for care work and most often found in a nursing job or any form of child minding. These were the jobs we could do naturally. The Irish headed even further a field than the neighbours British soils and branched out all over the world. The firemen and policemen in the East coast of the United States. The Labour force building many cities across the United States.
A tradition of Irish builders all around the world. Not unusual either to hear of an Irish nanny, this was a common employment of the Irish girls too around the world.
It has not only been a celtic tiger that has introduced money into the Irish hands. Ireland joined the European Union and money was given to us to make better our country. Infrastructure was improved and people had more work and things improved.
At what cost?
Money and the Irish does appear to have been a great thing. The more money we have gotten, it only appears to have changed the foundation fibres of who we are as people, yes as people first. A proud nation of level headed and a genuine strength of culture. Now it would appear to have been quite diluted and the politically correct has taken a whole new meaning. We the Irish have never intended or set out to hurt any with our words, on the contrary we have always been a welcoming people and a core part of our culture has always been Cead Mile Failte (cade mil A fall cha) meaning 1 thousand welcomes. We welcomed everyone.
It would be almost like we knew we needed to venture out in the world to other countries and we wanted our brothers and sisters to be welcomed by wherever they landed for work, be it Germany or Australia or the United States to name just a few, we knew we worried about their safe journey and wished them so well around the world that it made sense to welcome all and any who wished to join us in our land. A little coldness perhaps to our British neighbours as our history of occupation by them has been going on for 8 or 900 years. Though we have welcomed many of their patriots too.
So what happened?
Money happened,
The Irish people no longer had to beg for jobs and those who went out before us as a very genuine people in the world paved the way for our next generations to be welcomed around the globe and helped us earn more and rise up in statuses and standings around the mighty world. But not at home, nope, money happened and some how changes have occurred that many have forgotten and some how have developed a well quite an English way really of looking down our noses at each other. A split or divide among our own people. We have developed a habit of forming opinions about our fellow countryman and pause to wonder of what is their status. How much do they earn? What do they drive? What clothes are they wearing? A judgmental attitude that can only be figured out to have something to do with introducing money to a country where once upon a time a woman may be wearing potato sacks as a dress and a man wear a smock and woollens as he headed out fishing.
Does it bother you or me that things have changed so drastically within our own country.?
Where has the divide come among our very own people. Today's issues are so beyond comprehension and the vast nature in which a social divide is among the people that we now have millionaires and homeless all walking the same streets and each will consider themselves a proud Irish person.
This is not who we have ever been as a nation. We have become complacent to the facts of our history and our roots. We forget we were the loyal slaves and Labour force. We had no time nor want to bother our heads with such things as political correctness nor did we the Irish think it right to see our fellow country man stranded or abandoned.
Change is good, yes. We the Irish seem to have found a way to just do a "let's make changes and see where it lands".
I would never be envious of anyone who has worked hard and earned their way into great riches. No Irish person should ever begrudge. But yes we have always had the mighty saying within our own lands and directed at one another "fuck the begruders" this has been a little competitive type streak in all of us Irish. We invented the saying and for good reason. We never had time or patience for any who begrudge. To those who have amassed a small fortune I say hats off to you. I too have had a capitalist type mentality for many years. What I did not have was an eagerness to forget where & what us Irish come from.
What I do not have is any attitude that believes leaving my countryman stranded or abandoned is in anyway right and for sure I am certain of this, that being Irish has always meant the opposite. A hand of welcome, a hand of friendship and a loyalty to one another means more than any large bank balances or social standings ever.
Have we forgotten all this or what?
Read my books if you you wish to change a little perspective and you will read my life story and when it came time for me to remember what being Irish meant to me.
Don't read my books and review them and or help an indie author on his path of writing and self publishing and I can revert to the begrudger saying 😊😊😊
My books are titled TWO sons TOO many, 17 & Life, My Grief the last 3 years.
Have a great day Ireland. Hopefully the Irish attitude and family values will be restored one day.
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