Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Top Ten Tuesday - Worst Irish myths
For this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday I thought I'd tackle some of the worst myths that abound in this country. So without further ado:
1. The 'tradition of neutrality' - This really is a load of rubbish. Many Irish people are ever so proud of our neutrality. Well it was a total sham in World War 2. For more of my views on this issue, read this.
2. Luck of the Irish - This is another bad joke. What exactly is so lucky about our nation's history? For more of my views on this issue, see here.
3. The 'Irish charm' - What is this all about? Why do foreigners refer to this mythical 'Irish charm'? There's no such thing. Just ask the ladies. Unless of course you find drinking yourself into oblivion and vomiting on the streets charming.
4. The friendly Irish - Maybe it's because I'm a Dubliner but I see no evidence of our 'friendly' ways. Obviously alot of people are nice but we barely say two words to strangers these days...
5. Anti-British - Clearly there are some parts of Ireland that are very anti-British just like there are some parts of Ireland that are very anti-Irish! By and large though, the idea of us being anti-British is a fantasy.
6. We fight alot - The Yanks love to make out that we're all spoiling for a duel. That's not true. We have aggressive people of course but so does every country. It's a shame to generalise an entire people. We're not like those Aussies...
7. We're in love with Europe - No we're not, we just like the money. Still, there are a few Irish people who would sell out Ireland's soul totally for the financial aspects. Not all of us are like this though. See the Nice treaty referendum for example. The first (proper) one, of course.
8. We love to party - From my experience, most Irish guys want to sit on their arse drinking in the pub as opposed to heading out and going crazy. Maybe they're wilder down in Leitrim or something I don't know...
9. We're very patriotic - I don't think we are. I don't recall any tricolours in my school, nor have I seen them flown over Irish schools.
10. We don't want a United Ireland - This is a total myth. Of course we do, just not the Sinn Fein version which is based on...well, nothing really.
So there you have it. Feel free to comment on my choices or to offer up some of your own.
1. The 'tradition of neutrality' - This really is a load of rubbish. Many Irish people are ever so proud of our neutrality. Well it was a total sham in World War 2. For more of my views on this issue, read this.
2. Luck of the Irish - This is another bad joke. What exactly is so lucky about our nation's history? For more of my views on this issue, see here.
3. The 'Irish charm' - What is this all about? Why do foreigners refer to this mythical 'Irish charm'? There's no such thing. Just ask the ladies. Unless of course you find drinking yourself into oblivion and vomiting on the streets charming.
4. The friendly Irish - Maybe it's because I'm a Dubliner but I see no evidence of our 'friendly' ways. Obviously alot of people are nice but we barely say two words to strangers these days...
5. Anti-British - Clearly there are some parts of Ireland that are very anti-British just like there are some parts of Ireland that are very anti-Irish! By and large though, the idea of us being anti-British is a fantasy.
6. We fight alot - The Yanks love to make out that we're all spoiling for a duel. That's not true. We have aggressive people of course but so does every country. It's a shame to generalise an entire people. We're not like those Aussies...
7. We're in love with Europe - No we're not, we just like the money. Still, there are a few Irish people who would sell out Ireland's soul totally for the financial aspects. Not all of us are like this though. See the Nice treaty referendum for example. The first (proper) one, of course.
8. We love to party - From my experience, most Irish guys want to sit on their arse drinking in the pub as opposed to heading out and going crazy. Maybe they're wilder down in Leitrim or something I don't know...
9. We're very patriotic - I don't think we are. I don't recall any tricolours in my school, nor have I seen them flown over Irish schools.
10. We don't want a United Ireland - This is a total myth. Of course we do, just not the Sinn Fein version which is based on...well, nothing really.
So there you have it. Feel free to comment on my choices or to offer up some of your own.
# posted by United Irelander @ 12:10 AM 
© 2008 United Irelander.
