The duality of Ireland

18 comments
  1. You can recognise the important issues that are endemic to Ireland (I could list them for hours) and you can recognise the wonderful things (equally hours) that make Ireland a fantastic place to live or spend time in, I often meet people who visit Ireland on holidays or to visit their ancestral home who light up and have nothing but positivity associated with Ireland when I mention where I’m from. It was hard to reconcile that idea of Ireland with my own experiences; the negative attitudes and sneering towards anybody who does anything outside the norm, the gombeens in government and parochial regressive attitudes that are still commonplace are at the forefront of my mind. The fact I didn’t feel like there was any future for me in Ireland and that was a factor in leaving Ireland. But the rich heritage and culture that is imbued into every small town and village across Ireland which is so absent from where I live now.
    When I do a bit of very mild slagging or make a dark joke and I get horrified looks from my co-workers makes me feel sad and miss everything about Ireland warts and all.
    The reality of Irish identity and life in Ireland isn’t as black and white as the reactionary idiots online lead us to believe.
    It’s really as grey as any of the many rainy days in the middle of the summer there’s lots of shades of misery and joy and everything in-between going on. There is no duality there is nothing but the muddled in-between.
    But sure you know yourself. It is what it is.

  2. Sure there’s a video from the early 2000s where a guy is asking passersby if they would die for ireland and virtually everyone says no.

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