"You're the guys with the Leprechauns, right?": Ireland's love/ hate relationship with its stereotypes (II)

Hey everyone! Back again to finish the next part of my blog about the Irish stereotyping I've come across while living as a teacher here in Korea. As I have mentioned in Part One of this post, some of this content is pretty heavy going. I just wanted to emphasise that I am not blaming specific people for the actions of those in the past. We live in a different and far more progressive time now. I am neither an academic or historian...just simply tellin' it how it is and what I've lived through! So without further adieu - here's the rest of my ranting!

“Why are you guys obsessed with potatoes?”

www.reckontalk.com

Obsessed is a strong word. I think a better word or words would be "extremely fond of".  Besides the fact that potatoes are ridiculously good for you and can basically fit into every meal throughout the day, this food is a strong symbol in Irish culture. You have probably heard or even make jokes about our relationship with potatoes but I'm curious as to whether or not you know where it originates from. 
Surprisingly, potatoes are not even a native Irish food but were introduced by British settlers in and around the 1750s. Soon enough, the Irish population was fully dependent on them; both as a source of food and economic reasons. Skip to one hundred years later to the darkest period in Irish history, which would see nearly half the population either wiped out from starvation or forced to immigrate in order to survive. 

The Potato Famine, also known as An Górta Mór/ Drochshaol ("The Great Hunger/ Bad Life") lasted from 1845 - 52,  when the potato crop became infected while it was still in the ground. Now, I'm sure you're thinking - so what? Why couldn't they have just grown something else? Isn't Ireland a farming country? Here's another quick History lesson; Ireland was a British colony at this time. The only people permitted to own farm land and significant livestock were British settlers, AKA the Anglo-Irish, who usually took on the role of Landlords. So when the potato started to go bad, the tenant farmers were unable to pay rent to Landlords and thus were evicted. This happened during the Famine and after, as this article points out: 

"A further aftereffect of the famine was thus the clearing of many smallholders from the land and the concentration of landownership in fewer hands. Thereafter, more land than before was used for grazing sheep and cattle, providing animal foods for export to Britain."

(www.britannica.com/event/Great-Famine-Irish-history)

Along with their homes, Irish could no longer afford food since British policies were either raising prices or, as the article mentions, exporting food to their country. Sounds pretty unfair, right? That's what I thought in history class in school. Turns out Britain were trying to undermine the Irish as they were the most "troublesome" of all the colonies, as they had fought back in the past by trying to keep their Catholic religion and native-Irish language. 

After Ireland recovered from the potato blight, multiple native Irish groups did fight back, with the hopes of possessing their own land and dreaming one day of independent rule. About a century later, Ireland would become a Republic but not as a whole. Recently, it's been argued that Genocide, is the more appropriate term than Famine and to be honest, it really depends on who you talk to!

Those who were lucky enough to get out, generally the children and youngest members of families, had to pile onto crowded, diseased ships, nicknamed Coffin Ships because there was such a high chance that you could die while making the long, grueling journey to the USA, Canada and Australia. Not everyone had the money to travel far though, so their next best option would be Britain. If they had any surviving relations back in Ireland, money would be sent home and letters would be exchanged. This would be the only communication they would ever have thereafter. Perhaps feeling that they'd been through the worst, Irish immigrants continued to have an extremely tough time fitting into their new worlds and it was widely known that they were not wanted, particularly in Britain. 

Of course, we still feckin' love potatoes and they are still a main fixture in our lives after the crop had ultimately failed us. Note to ourselves; try and not depend on the one food, especially when someone else is sneaking your remaining food out of the country!

Now, the next time you feel like making a hilarious joke about potatoes infront of an Irish person - don't do it. This is until they actually say it about themselves because we do love making fun of ourselves and not taking each other too seriously!

James Mahony (artist), Skibereen, Co. Cork - Illustrated London News (1847) 

Famine survivors aboard a Coffin Ship bound for America - www.bbc.co.uk

“Is there still tension between Catholics and Protestants?”

The Simpsons - Twitter

As someone who grew up in the Republic and most specifically in the capital, Dublin, this has never been too much of an issue. But this could be down to the location of where I lived and the time period. If you have no clue as to what I'm talking about...I suppose I should give you a quick overview. As Moe from The Simpsons, states "Prots" (Protestants) and "Cathies" (Catholics), have had a strong dislike for one another for hundreds of years. Ireland, like Korea, is divided into North (Northern Ireland) and South (later become the Republic). Britain (England if that's easier for you!) had ruled Ireland as a whole until a treaty was signed in the 1920s, creating this division. This would lead to a brief but brutal civil war soon after. The majority of the South were, and still are, Catholics. Meanwhile, Northern Ireland would remain under British rule and had the largest Protestant population on the island, with most identifying themselves as Loyalists/ Unionists: loyal to the King/Queen of England. Yet, a community of Catholics still remained and many saw themselves as Republicans/ Nationalists: who believe that the entire island should be a Republic, with no English interference. 

I know it may seem like I'm getting political and it is because it's hard not to talk about religious matters in Ireland without involving politics! The two go hand in hand pretty much! 

A long-awaited Republic was finally established in the 1940s, and was to be run for the first time solely by Irish politicians. The Republic was able to start a new, peaceful era; Catholics and Protestants living side-by-side but largely keeping to their "own". Sadly, there was still unrest in the North between the Protestants (mostly Loyalist) and the Catholic minority (mostly Republican). This would continue for decades and would come to blows in the 1960s, when devastating violence broke out from both sides. This conflict would be known around the world as "The Northern Ireland Conflict" or simply put, "The Troubles." (click ze link!)

It wasn't until April 1998, when British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Irish Taiseach Bertie Ahern, put a stop to the mass bombing and fighting, by signing The Good Friday Agreement. 

Sadly today, in some parts of Northern Ireland, there is still religious/political controversy. Many residential areas have large, provoking murals on buildings (as I've included below) that clearly state which area you are about to enter - Loyalist or Republican. I'll leave it up to you to figure out which side this mural falls upon.

Born and raised in the Republic, I sometimes overheard that I was from a "mixed" marriage: a Catholic mother and a Protestant father. Yep, I realise it's the same religion but that's just how contrasting these denominations thought, and some still think, about each other. Thankfully, this was only ever told in a jokey manner and I was never upset by it. 
Of course, this was probably not taken lightly with the generations before me.

I think that my parents were quite lucky that they were able to marry the person they loved and didn't have to worry about their religious/ political affiliations, unlike a fair amount of their Northern counterparts.

Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern signing the Good Friday Agreement (April 2018).

A mural in North Belfast, Northern Ireland.

“Do folks speak Gaeillic?”

So there are many names for this but Gaeillic is definitely not one of them! Gaelic/Irish is still spoken and is a core subject in the school curriculum. This means that if you fail Irish in your end of school exams - no college or university for you! There are particular jobs that require you to have a high level of proficiency in the language, such as becoming a police officer, working for the government or a primary (elementary) school teacher. Irish appears on road-signs along with English and every significant document must be produced in it. Despite all this, Irish is openly despised by the general public. You may find this odd but after centuries of cultural oppression from a specific country - deeming Irish a "backwards" and "savage" language, being taught badly in schools and not spoken much abroad; many  don't see a use for it.

But it still exists and there is even a whole region of Ireland where Irish is spoken as a first language on a daily basis. This is called the Gaeltact, which basically means, "Irish-speaking region." It spreads along the West Coast but there are small areas throughout other parts of the country too. This region is sparsely populated as the landscape is quite rustic and rural, with many people working in either agriculture or the tourist industry. Sports activity colleges are available for schools to visit during the year and for teens to undertake courses during the summer months.

Straight after my graduation from university in 2015, I jumped straight on a train to the Gaeltacht, which was the other side of the country for me. In a full face of make-up, hair all done and in my sweats, I took over a whole booth and got lost in my crumpled-up school notes. I had come first in my class for my end of school speaking exam but that was three years before anddd I had hardly spoken any Irish since. Suddenly, I was on my way to a new job in one of the Sports colleges; teaching outdoor activities ...all in Irish. To say I was bricking it, is putting it lightly. I wasn't expecting to last more than a week and ended up working there for over two years. It not only helped me gain work experience and get fit, it also gave me an opportunity to embrace a language that I was always nervous about it school. I had felt the most Irish than I had ever felt too.

Strangely enough, Polish is spoken more now than Irish. This is largely due to huge groups migrating from Poland in the economic "boom" years of the early to mid-2000s. I feel Irish in the education system should be approached differently because a part of my fears that our mother-tongue won't last. 
If you'd like to get more of an understanding from an outside perspective, go ahead and take a look at this!

Is fíor é. (It's true).

An Ghaeltacht (The Irish-speaking district) 

Cóisir sa teach tábhairne áitiúil, Ted's.
(Party in the local pub, Ted's. This is the day I found out that I was moving to South Korea.)

“I can't really imagine Ireland having a city...just greenery.”

irishtimes.com

Ah yes, the good ol' romanticised vision of Ireland with rolling green hills and little thatched cottages. What many people may not be aware of is that Ireland, mainly Dublin - our capital, has become a cosmopolitan city in the last ten years. The economic boom back in the early 2000s certainly put us on the map, prompting tech. giants Facebook and Google to locate their European headquarters here. It is also the most popular destination for those who desire to learn English and pick up a course, according to my former ESL teaching instructor.

That's not to say that Dublin is a city without its problems. While it has largely moved forward in terms of technology and multiculturalism, issues,  such as homelessness and illegal drugs, are prevalent in the capital. I have first hand knowledge of the homeless problem having worked at both a soup kitchen and a children's charity, in the past. 

Moving outside of Dublin and other cities, such as Galway, I suppose you do find many a green field that you'd probably see on a holiday postcard. Unfortunately, nearly every Irish person takes the picturesque landscape for granted as they're too busy talking about how shite the weather is. But sure we wouldn't be Irish if we weren't complaining and the country certainly wouldn't have that emerald glow without all the rain!

Google HQ - Dublin City

That picturesque landscape I was telling ye about...Achill Beg.

“For such a small country, you Irish seem to be everywhere!”

My Seoul-o adventure here in SK!

You're not wrong there! We even have a name for ourselves - the Irish Diaspora, which basically means "a scatter of Irish." Us Irish have been leaving our mark around the world even before Famine times. While many left on their own accord, mainly to escape the country's terrible social and economic climate, some had no choice. One example is newly found DNA dating back to more than 1,000 years ago, stating that Irish women were captured by Vikings and brought to Scandinavia - yeah science! 

Nowadays, immigration in our culture is almost seen as a normal milestone in our lives. Also, we tend to stick to English-speaking countries; the most common being England and the USA, where 10% claim to be Irish-American. Some of us venture to lands of the unknown to most Paddies, like myself - by settling in South Korea and becoming an ESL teacher.

Truthfully, I was quite lonely when I first arrived but I soon discovered a deep admiration for my country that I never knew existed. Quoting from the Irish actor, Dónall Ó Héalaí's Tedx Talk: The Irish Language and Beauty - "Sometimes you have to leave home, to come home." 
Below are photos of some expat friends who kindly let me showcase them living abroad. Thanks lads and miss you all!

Nic and her little kiddies at her school's Autumn Festival in Bangkok, Thailand.

Niall setting off into the Canadian wilderness, where he works as a sports instructor.

My veterinarian friend Marie down in New Zealand searching for kiwi birds!

Landscaper Suze livin' it up in the Hamptons, New York.

Thanks for reading! I'll try and keep posting weekly...sure, we'll see how it goes...😅