Being Irish

According to my youngest daughters - when they were 11 and 13 - back in 2012

I have long had a kind of love hate relationship with St Patricks Day. I have some warm and fuzzy memories of the national day as a child; having my hair tied in green or tricolour ribbon, buying shamrock outside Mass, belting out Hail Glorious St Patrick like it was a kind of national anthem and being taken to the parade before it became a festival.

But by the time my kids came along I had kind of fallen out of kilter with a day which seems to me to be full of paddywhackery and seems to have little to do with actually being Irish.

As I pondered this, I remembered I had written a blog back in 2012 after I had a conversation with my youngest kids (who are half English) about what being Irish meant to them. They were 13 and 11 when this chat took place.

This is what they came up with about being Irish…and in fairness I think it has stood the test of time.

Being Irish means you talk a lot... In fairness we are a family of talkers, especially when compared with British families we know. So, my girls decided that the gift of the gab is more than just a tired cliché. And they saw this as entirely positive.

Being Irish means you swear a lot... The girls thought this was a great positive trait – especially the fact that we break up words to stick a swear word in the middle – abso-bleedin-lutely. They were very proud of this dubious aspect of Irishness.

Being Irish means you do a lot of slagging.... This is probably one of the most useful Irish traits and one that often other nationalities don’t get. And the secret of good slagging is that nothing is sacred. Irreverent slagging – brilliant. Again the girls saw this as a big win about being Irish.

Being Irish means you need to know everything about everyone... The girls felt that Irish people think it’s the height of bad manners not to be interested in other people. Some nationalities might see this as being nosey but they thought it should be taken as a compliment if, when we meet others, we interview them in depth.

Being Irish means you are loud... The girls felt that there is no point in talking if no one can hear you.. So yeah, loud and they were proud of it too. Disclaimer – I think this may not apply to all Irish families. We were a very loud house when they were growing up!

Being Irish means the tricolour... Now this was interesting. I asked my girls if they knew the significance of the Green, White and Orange in our national flag. Oh, they sure did. It is not quite the meaning I was taught but in this era of peace and tolerance perhaps it’s very appropriate. Here was their take on the colours of our national flag.

Green – is for the fields of Ireland

Orange – is for the red heads

White – is the colour of our skin.

Being Irish means ‘the craic’..... Even back then, they understood that only Irish people truly understand what having the craic is about. It’s fun, it’s slagging, it uproarious, and it’s the ultimate feel good. They thought it was one of the best things about being Irish.

Being Irish means being connected to spirituality.. The girls thought that (in general) Irish people are very spiritual. From the good Catholics and CofI’s to the pagans they thought that there is a high degree of believing we are part of something bigger than ourselves in Ireland.

Being Irish means you are cool... I was so thrilled to hear my children (13 and 11) announce that being Irish meant we are cool. The fact that this was back in the dark days of depression and recession and they were still proud to be Irish... that was great.

Being Irish means (like it or hate it) we have Paddy’s Day... For them they felt that the most interesting thing about Paddy’s Day is that it is so widely celebrated all over the world. And I think that is very fair.

So – if you are unsure how you feel about being Irish I hope this helps.

And I am interested to know what you think? Were they right or wrong?

In truth being Irish is all about being a small country with a long reach.... we are all over the world once again.

So wherever you are, whether you are Irish or not can we wish you Happy St Patrick’s Day... curse away, have a jar, plenty of craic and then interview someone you don’t know very well!

With thanks to Ro and Mia…. And girls - if you read this…. Do you still agree? (They won’t read this!)