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What is 'Irish' anyway?

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    #62
    FutureTaoiseach
    Closed Accounts Posts: 619 ✭✭✭FutureTaoiseach


    To my mind, Irishness is about the values we hold, our cultural heritage and of resistance to foreign oppression but not to international cooperation. It is about a society in which the ruling-classes are required to defer to the people directly via referenda on matters of national sovereignty and fundamental human rights. It is about the quest for the preservation of the Irish language, Gaelic games (even though sport doesn't really interest me), neutrality and support for the UN and other peoples undergoing colonial oppression in their fight for independence - provided it is pursued peacefully. It is also about patriotism and living up to the values of the men and women of 1916 and the vision they had for this country.


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    #63
    Adamisconfused
    Registered Users Posts: 268 ✭✭Adamisconfused


    People are free to moan and whine about this country if they want. While some do that, I’ve been doing the opposite and have been getting much more interested in this place and our rich heritage. We have as much to be interested in or proud about (whatever word you wish) as any other country in the world.
    A recent visit to Dún Aonghasa sparked a massive interest which provoked me to find out more about Irish history, our language, customs, myths and legends. I’ve been gobbling up information on anything from the Tuatha Dé Danann and Fir Bolg to Brehon laws and the more recent plantations. Through the simple fact of being born here, I feel more connected to the place than I do to any other land. Other countries can be awe inspiring, but it’s the equivalent of being in the house my grandfather built to being in the house your grandfather built. The feelings stirred within me are totally different.
    If most Irish people are blind to our past then more fool them. They’re missing out on something unique. A lot of people are raised without much interest in their native land. We’re pounded with imagery of silly leprechaun hats and alcohol equating "Irishness". We were all brought up with an education based on revisionism and ‘facts’ deemed acceptable by the powers that be.


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    #64
    Namlub
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,298 ✭✭✭Namlub


    Taytos, TK red lemonade and singing the Irish Rover at weddings for no apparant reason?


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