Are we less Irish and more European now?

Johnny Foreigner

Are we less Irish and more European now?
Its been 10 years since we stopped using the Punt as our currency and replaced it with the Euro.
A lot has changed during those 10 years. The madness of the Celtic Tiger boom years being one thing. I feel that the Irish have lost their sovereignty and national identity to some extent; and we have become more European, less Irish.
With mass emigration, and a real vacuum of 21-25 year old Irish in some towns and villages, have we lost a generation of Irish?

Temptamperu

Not you ye bleeden forderner :pac:

kfallon

I consider myself Irish.....not European!

Tho I did have a Cuisine De France roll today!

Sunnyisland

I Am Irish, have a tattoo to prove it :-)

4zn76tysfajdxp

Johnny Foreigner wrote: »

Are we less Irish and more European now?
Its been 10 years since we stopped using the Punt as our currency and replaced it with the Euro.
A lot has changed during those 10 years. The madness of the Celtic Tiger boom years being one thing. I feel that the Irish have lost their sovereignty and national identity to some extent; and we have become more European, less Irish.
With mass emigration, and a real vacuum of 21-25 year old Irish in some towns and villages, have we lost a generation of Irish?

Aren't you English?

The King of Moo

I think we're a little more European now, due to greater exposure to continental European people and easier travel.

But we and the British will always be a little different from the continent, due to our isolation.

That's why when you go on holiday in mainland Europe, you find people dancing to horrible, cheesy dance-pop, watching comedians running after big-breasted women on tv, and Sky TV (in Italy anyway) use the late eighties, early nineties logo from here!

We're similar to them, but there are still some cultural differences.

Eathrin

Americans refer to Irish and Europeans separately, just sayin':pac:

Johnny Foreigner

Colten Melodic Veil wrote: »

Aren't you English?

No. I am London-Irish, born in London to Irish parents.
I have dual citizenship, both British and Irish.
This quote sums me up quite well:

“ I do not think this country will afford sufficient allurements to the citizens of other States ... The children of Irish parents born abroad are sometimes more Irish than the Irish themselves, and they would come with added experience and knowledge to our country.... ”
—Sen. Patrick Kenny, 1924

Solair

Eh, I don't know - The Europeans are more Irish, if you ask me.

Greening of the TV tower in Berlin for Paddy's day.
We have a huge chunk of the ECB's money.
The currency used in Germany appears to be the Euro, pronounced Iero.

....

sandmanporto

Eathrin wrote: »

Americans refer to Irish and Europeans separately, just sayin':pac:

why?

Johnny Foreigner

The King of Moo wrote: »

I think we're a little more European now, due to greater exposure to continental European people and easier travel.

But we and the British will always be a little different from the continent, due to our isolation.

That's why when you go on holiday in mainland Europe, you find people dancing to horrible, cheesy dance-pop, watching comedians running after big-breasted women on tv, and Sky TV (in Italy anyway) use the late eighties, early nineties logo from here!

We're similar to them, but there are still some cultural differences.

You have raised an interesting point. I think that cheap European flights with low cost airlines such as Ryanair have opened up Europe to the Irish.
Also the fact that Ireland and Britain are islands creates a natural geographic boundary to the rest of Europe. Whereas other EU countries are land locked by each other, so they integrate more freely.

Big Nasty

Reckon we are more Americanised than Europeanised:cool:

Johnny Foreigner

sandmanporto wrote: »

why?

The Irish diaspora of emigrants created an ethnic minority of Irish-Americans.
The Irish have always identified Irish as a nationality, as they came before Europeans emigrating to America in large numbers.

philologos

What does "more European" even mean?

Johnny Foreigner

MCMLXXV wrote: »

Reckon we are more Americanised than Europeanised:cool:

Certainly in D4 the women have adopted an Americanised accent.
I certainly don't remember them talking like that in the 1990's.
It seems to be a product of the Celtic Tiger boom years.

efb

Nein!

Johnny Foreigner

philologos wrote: »

What does "more European" even mean?

Culturally European, as opposed to be culturally Irish.
Would you identify yourself as European? Or as Irish? In times of nationality, ethnicity, identity, feeling.

lividduck

Hopefully more European.

The King of Moo

Johnny Foreigner wrote: »

You have raised an interesting point. I think that cheap European flights with low cost airlines such as Ryanair have opened up Europe to the Irish.
Also the fact that Ireland and Britain are islands creates a natural geographic boundary to the rest of Europe. Whereas other EU countries are land locked by each other, so they integrate more freely.

I've noticed that, mostly from teaching English to kids from the continent, and having a few continental friends. Basically, the more countries they border (especially if those countries speak different languages), the more European they feel, and the more aware they were of the wider world in general.

Austrian kids seemed pretty worldly, and good at English, partly due to using it as a lingua franca, and partly due to the educational system there.

Kids from the middle and south of Italy didn't tend to be as aware of the world around them and not have a great standard of English as they weren't as exposed to outside influences, though the methods of teaching English in Italian schools is generally woeful.

I always find it a bit funny to hear anti-British sentiment from Irish people, as we're basically the same as them.

philologos

What does "culturally European" mean?

I've been influenced by Irish culture, but I can't say I'm very nationalistic. I was born in Ireland, I could have been born anywhere in the world. God chose to put me there for 22 years and now God's chosen to put me here in the UK.

As for the European Union I'm skeptical more and more of it and of the single currency.

Sindri

Johnny Foreigner wrote: »

No. I am London-Irish, born in London to Irish parents.
I have dual citizenship, both British and Irish.
This quote sums me up quite well:

“ I do not think this country will afford sufficient allurements to the citizens of other States ... The children of Irish parents born abroad are sometimes more Irish than the Irish themselves, and they would come with added experience and knowledge to our country.... ”
—Sen. Patrick Kenny, 1924

Yeeeaaaahhhhhh......



That quotes a load of bollix.

cloud493

I'm not Irish at all :cool: British.