Was Ireland always this bleek/depressing, or is it just me?

1990sman

Andrewf20 wrote: »

Ireland was a grim place in the 70s / 80s as we all know but a good imagination and good family / friends could lift things out of the doldrums. As an 80s kid we had very little money but I still had a very happy childhood. Part of me actually thinks that our childhoods and teen years were more happy than the current generation.

abso-feckin-lutely!

strange it's become fashionable to speak derogatorily (?) about ireland, so much greatness goin back, more lightness than dark bits for sure.

a lot of people sadly take their historical aspect through television and its programming.

ta.

Atlantic Dawn

The 80's in Ireland was bleek, how sucide wasn't going through the roof then is beyond me. The country now might be heading to complete bankrupcy but it's grand compared to the 80's back then the prime bad bits were...

• No internet
• Crooked incompetent state owned companies ripping people off because of zero competition, Ryanair being formed was like the country being liberated from an occupying oppressor
• Feck all tv channels to watch, RTE would actually go off air with Irish anthem before midnight
• Owning a video recorder was not far off owning a Range Rover today
• Everyone was on strike making the place a complete kip to do business in
• The public service that was complete and utter trash, going in to the motor taxation office to tax your car was like appying to run an oil pipeline to Zaire
• Mid 80's everything was closing down, Rainbow Rapids closing hit me hard
• Politicians lining their pockets from the the fat of the land, decades later that corruption is still causing problems, the dim gombeen fooks only got penny's compared to the tens of millions those bribing them made, idiots.

Valresnick

Ireland maybe a lot of things, bleak, depressing, what was the third thing you said ?

1990sman

Alia Wrong Soil wrote: »

Forward thinking bruh.

See the rural Ireland issue, Rose of Tralee now MEP Maria Walsh is on the case, but their approach is not going to solve teh problem.

Think of it like this:

Would you compare Miami or New York to a place in the middle of the desert in America?

Of course not - until someone did.

They build a city on prostitution and neon lights - and that city is called Las Vegas.

It's like it defies gravity - a baron region in the middle of the desert isn't meant to be "the place to be" or a youth demographic hot spot.

But they took the culture, applied it there; this is what Ireland needs - the Ireland that exists outside of Dublin - and parts of Dublin also, let's face it.

Integration - by way of fun.

absolute diarrhea.

https://youtu.be/iYgPznBrjiA

Manach

Just you OP. The Ireland of my youth, while suffering economic bad times had a shared sence of nationality and faith that weathered various crises and recessions without the seemly fragility and rigid governmental control that is a halllmark of today's culture.

Mendelsohn33

Manach wrote: »

Just you OP. The Ireland of my youth, while suffering economic bad times had a shared sence of nationality and faith that weathered various crises and recessions without the seemly fragility and rigid governmental control that is a halllmark of today's culture.

It's 50-50 at this stage.
I mean I am very buttblasted and sore about orange trump being president.
I was a moderator on a political discussion board in 2015 2016 and I bet all my eggs on hillary
Now nobody respects my opinion on political matters
So ya
I will ban anybody
Co's I was wrong.

I need to buy some trump butt salve cream because I was so wrong
And every body sees it

dd973

Don't you find Amsterdam too Anglo-Americanised OP? I much prefer Dutch cities like Nijmegen, Maastricht and Den Bosch, can't argue with the infrastructure and organisation over there, I think it's so deeply ingrained due to historic Calvinism, mercantilism and of course, the biggie, half the place shouldn't be there, the entire province of Flevoland is reclaimed from the sea.

That said, going to the Dam rates higher for me than ending up in that London s**thole. The London-Irish, first and second generation and some of the newer post 2008 crash arrivals of recent years are a seriously boring demographic.

Aongus Von Bismarck

I'm an Irish expat working in Germany. One of the things that has become apparent to me about the country of my birth is how blind the average Irish person is to just how good they have it.

Third on the UN HDI index, just behind Norway and Switzerland, and ahead of countries like Sweden, Denmark, Germany (yes, we have many of the same issues - ICU capacity made the frontpage of our main broadsheet only this week), Australia, NZ, and Canada. That's ranked on access to education, life expectancy at birth, and standards of living.

You are some of the luckiest people who have ever lived. We are the 1%. Our post war social democracies delivered the EU and a quality of life that would amaze our forefathers.

Ireland is an absolutely fantastic place in which to live.

Spanish Eyes

Flights are still going over the the Dam you know.

1990sman

i see the foreign bots are glitchin out, it's the damp.

smellyoldboot

Tom Mann Centuria wrote: »

A bleek is just something you get on a blird

Also wrong, ironically.

john123470

looksee wrote: »

So instead of trying to spread superior, totally humourless, gloom and despondency among those of us who live here and like the place, maybe just go back to wherever you are living at the moment.

at the moment.[/QUOTE]

Well, the Op is entitled to his opinion if nothing else, i guess. I mean, he's expressing how he feels.

I grew up in rural ireland - the bleak midlands - (we'll theyre bleek to me - but are not so bleak to folk i know who stayed). Its always raining and folk seem to mirror the weather ..

(A quick aside .. - i have a theory people get the weather they deserve .. its all electrical .. so, if theyre already miserable on the ground, its agonna pour .. )

i havent found anywhere necessarily better in my travels.. just different. Different enough to keep me interested, on my toes

There is no right or wrong - its all down to how content you are in a place ...

PsychoPete

KungPao

It was always a bleak god forsaken rock. Terrible climate, Plundered and pillaged through the ages. The later 90s and 00s gave us hope but back to misery now.

C’est la vie.

Hamsterchops

Alia Wrong Soil wrote: »

My point being, I hate historical Irish dullness and I think state legitimization of prostitution by way of a potential upcoming bill spearheaded by the Irish department of justice via Helen McEntee - could spark the most profound cultural revolution in the entire, bleek, oppressive history of our rain soaked little Atlantic Isle.

:eek:

Suggest you take Helen back to Amsterdam and get her to chill out in a Dutch café with some hash browns & a spliff...

auspicious

Nostalgia isn't indicative of hate.

gozunda

Alia Wrong Soil wrote: »

Holy smokes.

......

My point being, I hate historical Irish dullness and I think state legitimization of prostitution by way of a potential upcoming bill spearheaded by the Irish department of justice via Helen McEntee - could spark the most profound cultural revolution in the entire, bleek, oppressive history of our rain soaked little Atlantic Isle....

So what you're saying OP for Ireland to make the grade - it needs legalised marijuana and prozzies ...

Right so

bobbyy gee

Its all the pot they smoke in Holland

Divisadero

I miss the good old days in Ireland when we all got along. Well mostly. This song is for you OP.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qPsq6flck2A

ILoveYourVibes

We need people who are a bit different ..who light things up ..who bring drama.

dxhound2005

We're so cosmopolitan now. People can refer to Amsterdam as the Dam and none of the language purists react.

bo0li5eumx12kp

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »

I'm an Irish expat working in Germany. One of the things that has become apparent to me about the country of my birth is how blind the average Irish person is to just how good they have it.

Third on the UN HDI index, just behind Norway and Switzerland, and ahead of countries like Sweden, Denmark, Germany (yes, we have many of the same issues - ICU capacity made the frontpage of our main broadsheet only this week), Australia, NZ, and Canada. That's ranked on access to education, life expectancy at birth, and standards of living.

You are some of the luckiest people who have ever lived. We are the 1%. Our post war social democracies delivered the EU and a quality of life that would amaze our forefathers.

Ireland is an absolutely fantastic place in which to live.

I agree with your points.

But the point I was making was, how to ensure that's in a sense, "self sustaining".

If we wound the clock back to the early 90's, how would that quality of life hold up?
Or would we crumble back to our old regressive ways?

Being ahead of the curve basically; nationally, I get it - things are good.
But for how long?

Well being is a state of mind, and ruralized Ireland and the national flocking to Dublin to escape that is still a prominent national issue that needs to be understood and addressed.

bo0li5eumx12kp

john123470 wrote: »

There is no right or wrong - its all down to how content you are in a place ...

bo0li5eumx12kp

gozunda wrote: »

So what you're saying OP for Ireland to make the grade - it simply needs legalised marijuana and prozzies ...

Right so

Marijuana - I have no idea, medical legalization would certainly be good, but we have CBD oil which basically meets medical requirements as I understand it.

Prostitution is the primary focus - and we're potentially on the cusp as that is the governmental bill due shortly for review and reconsideration.

Cause why?

Because so much (all) of historical Irish culture (ruralism notwithstanding) has been based on that oppressive religious institution and oppressive/hypocritical emotional and thus lifestyle paradigm.

State legitimization of prostitution is basically putting the cat amongst the pigeons - when there's been a pigeon population burst and we need some cats in there to regulate numbers, basically.

Think about it - those rain soaked destitute DUMPS (God I hate rural Ireland), teh very mentality that underwrites that lifestyle, it's like - it's like it gets baptized - baptized with fire.

The idea being, national attitude to boinking (which underwrites our attitude as individuals - our culture), I mean there's now state approval and protection (or will be, theoretically) in place for this depravity, it's just been made legitimate.

There could be no greater condemnation of our former, oppressive way of life, living, and thinking.
Could potentially revolutionize us as a nation, I would say, indefinitely - truly bring us up to modern european standards and consolidate our position there.

......

And the balance hangs in the hands of, when all is said and done, effectively just one person;

bo0li5eumx12kp

murpho999 wrote: »

Jaysus were to start on this?

You live in Holland and call Ireland rain soaked?

Lived there for 7 years and hated the place.

All the towns look the same, all the houses are the same as redbrick colour. The people are lovely, and friendly but dull as dishwater. Regimented , conservative (despite Dutch reputation) and just don't know how to enjoy themselves.

Maybe that's Holland as a whole, but it's not Amsterdam.

Think Irish people have more "oomph" in them than most countries but definitely more than the Dutch.

As for Amsdterdam, it's ok but not for me. They're trying to get rid of prostitution and sex and drug tourists as the city wants to change its reputation and the problems that it brings.

They're not really, there's just the ever contending slightly publicized battle between some marginalized religious institutions that want to thump their bible, and the government/city council.

The hookers and ganja aren't going anywhere, nor are they really trying to.

Also, you talk about "billions being pumped" into ireland as if it was an accident or a benevolent act by other countries and/or corporations and nothing to do with Ireland's own successful economic policies..

Alls I know is, before EU, Ireland was non-progressive, horrible dump and heinous place to live, especially those ruralized "parish" areas.

And then the EU came, the money came, the jobs came, the infrastructure came, the companies came to build a home here (mostly to avail of tax breaks), and naturally the Irish thought all their Christmases has come at once, milked it for everything it was worth whilst doing the minimal possible amount of work - which was followed with the inevitable subsequent recession and residue of residential buildings which were either not fit for purpose, or had to be condemned outright due to shoddy workmanship.

gozunda

Alia Wrong Soil wrote: »

State legitimization of prostitution is basically putting the cat amongst the pigeons - when there's been a pigeon population burst and we need some cats in there to regulate numbers, basically...

:pac:

mariaalice

While eulogising Dutch society I wonder does the OP know the difference between tolerance and promotion.

ILoveYourVibes

its not just you

completedit

I think we have a skewed reference point when we talk about how bleak and deprived Ireland was. Many of our immigrants went to the USA and the UK, both two of the richest countries in the world at the time. When vast numbers of Irish went to UK in the 50's and 60's, the UK was rebuilding rapidly after the War and so had plenty of opportunities. Likewise with the USA earlier(which is probably ingrained in our collective memory)

Reality is that Ireland was just a fairly normal moderately advanced middle-income country with its own quirks and peculiarities until the 80's and 90's rolled around.

bertiebomber

I have lived in a lot of places london belgium france new york boston miami & the florida keys & i love my own country! I am home now and i am happy every day i wake up to the green trees the birds the neighbours in rural ireland. People saluting me on the road & remembering my name when i am in the shop and telling me old stories about my folks its my natural home dont knock it.

bo0li5eumx12kp

bertiebomber wrote: »

I have lived in a lot of places london belgium france new york boston miami & the florida keys & i love my own country! I am home now and i am happy every day i wake up to the green trees the birds the neighbours in rural ireland. People saluting me on the road & remembering my name when i am in the shop and telling me old stories about my folks its my natural home dont knock it.

How did you like Miami?

Does the song "Miami Vibe" really reflect the Miami vibe?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmrSs_defYY

hurikane

Alia Wrong Soil wrote: »

Marijuana - I have no idea, medical legalization would certainly be good, but we have CBD oil which basically meets medical requirements as I understand it.

Prostitution is the primary focus - and we're potentially on the cusp as that is the governmental bill due shortly for review and reconsideration.

Cause why?

Because so much (all) of historical Irish culture (ruralism notwithstanding) has been based on that oppressive religious institution and oppressive/hypocritical emotional and thus lifestyle paradigm.

State legitimization of prostitution is basically putting the cat amongst the pigeons - when there's been a pigeon population burst and we need some cats in there to regulate numbers, basically.

Think about it - those rain soaked destitute DUMPS (God I hate rural Ireland), teh very mentality that underwrites that lifestyle, it's like - it's like it gets baptized - baptized with fire.

The idea being, national attitude to boinking (which underwrites our attitude as individuals - our culture), I mean there's now state approval and protection (or will be, theoretically) in place for this depravity, it's just been made legitimate.

There could be no greater condemnation of our former, oppressive way of life, living, and thinking.
Could potentially revolutionize us as a nation, I would say, indefinitely - truly bring us up to modern european standards and consolidate our position there.

......

And the balance hangs in the hands of, when all is said and done, effectively just one person;

So basically you want prostitutes stationed all over rural Ireland and that’ll make it a better place to live for you?

Why don’t you suggest to Helen that they place them in the Garda stations, can use the cells. Win win for everyone.

bo0li5eumx12kp

hurikane wrote: »

So basically you want prostitutes stationed all over rural Ireland and that’ll make it a better place to live for you?

Why don’t you suggest to Helen that they place them in the Garda stations, can use the cells. Win win for everyone.

Wrong homie.

They're already stationed all over rural Ireland, many country ass dudes that advocate the rural scene use them religiously, and they make a killing.

My contention is, national legitimization of this already thriving trade - otherwise, as the good times roll out, so will the hookers.

Legitimization by government, and everything that entails, would ensure this becomes a staple part of our culture for perpetuity.

It becomes no longer clandestined, but acceptable (even glamourized) - and that changes how a nation thinks, therefore how it feels, and therefore what it is.

ShatterAlan

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

The 80's in Ireland was bleek, how sucide wasn't going through the roof then is beyond me. The country now might be heading to complete bankrupcy but it's grand compared to the 80's back then the prime bad bits were...

• No internet
• Crooked incompetent state owned companies ripping people off because of zero competition, Ryanair being formed was like the country being liberated from an occupying oppressor
• Feck all tv channels to watch, RTE would actually go off air with Irish anthem before midnight
• Owning a video recorder was not far off owning a Range Rover today
• Everyone was on strike making the place a complete kip to do business in
• The public service that was complete and utter trash, going in to the motor taxation office to tax your car was like appying to run an oil pipeline to Zaire
• Mid 80's everything was closing down, Rainbow Rapids closing hit me hard
• Politicians lining their pockets from the the fat of the land, decades later that corruption is still causing problems, the dim gombeen fooks only got penny's compared to the tens of millions those bribing them made, idiots.

This always makes me roll my eyes. "No internet".


So everyone in the 80's were moping around saying "This sucks. The internet hasn't been developed yet!".


They hadn't a clue what it was FFS. Well I did I was on it in college but trying to explain it to someone you were met with blank stares.


Are you going to say that the current decade sucks because we don't have some incomprehensible technology that won't be around for another couple of decades?


Did the 90's suck because they didn't have the Universal Serial Bus and thumb drives and camera phones and Wifi?


Did the 00's suck because, god forbid, they didn't have Tinder?

ShatterAlan

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »

I'm an Irish expat working in Germany. One of the things that has become apparent to me about the country of my birth is how blind the average Irish person is to just how good they have it.

Third on the UN HDI index, just behind Norway and Switzerland, and ahead of countries like Sweden, Denmark, Germany (yes, we have many of the same issues - ICU capacity made the frontpage of our main broadsheet only this week), Australia, NZ, and Canada. That's ranked on access to education, life expectancy at birth, and standards of living.

You are some of the luckiest people who have ever lived. We are the 1%. Our post war social democracies delivered the EU and a quality of life that would amaze our forefathers.

Ireland is an absolutely fantastic place in which to live.

You're not an "expat". You're an immigrant like everyone else who immigrated to Germany.


"Expat" ...a nauseatingly condescending British term for those who move to another country and treat the locals as foreigners.

looksee

ShatterAlan wrote: »

You're not an "expat". You're an immigrant like everyone else who immigrated to Germany.


"Expat" ...a nauseatingly condescending British term for those who move to another country and treat the locals as foreigners.

If you are looking for a synonym for expat its emigrant, not immigrant. Immigrants are what you complain about in a different thread.

ShatterAlan

looksee wrote: »

If you are looking for a synonym for expat its emigrant, not immigrant. Immigrants are what you complain about in a different thread.

White, English speaking immigrants in a foreign country refer to themselves as expats. They refer to all others, particularly those of colour as immigrants.


Did you ever hear anyone saying "such and such a cafe/bar is where the Turkish expats go for lunch on Sunday" ?

McGinniesta

I love Ireland. I too have lived abroad and we have a lot to be thankful here in Ireland.

There are many many worse places to live.

jmayo

Realt Dearg Sec wrote: »

Will legalising hoors make the buses run on time?

Only if they are cute hoors.

ShatterAlan wrote: »

You're not an "expat". You're an immigrant like everyone else who immigrated to Germany.


"Expat" ...a nauseatingly condescending British term for those who move to another country and treat the locals as foreigners.

Ah now leave Aonghus alone.
Boards desperately needs him back to tell us how great he is doing in the Fatherland and all about the lastest Bmeers with all the latest gadgets we could only dream of here.

BTW I always find it funny when people compare a major city to small rural Irish towns/villages as if they were something spectacularly different and unique about them in comparison to all the small towns and villages in almost every country in the world.
For every so called one horse town in Ireland I can easily show similar in France, Spain, Australia, USA, Canada, New Zealand, Britain, etc.

Imagine the stories of backwardness some would spin if they saw a guy walking a donkey down a street in Ireland in the last decade?
Well it is something I saw in a French town not so long ago.

You can't really compare rural versus urban anywhere without being cognizant of the inherent differences precisely due to size and population.

ChikiChiki

Spent time on all continents. Ireland is great, we have it good.

We are in the perfect location for cheap travel to tonnes of good destinations of all climates also. 3 hours south you are in the sun of Morocco, 3 hours north west you in the glacial valleys of Iceland. Not to mention all the different Euro cultures, climates and history on your doorstep.

You feel secure in Ireland also, both from crime and from a social standpoint if you fall on hard times. We have a wealth of education opportunities and supports most people in developing countries could not even dream of.

bertiebomber

Alia Wrong Soil wrote: »

How did you like Miami?

Does the song "Miami Vibe" really reflect the Miami vibe?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmrSs_defYY

I was in miami during the riots when a black man was being tried by a white jury it was dangerous the riots were awful. Otherwise it was off the charts after ireland for me as i was a naive west of ireland person and it was like another planet.

bo0li5eumx12kp

McGinniesta wrote: »

I love Ireland. I too have lived abroad and we have a lot to be thankful here in Ireland.

There are many many worse places to live.

For sure, unquestionably.

It's the top 1% in global terms.

But why rest on our laurels?

We have the opportunity to establish an optimal cultural paradigm (what those other less privileged cultures so desperately require), so, we keep on moving up;

Same ideology as my man James Dymond promotes (preached in the church of the neon lights),

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ev6FToJGPAE

con___manx1

Iv lived in city's much bigger than Dublin around the world and I decided after I'm not a city person. I do agree about Amsterdam. Its a special place.

The Tetrarch

Amsterdam
I arrived on an international flight one evening.
The next morning I went out to see the city. It was a public holiday, everything closed.
I was flying out the next day. That next morning I went out again.
I had been warned that Amsterdam is famous for dogsh1t. I stepped in dogsh1t.
Amsterdam is a happening place?
Yes, if you are a dog and want to sniff around.

looksee

ShatterAlan wrote: »

White, English speaking immigrants in a foreign country refer to themselves as expats. They refer to all others, particularly those of colour as immigrants.


Did you ever hear anyone saying "such and such a cafe/bar is where the Turkish expats go for lunch on Sunday" ?

You have just turned the context round 180 degrees. And I was an ex-pat myself, and referred to myself and others as ex-pats some fifty years ago when it was not a term that attracted deep analysis and just meant someone who was living other than in their home country.

riclad

We have mild weather here ,sometimes its cold,sometimes it rains.
We do not get forest fires that wipe out 1000,s of house,s .
we get very few floods ,no earthquakes .
some people like citys ,some people like living in small towns .
People have different taste in where to live.
the trend is people are leaving citys, if i,m gonna work from home i may as well buy a 3 bed house with a garden instead of paying 200k to live in a small apartment.
people are friendly and helpful in ireland in general,
cops do not go around shooting people at random.
People have the right to protest and we have free speech.
We are in the midst of a pandemic ,many shops and cafes are closed.
Many business,s may not recover from the crisis .
we are probably going to be in a recession for the next 2 years .
If some people are slightly depressed it makes sense.
i think irish people and english people refer to themselves as expats
if they live in countrys like spain or america .
An irish american is someone who was born in america but whose parents are irish.
if you watch american situation comedys , being irish american seems to consist
of drinking a lot and going to mass or going to a saint patricks day parade.
if you look at the climate in america, rising temp,s. mega forest fires ,hurricanes ,floods ireland seems a nice place to live.

Feenix

dd973 wrote: »

The London-Irish, first and second generation and some of the newer post 2008 crash arrivals of recent years are a seriously boring demographic.

That’s such an odd comment.

ChikiChiki

Feenix wrote: »

That’s such an odd comment.

Welcome to the Internet, where all sorts of loo lahs post baseless nonsense.

Frankie Machine

Alia Wrong Soil wrote: »

Holy smokes.

I visited some relatives over the weekend, from the old country, hadn't seen them in the longest time.

It's weird I was completely overcome with nostalgia.

Reminds me of when I was growing up, that environment.

I think we forget what a rain soaked dump Ireland was before had billions of euros pumped into our economy and became a home for multinational companies, by way of joining the european union.

Memories from childhood - a poorly insulated ice box house, dreary dull atmosphere, insane loco wildchild kids running about, raining outside and not a neon light for miles around.

See I ditched Ireland at every opportunity and bounced entirely when I was afforded the opportunity to do so.
Not saying other cultures are necessarily a whole lot better, but Christ - I mean, I feel like that ruralism (which largely defines Ireland) needs to be injected with an eye rolling dose of meth.

I can't express my detest and loathing of the advocacy for that underdevelopment and quiet, cold, isolated rural living.

The most lively, upbeat, forward thinking, positive, productive atmosphere and fun city I've ever been is not Rome, not London, not New York - no.

But Amsterdam.

What separates Amsterdam as being in my mind, the optimized city, the optimized culture?
It's not Dutch culture - hell no - rolling wheels of cheese through shopping malls and clopping along in wooden shoes - no.

It's that Amsterdam reflects a culture not of Holland, but a culture of integration.

What underpins this integration, is the collective attitude that defines the city - which is to have fun; open minded, liberal, but controlled, well kept, and well policed - state legitimized fun.

......

My point being, I hate historical Irish dullness and I think state legitimization of prostitution by way of a potential upcoming bill spearheaded by the Irish department of justice via Helen McEntee - could spark the most profound cultural revolution in the entire, bleek, oppressive history of our rain soaked little Atlantic Isle.

......

:eek:

Hot Take -

If it wasn't for Amsterdam, you'd still be a virgin.

dxhound2005

The Tetrarch wrote: »

Amsterdam
I arrived on an international flight one evening.
The next morning I went out to see the city. It was a public holiday, everything closed.
I was flying out the next day. That next morning I went out again.
I had been warned that Amsterdam is famous for dogsh1t. I stepped in dogsh1t.
Amsterdam is a happening place?
Yes, if you are a dog and want to sniff around.