Are you embarassed to be Irish after all that has happened in the recent past (e.g. Boom greed, vulgarity & arrogance, clerical child abuse & cover-up, economic crash, blame-storming, forced emigration, corrupt politicans & gombeenism, drink culture, Health service, Turkey at Eurovision etc etc)?
Are you embarassed to be Irish?
- Thread starter Birroc
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Nope, not at all.
Individuals who made decisions to be overindulgent are probably feeling quite embarrassed .I know a few,who now have their tail between their legs..
If you had asked if I was angry with some of the decisions some Irish people made,and if I was embarrassed by some of the of the people we have/have in power then yes..
I dont think the things you listed define us..or at least I hope not!
Individuals who made decisions to be overindulgent are probably feeling quite embarrassed .I know a few,who now have their tail between their legs..
If you had asked if I was angry with some of the decisions some Irish people made,and if I was embarrassed by some of the of the people we have/have in power then yes..
I dont think the things you listed define us..or at least I hope not!
notagardener
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No, not at all. You can pick holes in most countries, but overall I'm proud to be Irish - We have our very good points too!!
No, not embarrassed at all
Name any country and I can throw out negatives and even stereotypes about them
I'm only a young 'un
But I'd be pretty certain that even after years of pain, in twenty years there will be a new bubble and people will hop on, the soft landing we get promised never appears and we'll be back to where we are now in 2031.
History repeats itself.
Name any country and I can throw out negatives and even stereotypes about them
I'm only a young 'un
But I'd be pretty certain that even after years of pain, in twenty years there will be a new bubble and people will hop on, the soft landing we get promised never appears and we'll be back to where we are now in 2031.
History repeats itself.
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I agree with other posters; I'm not embarrassed to be Irish. On the world stage we don't invade anyone, we don't fund terrorism or murder, we can be sanctimonious but in general we are not too hypocritical.
We've had our first boom-bust cycle. Most other developed nations have had them as well. It's not something to be proud of but it's not as if we're the only nation that's ever done it.
I do get embarrassed when I hear Irish people pontificate about the faults of other nations, as if everyone existed in the comfortable safe little bubble we live in (not an economic bubble; one of safety, stability and peace). We do need to grow up and realise that most of the world is a more dangerous place than the bit we live in and, to a great extent, we can live in our bubble because of the actions of those we criticise.
We've had our first boom-bust cycle. Most other developed nations have had them as well. It's not something to be proud of but it's not as if we're the only nation that's ever done it.
I do get embarrassed when I hear Irish people pontificate about the faults of other nations, as if everyone existed in the comfortable safe little bubble we live in (not an economic bubble; one of safety, stability and peace). We do need to grow up and realise that most of the world is a more dangerous place than the bit we live in and, to a great extent, we can live in our bubble because of the actions of those we criticise.
+1 to that. The Dutch and the French had the first economic bubbles and clearly they've had more since.
shammy feen
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Turkey at Eurovision????
Turkey at Eurovision????
Of course, they're not bad either.
They're no Armenia though
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsH0YWSG_mg
Turkey at Eurovision????
Dustin.
Mostly not embarassed at all, but I see where you are coming from. Somethings make me cringe, ie Jackie Healy-Rae (who is thinkin of hangin his flatcap in the Aras
). But generally we're a fairly nice bunch of people. I love the wit and word-play in Ireland, the way we take the mick out of things, and the simple nice courtesys like thanking the bus drivers. And boy can we talk, your never stuck for a conversation in Ireland, in a carpark, queue or wherever, people will strike up a conversation and crack a joke, or moan bout the weather. I also love the moodiness of the landscape, and how ancient this place is. Ghosts walk here. I feel proud of our ancestors when I look at Newgrange or other monuments.
I totally get the "Field", we seem to have a deep attachment to land and place, and we have a deep attachment and delight in language. All in all, I love the place and love being Irish, and even our foibles often make me smile.
Lol, know the feeling. What do ye think about guys when you think of Ireland in good terms? I always think of the sight of the landscape, a winter or summer moon, mist, the rich damp earthy smell of the place, the sea, the sound of the Curlew and the Boran, and sometimes the lovely silence of empty, stark and bleak vistas.
Very atmospheric description. I'm very proud to be Irish and though I love to travel, there genuinely isn't anywhere else I'd like to live permanently. The feeling that people 'get you', you know; the irishness of you; the shared experience that doesn't need to be articulated or explained. A common understanding.
I used to travel for work in the UK regularly and I was always surprised by how humourless they can be and how they can take you so literaly without recognising the exaggeration and the mocking that is such a feature of Irish conversations. I always felt I had to explain things. Not a criticism of them as such; they just have a different way.
By the same token, I wish there were more of us who could speak and use Irish. I used to be quite fluent after 4 summers in the Gaeltacht and in college I read a good bit of Irish language literature. It seemed to me to capture a lot of the Irish character in general and way of speaking , though we have adapted English pretty well in our own way.
A.
Not embarassed at all- annoyed at the political and media classes. Politically it is just about scoring points. Media wise it is all about negativity. I live in the remote north-west, the community is great working their butts off to enhance the local facilities, bigger community centre, more pitches at the GAA pitch, loads of locals helping out at community games, drama and the like. This is a community of a pub, a shop and church, no housing estate. What really annoys me is the fact that we are educating our kids to move away.
I will give you a stat, during the boom we won a co title, 15 of the 25 lads had third level degrees and masters, none lived at home, 10 years on 2 do but both actually have to travel to Dublin (150 miles away) for work 3-4 days a week. It is very discouraging in that sense. I know some of those lads want to live in different parts of the world but the majority would give their right arm to be around the area, but there was nothing then in the boom and there is less now. What ever happened to the strategic spatial strategy (Sligo in this case!) ....that annoys me, embarassed never and like a previous poster I would love more Gaelige around (and I was useless at it in school). Críochnaithe anois!
I will give you a stat, during the boom we won a co title, 15 of the 25 lads had third level degrees and masters, none lived at home, 10 years on 2 do but both actually have to travel to Dublin (150 miles away) for work 3-4 days a week. It is very discouraging in that sense. I know some of those lads want to live in different parts of the world but the majority would give their right arm to be around the area, but there was nothing then in the boom and there is less now. What ever happened to the strategic spatial strategy (Sligo in this case!) ....that annoys me, embarassed never and like a previous poster I would love more Gaelige around (and I was useless at it in school). Críochnaithe anois!
Complainer
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I'm embarrassed to be an AAM member.
Well, that's very easy to fix!
Why on earth would anyone be embarrassed to be Irish? It's like saying I am embarassed to be white or embarassed to be a man.
I used to learn the phrase "I am Irish" in the language of European countries when I travelled abroad. I think I'll be dropping it now, as it's not an advantage any more. Perhaps even a disadvantage in some countries. I am not embarrassed, but I couldn't say I'm proud either.