A world without Ireland

Lapin wrote: »

How different would the world as we know it be today if nature left a gap in the Atlantic where Ireland exists ?

If Ireland or her people and diaspora never were ?

Would the world be a different place today if Napoleon never had to face an army under the leadership of Wellington at Waterloo ?

How different would places as far away as Argentina and Chile be today if not for the influence of people like William Brown and Bernardo O'Higgins ? Not to mention Che Guevara in the same region years later.

There would have been no JFK (and no Lee Harvey Oswald to shoot him either). No Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton or Barack Obama and at least 18 other occupants of the White House over the years. The White House itself wouldn't exist as the architect James hoban was Irish.

No Jim Callaghan or Tony Blair in Downing Street. Indeed there would be no Downing Street either as Sir George Downing who built the place was also Irish !

30% of the population of Australia wouldn't be around.

The world Music and Movies would be denied the talents of people like The Beatles, Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie, The Smiths, Oasis, George Clooney, John Wayne, Matt Dillon Mel Gibson Walt Disney, Alfred Hitchcock, Michael Moore and countless others.

There would be no Muhammad Ali, Henry Cooper, John McEnroe, Celtic FC but on the bright side there would be no Wayne Rooney either !

Princes' William and Harry wouldn't exist as their mother, Diana was of Irish descent. In fact their cousins, Beatrice and Eugenie wouldn't be around either as their mother, Sarah Ferguson's lot also hailed from these shores. Although its likely that the whole institution of the British monarchy (and history) would have been altered centuries ago in any case, as the battles of the Boyne and Aughrim would have had to have been fought elsewhere !

No Ford cars. No Duty Free. No Titanic. No Guinness and Whiskey to drown the shamrock on a non existant St Patrick's Day. No Oscar Statuettes, or Dunlop tyres. Irish Pubs, dancing, stew, coffee, jokes...........................

No Herb Kelleher, founder of Southwest Airlines in the US and inspiration for low cost airlines everywhere including Ryanair.

I haven't even mentioned how much poorer the world of literature would be without us.

I'm not gonna include some of our scientific discoveries and inventions as I believe things like the Submarine, Ejector seat and Richter scale would have come along eventually elsewhere. But who knows ?

Of course we've also given the world its fair share of blaggards, chancers and gangsters, but who hasn't? And on the bright side there would be no Tubridy asking everyone about their Irish roots.


Any other ideas or opinions on how different the world would be today if it wasn't for Ireland and the Irish ?