Why you are proud to be Irish?

dSTAR

Lets hear it!

(Mods - adherance)

fade2black

see this thread

dSTAR

fade2black wrote:

see this thread

See this thread.

PLEASE stay on topic!

BendiBus

I'm glad to be Irish. There are a lot of advantages to belonging to a wealthy Western stable democracy.

But as my nationality is an accident of birth, I had nothing to do with being Irish so pride shouldn't come into it.

One should take pride in ones achievements, not ones luck.

Being proud to be Irish is like being proud to have won the lottery.

fade2black

dSTAR wrote:

See this thread.

PLEASE stay on topic!

Shut up and get down off your soap box.

dSTAR

Its probably better that we let forum members express their opinions.

Sarky

Because being better than average is so easy here.

LundiMardi

Everyone! I'm black n i'm proud!

ZiabR

BendiBus wrote:

I'm glad to be Irish. There are a lot of advantages to belonging to a wealthy Western stable democracy.

But as my nationality is an accident of birth, I had nothing to do with being Irish so pride shouldn't come into it.

One should take pride in ones achievements, not ones luck.

Being proud to be Irish is like being proud to have won the lottery.

Well put and i have to agree with what you say.

JustCoz

Bendibus wrote:

I'm glad to be Irish. There are a lot of advantages to belonging to a wealthy Western stable democracy.

But as my nationality is an accident of birth, I had nothing to do with being Irish so pride shouldn't come into it.

One should take pride in ones achievements, not ones luck.

Being proud to be Irish is like being proud to have won the lottery

Thats such a stupid technicality, people all over the world take pride in their nationality. That's like saying I'm not proud of my children, I'm just glad they're my children because the fact that they are my children is just an accident of birth

Sangre

But you have a LOT to do with your children by raising them. There is no comparison.

JustCoz

I can't believe you are evn up Sangre, you were some mess last night!!

dSTAR

LundiMardi wrote:

Everyone! I'm black n i'm proud!

Please...lets be serious!

JustCoz

Maybe so but there are plenty of things about being Irish to be proud of, like the way people gave up their lives so that we could be an independant state. I'm fairly sure if you were to conduct a nationwide survey, people are more likely to say they are proud of this rather than glad we're not under British rule

Shrimp

fade2black wrote:

see this thread

hahaha what the ****.. what hell is that mess thinking..

LundiMardi

dSTAR wrote:

Please...lets be serious!

ok, i'm not proud to be Irish, i'm not proud of a nation that ****s over it's people every chance they get!! I'm not proud of the scummers i have to share land with, or the justice system that keeps them on my land!! Why the fúck should i be proud of a nation that charges half a million for a 1 bed set the city centre exactly?

Ireland is a fúckin hole in the earth!

finlma

BendiBus wrote:

I'm glad to be Irish. There are a lot of advantages to belonging to a wealthy Western stable democracy.

But as my nationality is an accident of birth, I had nothing to do with being Irish so pride shouldn't come into it.

One should take pride in ones achievements, not ones luck.

Being proud to be Irish is like being proud to have won the lottery.

Couldn't agree more.

dSTAR

LundiMardi wrote:

ok, i'm not proud to be Irish...

Sounds like the blame game to me.

C'mon lets face up to reality...

monkeyfudge

Hmmm... we've produced more than our fair share of decent writers over the years.... Joyce, Becket, Wilde, Flan O'Brien.... etc....

Oh... and we've given the world Guinness and Whiskey.

incisor71

Personally, I don't get the "I'm proud to be Irish" assertion. It's a bit like saying "I'm proud to have blue eyes" or "I'm proud to be part of a large family", or some such circumstantial or genetic factor over which I have no control. There's no doubt that it's sometimes convenient to come from Ireland, but this situation did not come about because of hard work on my part.

There's an acquired sense of pride in having invested time, hard work, overcome adversity and pushed through unforeseen obstacles in the name of progress. This form of pride is deeper, more personal and more justifiable.

Terry

i'm proud to be part of a nation that fought against persecution and came out all the better for it. a nation of poets, writers and musicians who have brought happiness to the rest of the world. a nation whose people, when forced out of their own land, went and made a better life for themselves all around the world, building up countries in the new world, like america, australia and argentina. i'm also proud of this.

Rockee

JustCoz wrote:

Thats such a stupid technicality, people all over the world take pride in their nationality. That's like saying I'm not proud of my children, I'm just glad they're my children because the fact that they are my children is just an accident of birth

Very well put...fair play.

Oriel

JustCoz wrote:

That's like saying I'm not proud of my children, I'm just glad they're my children because the fact that they are my children is just an accident of birth

Not true, you can mould your child into what you think they should become. You can't do that with a country.

dSTAR

julep wrote:

when forced out of their own land, went and made a better life for themselves all around the world...

No doubt this true.

But why dwell on the past?

joe_chicken

incisor71 wrote:

Personally, I don't get the "I'm proud to be Irish" assertion. It's a bit like saying "I'm proud to have blue eyes" or "I'm proud to be part of a large family", or some such circumstantial or genetic factor over which I have no control. There's no doubt that it's sometimes convenient to come from Ireland, but this situation did not come about because of hard work on my part.

There's an acquired sense of pride in having invested time, hard work, overcome adversity and pushed through unforeseen obstacles in the name of progress. This form of pride is deeper, more personal and more justifiable.

That's a well put argument, and in an ideal world I'd completely agree.

However, people will always judge you on things like nationality,skin colour,accent and even on fashion sense...

So before you've had a chance to show off all your acquired achievements and evidence of hard work, you will have been judged a few times over.

Terry

remembering the past will keep us grounded as our economy strenghtens and people become richer. we must never forget how the country struggled (right up to the 1980's) and make sure that it never happens again. our parents, grandparents etc made sacrifices so that we could live in a better world. we need to remember that and do the same for our own children.

also, as an addendum to my first post, i'm proud to be part of a nation whose army is used mainly as a peace keeping force and not one that engages other countries in war. i'm proud to be part of a nation that can now accomodate refugees from war torn and famine stricken countries and can also give employment to those from countries whose economy is struggling.

dSTAR

julep wrote:

i'm proud to be part of a nation that can now accomodate refugees from war torn and famine stricken countries and can also give employment to those from countries whose economy is struggling.

Lets not get into politics. Many people would beg to differ.

Do us a favour and stick with the original question.

Terry

that is an answer to the original question.
there is no doubting that we can accomodate refugees and give employment to people from countries with economies weaker than our own. 50,000 polish people didn't come here for the scenery and then decide to get a job and stay here. it's not debatable. it's fact. and it's something that makes me proud to be Irish. we are repaying our debt to the world by using foreign labour. Irish people travelled the world in search of employment before, during and well after the famine and now it's our turn to give employment to people from countries with high unemployment.

gaf1983

it's just another region in the british isles as far as i'm concerned, may have some slightly diferent regional customs/traditions, and a slightly different legal system, the power to set its own tax regime to an extent but apart from that it's not much different from the rest of the uk

cil_aine

every country has their problems. some more than others. no-body and no-one is perfect. deal with it! back to the original question, i'm not OTT about being proud to be irish, i'm just happy that i'm not living in sierra leone.

projectmayhem

dSTAR wrote:

But why dwell on the past?

can't really be proud of the future now can we? it doesn't exist!

bottlerocket

gaf1983 wrote:

it's just another region in the british isles as far as i'm concerned, may have some slightly diferent regional customs/traditions, and a slightly different legal system, the power to set its own tax regime to an extent but apart from that it's not much different from the rest of the uk

Different language, vastly different culture and customs to much of the UK (scotland excepted).

A few reasons from our history -

Irish missionaries kept Latin and learning alive in much of Europe in the dark ages. Also, we never accepted domination from a foreign power and managed to keep our language and culture alive under extreme repression. When Irish people travelled around the world we contributed a great deal to the countries that took our people in.

For such a small country, we consistently punch above our weight in many different spheres and have exported so much to the world.

What has happened economically in that 15 years is nothing short of exceptional. To go from being on our knees in the 1980's to one of the richest countries in the world is a great achievement and something we can all be proud of.

There are many things to dislike about Ireland, as with any country, and things are far from perfect. National pride is more than tricolours, celtic jerseys and hating England. It gives people a sense of belonging and achievement and in my opinion is therefore worthwhile.

bottlerocket

sinecurea wrote:

Not true, you can mould your child into what you think they should become. You can't do that with a country.

Yes you can, if the will is there. Obviously not as an individual, but as a society.

JustCoz

Sinecura wrote:

Not true, you can mould your child into what you think they should become. You can't do that with a country.

Not true, a country is completely moulded by it's people, we do live in a democracy afterall. And I don't know about you but I'm fairly sure I'm not what my parents intended me to be

LadyJ

dSTAR wrote:

Please...lets be serious!

So he's not allowed to be blacK,Irish and proud? lol.



I wouldn't say I'm proud to be Irish but sometimes it's good to be Irish because,as a people,we seem to be universally liked. Foreigners are usually excited to hear you're from Ireland.

However,I don't take any particular pride in it because,well,why would I? There's nothing special about Ireland. I mean,I'm glad women don't have to wear veils and we have a limited amount of suicde bombers but we do have plenty of corrupt politicians,paedophile priests,extremist republicans and a hell of a lot of road carnage!

We have many faults,just like any other country so I don't feel the need to celebrate my nationality.

PS. Hi bottlerocket! I know you!:D

hullaballoo

Such a feisty little nationalist JustCoz. Tiocfaidh ár lá

Nightwish

I'm not proud to be Irish. I dont really care. I'm just glad I'm not from an unfortunate country thats all.

super_furry

I'm not proud to be Irish. I'm not exactly ashamed either, I just can't see the point in the whole 'patriotic' thing as it so often ends up with incidents like last Saturday's little Dublin party.

jonny68

LundiMardi wrote:

Everyone! I'm black n i'm proud!

Ha Ha quality

macguch

LundiMardi wrote:

ok, i'm not proud to be Irish, i'm not proud of a nation that ****s over it's people every chance they get!! I'm not proud of the scummers i have to share land with, or the justice system that keeps them on my land!! Why the fúck should i be proud of a nation that charges half a million for a 1 bed set the city centre exactly?

Ireland is a fúckin hole in the earth!

:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
YES, this is all the countrys fault. These are just some of the faults of having a DEMOCRATIC and a FREE MARKET economy. I am proud of my country because of its unique language, culture, history and economic advancements over the last 30 years. We are also responsible for building the great civilisations around the world such as the united states.We are also one of the few civilisations that will let lefties like you speak out against the "oh so corrupt government" Enjoy your Sport.

LundiMardi

macguch wrote:

:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
YES, this is all the countrys fault. These are just some of the faults of having a DEMOCRATIC and a FREE MARKET economy. I am proud of my country because of its unique language, culture, history and economic advancements over the last 30 years. We are also responsible for building the great civilisations around the world such as the united states.We are also one of the few civilisations that will let lefties like you speak out against the "oh so corrupt government" Enjoy your Sport.

:rolleyes:

We can build other civilisations, just can't really handle our own. Wonderful.

dédé

I'm not proud to be Irish simply cos I'm not Irish hehe. But I'm proud to be a human being.

Gandhi

A certain amount of patriotism is a natural human emotion, even though it makes no logical sense, as many posters have already pointed out. I do feel a certain amount of pride when I hear mention of people like John F. Kennedy, Roy Keane, Oscar Wilde, even though I know that as just some random Irish dude, I made no more contribution to any of their achievements than some random Russian or Brazilian dude (or chick).

What is equally baffling is the rabid fanatacism that someone from a city in Ireland can have for a soccer team based in a city in England, comprised largely of players that could not have pointed out either city on the map up until the day before their agent announced to them they had received an offer from ManPool Villa Rangers.

arbeitsscheuer

I'm proud to be a citizen of the world, class is what divides us brothers and sisters, not where we were born.

What does it mean to be Irish*...

Being Irish is about driving in a German car to a pub to watch an English football match while downing a Belgian beer, then travelling home, grabbing an Indian curry or a Turkish kebab on the way, to sit on Swedish furniture and watch American shows on a Japanese TV. And the most Irish thing of all?

Suspicion of anything foreign!

*Note: Could substitute any nationality for the word "Irish" in this sentence.

Terry

to all those people bitching and moaning about Ireland being corrupt and full of scum. take a step back and think about where you are living. it's relatively safe to walk most of the streets at night and liam lawlor went to jail. every country on the face of the earth has its criminal element and dodgy politicians, but not every country in the world sends those politicians to jail.
the good points far out weigh the bad. sit back in front of your uncensored internet and rejoice in the fact that you live in one of the most prosperous places on the face of the planet.

Chucky the tree

LundiMardi wrote:

ok, i'm not proud to be Irish, i'm not proud of a nation that ****s over it's people every chance they get!! I'm not proud of the scummers i have to share land with, or the justice system that keeps them on my land!! Why the fúck should i be proud of a nation that charges half a million for a 1 bed set the city centre exactly?

Ireland is a fúckin hole in the earth!

Why dont you move abroad then?

LadyJ

Chucky the tree wrote:

Why dont you move abroad then?

Things aren't so black and white. He probably has family and friends here,a relationship perhaps and a job/degree to do.

Plenty of other reasons too I'm sure.

Chucky the tree

LadyJ wrote:

Things aren't so black and white. He probably has family and friends here,a relationship perhaps and a job/degree to do.

Plenty of other reasons too I'm sure.

We all going to move away from our family and friends eventually. If he is doing a degree he should be gone as soon as he gets it.


If lived in a place i thought was "a fúckin hole in the earth!" i wouldnt care about the friends or family, i would leave that place no matter what.

arbeitsscheuer

Chucky the tree wrote:

If lived in a place i thought was "a fúckin hole in the earth!" i wouldnt care about the friends or family, i would leave that place no matter what.

Bullsh*t.

"Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains"
Jean-Jacques Rousseau

While I don't share the same level of vitriolic hate for this land as much as Sm0ke, I want out too. But I can't leave til
a) Degree is finished
b) job with Plan UK is organised,
and finally
c) I have enuff funds to pay my way

So yeah. Lots to get thru. So I can't just "leave this place no matter what". That'd be just dumb, I'd be dead within a week.

Chucky the tree

SebtheBum wrote:

Bullsh*t.

"Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains"
Jean-Jacques Rousseau

While I don't share the same level of vitriolic hate for this land as much as Sm0ke, I want out too. But I can't leave til
a) Degree is finished
b) job with Plan UK is organised,
and finally
c) I have enuff funds to pay my way

So yeah. Lots to get thru. So I can't just "leave this place no matter what". That'd be just dumb, I'd be dead within a week.

Obiovusly no within the week. IF he has a degree i can understand him staying to finished it.

It just annoys me the way people whinge and moan aobut how **** Ireland is, yet never even bother to try and move abroad. They dont even do any research on it.

LadyJ

Chucky the tree wrote:

Obiovusly no within the week. IF he has a degree i can understand him staying to finished it.

It just annoys me the way people whinge and moan aobut how **** Ireland is, yet never even bother to try and move abroad. They dont even do any research on it.

I think there is more to it than that tbh. People have responsibilities that can't just be abandonned.

For example,I'd love to be able to move abroad but I have an elderly aunt who depends on me so I can't. I could be married with children by the time she dies and then it'd be hard to up and leave.

I agree that there's no point moaning about the country but it's not always so easy to leave a place.