Welcome to Ireland - but don't stay long

digitally-yours

I just read this article and now i am thinking how true is this ?

What do you think of this ?
The article has some very valid points.

Hearing that Ireland has topped the list of the world's friendliest countries in the Lonely Planet's Bluelist 2008, on account of the "deliciously dark sense of humour and ... welcoming attitude towards strangers", this Irishman's first thought is: "Ha, ha, we've managed to hoodwink them again, the gullible amadáin [fools]!"

Lest there be any misunderstanding, it's important to make clear that the Irish distrust and dislike all foreigners. It's a national trait. We will use a bit of charm when you stop us for directions or waylay us in a pub, but that's often because we just want your money. Although our booming economy means we have more money now than we know what to do with, we still want more and if getting at yours means asking you how the weather is and how you're getting on, we'll do it. Just don't go thinking we like you. It's nothing personal; we're a tribal nation.

The fact that the people who serve us pints are now nuclear physicists from Latvia and our gardeners are university lecturers from the Philippines makes us deeply uncomfortable, but what can we do? We're simply too rich to do it ourselves. We no longer need to look back to the distant past for a golden era - we're living it. Ireland is like a birthday boy gleefully opening all his presents and keen to show them off. We want you here long enough to revel in our abundance - but don't ask us to share any of it, and make sure you leave soon.

If you meet us in the evening or first thing in the morning and we seem particularly friendly, we may be drunk. We're fortunate in that we become exuberant with drink. You wouldn't want to meet us next day when we're hungover and laughing at you behind your back. But please keep coming. Being an island nation, we're like a dysfunctional family, and it's a relief now and then to see a new face.

Source
http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,2193337,00.html

bill_ashmount

It's the guardian newspaper, I wouldn't pay any attention to it.

Dirty Dave

bill_ashmount wrote: »

It's the guardian newspaper, I wouldn't pay any attention to it.

I'd agree. Having read the article, I think its tripe. I realise some people might feel like the author does, but I really dont think his opinion represents the nation as a whole.

arybvtcw0eolkf

Oh lets all hate ourselves for another day :rolleyes:

Terry

The fact that the people who serve us pints are now nuclear physicists from Latvia and our gardeners are university lecturers from the Philippines makes us deeply uncomfortable, but what can we do?

All the bar people in my local are Irish and the guy who cuts my grass is the teenager from across the road. He's Irish too.

Mind you, the last time I was in the hospital, it was an African doctor who treated me.

Karl Hungus

Mairt wrote: »

Oh lets all hate ourselves for another day :rolleyes:

Yep, same old ****e.

That article actually managed to piss me off a bit. We can't have anyone saying anything good about Ireland (In this case, Lonely Planet) before some self-hating twat comes and rips on us again.

**** any other problems, that attitude is what's wrong with the country.

magick

lol u read the guardian

kevmy

That article is crap.

I certainly don't feel like that and a lot of people I now wouldn't.

As for taking money of tourists, every country does it. How many times have you been on holiday and bought stuff you didn't need or want just for the craic of it? Tourism is one of our biggest industries and one that cannot be taken away from us in that it is based on natural beauty. We are perfectly entitled to offer things for sale to tourists - we don't make them buy sh1t or rob them of their cash.

Orange69

Im usually the first to point out our incompetent and corrupt government, awful infrastructure, etc... But that article seems like an almost personal attack on the Irish people, like a racial slur from within. All i can is that the author "Manchán Magan", who i assume is the guy who is occasionally on TG4, has some very deep seated, personal inferiorities. He generalizes 4 million people as being sly, tripple-faced, greed driven drunkards..

Shame on you Manchán, shame! If anyone here knows anyone working at TG4, please forward this article to them..

Kintarō Hattori

What a pri**.

digitally-yours

Some more statistics here.Looks like the GOV policies are behind this all.

http://www.integrationindex.eu/integrationindex/2413.html

and the disappointing snapshot in the following link.:o:o:o:o

Thats EU official website so this cannot be wrong.

http://www.integrationindex.eu/integrationindex/2599.html

Wibbs

Utter rubbish with the inflation of a grain of truth at the core. You could say the same for any country. Yea Manchan Magan is a particular type of bare titted women at the cross roads of oul Ireland muppet, who basically wants a return to the old days. Mainly because the new days left him and his ilk confused and largely behind. (I'd say he's mainly píssed off because more people speak polish now than what he thinks is still a living language. Though his programmes about walking around Ireland trying to survive just speaking as gaeilge should have proved something to the sandal wearing hippy gaelgoir. Clearly not.)

Jesus Wept

Tosspot.

Hobbes

I've always found the further away from Dublin you go the more friendly Irish people are to foriegn people, but it is only because they are nosy feckers who like a bit of gossip.

ambro25

digitally-yours wrote:

Thats EU official website so this cannot be wrong.

http://www.integrationindex.eu/integrationindex/2599.html

Interesting site, digitally-yours, thx. Note that it's by the British Council, though (don't know if that has much of a bearing, but still...)

Worth quoting the overview for IE (some good stats on there as well, @ bottom):

Overview
It is difficult to find up-to-date, comparable statistics on immigration to Ireland as it reaches new record-breaking levels every year. Fortunately, the 2006 Census introduced a question on ethnic and cultural identity and encouraged members of minority groups to participate. Ireland is one of five EU countries where most non-Irish residents are EU citizens. Indeed, only a third of non-Irish residents are from outside the EU, mostly from English-speaking countries.

In 2006, Ireland began the process of putting in place a comprehensive policy on migration and integration. Legislation has so far targeted highskilled labour migration (see box), the regular work permit system, andaccess to employment for family members and university students. The National Action Plan Against Racism 2005-2008 ‘Planning for Diversity' led to, for example, an Intercultural Health Strategy and positive action recruitment campaign for the Police Force.

Access to nationality policies are the strongest of the 6 MIPEX integration strands and ranked fourth in the EU-25, tied with the UK. Anti-discrimination, family reunion, labour market access, and political participation score around halfway to best practice. Ireland's long-term residence policies received the worst score of all 28 MIPEX countries.

Mmm. Save as to the "long-term residence" bit, neither better nor worse tbh.

Borneo Fnctn

That article is total garbage. I'm so sick of the self loathing.

Mizu_Ger

It was the same on RTE news at 6. When they "reported" this story, they spent more time talking about violence against tourists than the actual Lonely Planet story. It seems that Ireland is the only country in the world where tourists could face violence!

Getting sick of the media taking the negative side of stories that don't even contain a negative aspect!

digitally-yours

Mizu_Ger wrote: »

It was the same on RTE news at 6. When they "reported" this story, they spent more time talking about violence against tourists than the actual Lonely Planet story. It seems that Ireland is the only country in the world where tourists could face violence!

Getting sick of the media taking the negative side of stories that don't even contain a negative aspect!

Any link to RTE for that ?

lostexpectation

Manchán Magan the no bearla guy...?

Rb

digitally-yours wrote: »

The fact that the people who serve us pints are now nuclear physicists from Latvia and our gardeners are university lecturers from the Philippines makes us deeply uncomfortable, but what can we do? l

I, for one, am not uncomfortable by this.

Ridiculous article.

AlmightyCushion

What a load of crap. "it's important to make clear that the Irish distrust and dislike all foreigners.". That's one big sweeping generalisation if ever I seen one. The guy who wrote that article is a muppet.

JohnnyFilters

That guy just hates Irish and Irish people, he just likes to annoy people. If anyone watched No Béarla you'd have seen him go out of whis way to find people that didn't speak Irish and when he did find people that spoke some Irish he deliberately used words that he knew there would be a very slim chance of them understanding. All so he could in his opinion show that Irish is a dead language and that money is being wasted on it. Now he comes out with this article attacking Irish people with no real basis for his argument, he's annoying self-righteous prat!:mad::mad:

is_that_so

I am more embarrassed for him as I thought his No Béarla thing was interesting. IMO he is also extremely good on documentaries but this piece is just absolutely awful. Extremely glib and badly written piece IMO. If it didn't have his name at the top I might have assumed it was one R Liddle who had written it.

Looks like someone asked him to do a "clever" Irish slant on it and that it was probably aimed at the clever UK Guardian readers. If he does think that way then he's the amadán.

TBH if you're a nuclear physicist surely you have enough cop on to realise that you might be in the wrong country :rolleyes:.

mike65

I reckon nuclear physicists pour a particularly steady pint.

Mike.

Tha Gopher

digitally-yours wrote: »

The fact that the people who serve us pints are now nuclear physicists from Latvia and our gardeners are university lecturers from the Philippines makes us deeply uncomfortable, but what can we do? http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,2193337,00.html

He believes everything his barman/gardener tells him?

Its like when Irish lads are in the US and try gettin birds/a few drinks by wowing the yanks with tales of how they were in an IRA flying column squad back home in Belfast from when they were 11 years old.

meglome

Karl Hungus wrote: »

Yep, same old ****e.

That article actually managed to piss me off a bit. We can't have anyone saying anything good about Ireland (In this case, Lonely Planet) before some self-hating twat comes and rips on us again.

**** any other problems, that attitude is what's wrong with the country.

Agree 100% with that.

5starpool

Terry wrote: »

Mind you, the last time I was in the hospital, it was an African doctor who treated me.

Ah ya, but he was probably a binman at home though.

Laslo

Nothing better than someone speaking on behalf of all his fellow countrymen. What a complete asshat.

Overheal

Nice to see the better half of ye dont want me deported - ty, luvs

boopolo

digitally-yours wrote: »

The fact that the people who serve us pints are now nuclear physicists from Latvia and our gardeners are university lecturers from the Philippines makes us deeply uncomfortable, but what can we do?

Load of crap.

I would say a nuclear physicist from Latvia would have some other science job here seeing as there's not too many jobs here making the next H-bomb.
As for, a lecturer from The Philippines, I am sure he or she would be a lecturer here.
As a nurse from there is a nurse here, or a software develeper there would be a software developer here.