Lonely Planet says Irish people are pessimistic and lacking self esteem

Paparazzo · 13-01-2012 02:06AM

Larne is “lacking in the charm department”

Don't think we'll find anyone disagree with this bit

MrJoeSoap · 13-01-2012 12:07PM

Show Time wrote: »

"Everything good in Ireland can be found in Cork"

Spot on and as usual it is left to us down in Cork to save the day.

Oh good lord, as if the collective Cork ego needed another boost...

Jesus Wept · 13-01-2012 12:16PM

Isn't this story recycled, pretty sure it's a few years since I first heard it.

Wompa1 · 13-01-2012 12:57PM

I met a lady who wrote for Lonely Planet. I'm a rational person and know that one person doesn't reflect the rest of their group but she was so pompous and "enlightened" that the next time I had a read of one in Easons I heard her voice when I was trying to read the book and everything in it came across as so pretentious that it killed those books for me. Boo to Lonely Planet

DoesNotCompute · 13-01-2012 12:59PM

Kohl wrote: »

Do you agree with them or think that's a load of crap. I personally think its a dumb thing to say in a guide to Ireland.

I'd agree with this assessment. Irish people tend to give themselves a hard time.

Agricola · 13-01-2012 01:34PM

If we werent pessimistic we wouldnt be as resigned to these cutbacks as we currently are. We might be out rioting on the streets, for all the good that would do us. We're kind of in the mindset that things have returned to the natural order after the excesses of the celtic tiger. We wallow in pessimism, similarly to the British, its a core component of our humour.
If we didnt lack self-esteem we wouldnt have such an issue with alcohol and you wouldnt have legislation coming in to curb the trend of binge drinking on cheap booze. Well considering how desperately the govt needs revenue, you might have that legislation anyway, but thats another debate.

Wompa1 · 13-01-2012 01:37PM

Agricola wrote: »

If we werent pessimistic we wouldnt be as resigned to these cutbacks as we currently are. We might be out rioting on the streets, for all the good that would do us. We're kind of in the mindset that things have returned to the natural order after the excesses of the celtic tiger. We wallow in pessimism, similarly to the British, its a core component of our humour.
If we didnt lack self-esteem we wouldnt have such an issue with alcohol and you wouldnt have legislation coming in to curb the trend of binge drinking on cheap booze. Well considering how desperately the govt needs revenue, you might have that legislation anyway, but thats another debate.

But is everybody up in arms over the cutbacks? Or do people realize we were living way beyond our means and cutbacks are necessary. I wasn't all that happy with my taxes being increased the last couple of years and VAT going up but I get why it had to..the only cut back that angered me was the cut to money towards the young disabled people and that looks like it's being reversed.

sensibleken · 13-01-2012 01:41PM

Of course Irish people have low self esteem, look at the head on yous. Yous are lucky im out there challenging these stereotypes or ye'd all be fcuked

paddyandy · 13-01-2012 01:50PM

In Irish Culture there are sad songs and funny songs but no happy ones .Same with Stories.. the children of Lir never came home and nothing anywhere that has a happy ending ...Why ? Is it the history ? The Weather ? Hardships with Emigration and Famine that have riven us with melancholy .Drink may have had a part but that's only recent among the wider population .Drinking was only an older man's past-time until the 1960s .Wars between families that went on for decades ???Any help with the mystery ?

endabob1 · 13-01-2012 01:56PM

Guidebooks are very rarely written by one person, they tend to be a collective effort, comprising natives from the country/city plus experienced travel writers.

I used to work with a guy who was an editor for LP in Melbourne, he was originally Canadian so mainly worked on North American guides but was an incredibly nice, well travelled guy.

I think Irish people do have a gift for self deprecation and historically I think we've always been a tad pessimistic. That certainly changed during the tiger years but thankfully an air of humility has certainly returned in recent years.

Spread · 13-01-2012 02:24PM

Like a lot of journalists today, Lonely Planet culls stories from the net. GOOGLE and WIKI being the main ones up to recently but now they've found another source ........ AFTER HOURS in boards.ie!
Most of the optimists have left the Emerald Isle and they will prosper abroad like former emigrants. Their minds will be opened up by the best education that they have set in motion - travel. Only when you leave Ireland can you see it in an absolutely unbiased, objective way. No longer will you be fed the horse **** produced by The Indo or some of the inane home produced TV shows. Your perspective will be well rounded. And if you get a yearning for a personal analysis of bad news ........ you can generally get back to the old sod in less than 30 hours. Am generalising here, so please any optimists left, do not descend on me like a ton of bricks

sensibleken · 13-01-2012 02:25PM

paddyandy wrote: »

In Irish Culture there are sad songs and funny songs but no happy ones .Same with Stories.. the children of Lir never came home and nothing anywhere that has a happy ending ...Why ?

Happy songs:
Father had a knife
Jack of all trades
Little Begarman
Stick to the Craythur
Song for Ireland
Three lovely Lassies from Kimmage
The ringsend Sailor
etc etc...

Happy stories:
Boyhood deeds of cuChulainn have their moments. And the good guys win at the end of the Táin bo cuaillgne.
St Colmans legend.
Theres a few others in the Fenian cycle and The life of St columba has some.....whacky adventures

Show Time · 13-01-2012 04:28PM

MrJoeSoap wrote: »

Oh good lord, as if the collective Cork ego needed another boost...

All true.:)
Sure go back to last summer when we had a little old lady over from England to say hello. The poor woman could not walk the streets of our capital over the fear of the savage inbreed locals. Yet she was able to come down to Cork and walk around the the real capital without ,And this was the city that booted her old mans army out of Ireland which shows how Cork people don't do grudges.

Spread · 13-01-2012 04:53PM

Show Time wrote: »

All true.:)
Sure go back to last summer when we had a little old lady over from England to say hello. The poor woman could not walk the streets of our capital over the fear of the savage inbreed locals. Yet she was able to come down to Cork and walk around the the real capital without ,And this was the city that booted her old mans army out of Ireland which shows how Cork people don't do grudges.

Which makes me want to mention The Kingdom, but I wont!

Napper Hawkins · 13-01-2012 06:01PM

Show Time wrote: »

All true.:)
Sure go back to last summer when we had a little old lady over from England to say hello. The poor woman could not walk the streets of our capital over the fear of the savage inbreed locals. Yet she was able to come down to Cork and walk around the the real capital without ,And this was the city that booted her old mans army out of Ireland which shows how Cork people don't do grudges.

There are significantly less of yiz, easier to manage and all that.

Cork is nice and all but practically indistinguishable from the rest of the west.

It's getting really boring at this stage.

JupiterKid · 13-01-2012 06:06PM

The Lonely Planet says things about every country that much of its populace doesn't like to hear.

Its appraisal of Ireland and the Irish is pretty accurate I think. Low self-esteem is rampant here as is begrudgery and a stupid, petty defensiveness when confronted with the unpleasant truth.

sensibleken · 13-01-2012 06:07PM

Napper Hawkins wrote: »

There are significantly less of yiz, easier to manage and all that.

Cork is nice and all but practically indistinguishable from the rest of the west.

It's getting really boring at this stage.

cork is south

YFlyer · 13-01-2012 06:08PM

What did they say about Limerick City again?

Napper Hawkins · 13-01-2012 06:12PM

sensibleken wrote: »

cork is south

What the **** ever.

saa · 13-01-2012 06:13PM

Kohl wrote: »

Do you agree with them or think that's a load of crap. I personally think its a dumb thing to say in a guide to Ireland.

Maybe this would be more relevant if you were moving here but as a travel guide the pessimism and lack of self confidence won't affect your holiday.
Its bollix as a travel guide but there is some truth in it, I'm not offended..

Spread · 13-01-2012 06:23PM

sensibleken wrote: »

cork is south

Howd'ya mean south? It's east ....... if you're in Dingle Ui Cuis

44leto · 13-01-2012 06:29PM

Lonely Planet says Irish people are pessimistic and lacking self esteem

Do you agree with them or think that's a load of crap. I personally think its a dumb thing to say in a guide to Ireland.

WELL

I can't speak for all the Irish people but anyone who is not pessimistic about our prospects is barking mad and yes after nearly 90 years of independence and away from daddy we lost our financial soverignty so that is nothing to shout about.

I hope the our new daddy the IMF will continue to pay our way.

languagenerd · 13-01-2012 07:15PM

We are a very self-deprecating nation, in fairness. We have no problem slagging ourselves off (a lot) and other nations don't quite get that :P

I did a language course in France last summer and the others couldn't understand that I could laugh at our country and its politics. I even got introduced to someone as "This is <name>, she's really critical of her country!" - and all just because I laughed when they asked me about our political system... and some of our habits...

Nyan Cat · 13-01-2012 07:29PM

languagenerd wrote: »

We are a very self-deprecating nation, in fairness. We have no problem slagging ourselves off (a lot) and other nations don't quite get that :P

I did a language course in France last summer and the others couldn't understand that I could laugh at our country and its politics. I even got introduced to someone as "This is <name>, she's really critical of her country!" - and all just because I laughed when they asked me about our political system... and some of our habits...

To be fair - our habit of self depreciation is hilarious - humourless Frenchies (jk - in a 'but it's true' fashion)

losthorizon · 13-01-2012 07:43PM

We're pessimistic? That's my night ruined!

FlyingIrishMan · 13-01-2012 07:52PM

Heard iRadio talking about this in the morning.

languagenerd · 13-01-2012 07:59PM

Nyan Cat wrote: »

To be fair - our habit of self depreciation is hilarious - humourless Frenchies (jk - in a 'but it's true' fashion)

Haha it was a French language course, so there weren't actually any French people in the class (you'd hope they'd know their language anyway...) - mainly people from other European countries and South America.

But seriously... they're all there debating, talking about the left and right wing parties in their countries and which politicians they like etc. and then they turn to me and ask "So what way does it work in your country? Is the right or left more popular?". "Ehhh....." :pac:

Show Time · 14-01-2012 12:15AM

Spread wrote: »

Howd'ya mean south? It's east ....... if you're in Dingle Ui Cuis

Dingle is my favourite place in Ireland outside of Cork. Many a good session was had done there in my youth.

otto_26 · 15-01-2012 03:19PM

I think the lonely planet got it spot on... thats what 99% of Irish people I know are like.. and I dont feel bad or think the lonely planet is a load of bollock for writing it... nothing wrong with the truth... I think that some Irish people do believe that we are the best people in the world with the best country in the world which of course is wrong and false... we are great at some things and Ireland has its great things about it but what was written is the truth... and when they see the truth written and dont like it they will call it a load of bollock...

holystungun9 · 15-01-2012 03:25PM

Nail - head

(unless it was me swinging the hammer. I'm sh1t at DIY, don't know why I even bother tbh.)

Lonely Planet says Irish people are pessimistic and lacking self esteem

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