Ireland - Always the poor mouth -and nothing to show for itself.

AngeGal · 24-08-2014 05:08AM

Lapin wrote: »

Bucharest has developed one of the best and most modern underground metro networks in Europe since Romania's accession to the EU.

The metro isn't the only thing Bucharest has underground Lapin.

To say this documentary is disturbing is an understatement.

Lapin · 24-08-2014 05:19AM

AngeGal wrote: »

The metro isn't the only thing Bucharest has underground Lapin.

I know that AngeGal.

I've been down there, seen (and smelt) the conditions. I'm a activily involved in trying to help prevent some of the kids nearby ending up there.

PM Me if you want to help out.

WilyCoyote · 24-08-2014 05:39AM

Lapin wrote: »

Apart from a few dreamers winning Nobel Prizes for Literature and the odd medal in the Olympics , what have we achieved?

Two Grand slams in the 100+ years of the 5/6 Nations.

Eurovision wins - Wow !

A few rock stars that hang out with Tony Blair and Bill Clinton and Oama for mutual ego building purposes.

Have we any architectural landmark buildings that anyone anywhere can point to and say 'Thats Ireland' in the same way that our nearst neighbours can do about any amount of structures in their capital city alone'?

We have nothing that says 'Ireland' in the same way that an image of the Sydney Opera House says Australia or the bravery of the Guggenheim in Bilbao exert themselves as landmarks.

Architecture is only one example. We have nothing to show for ourselves after 90 years as a nation in many other areas.

No defence force. - Our Army, Navy and Air Corps deserve better. They do a great job but by and large, our successive governments don't dive a fuck about them.

My suggestion - Abolish our charade of meaningless neutrality and join NATO now.

Infrastructure - From day one we have begged, srounged and prostituted our dignity before our European partners with the con of optaining funding for our bad roads, railways and cargo terminals in our ports etc.

What did we do with it?

Our town centres are being boarded up as people flock to the German and British stores on the edge of town.

Ireland as a nation has fuckall to show for itself.

Apart from a few trinkets .

You're depressed and depressing. Now grab some of these and chill FFS.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfGYSHy1jQs

Lapin · 24-08-2014 05:49AM

WilyCoyote wrote: »

You're depressed and depressing. Now grab some of these and chill FFS.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfGYSHy1jQs

Reminds me of the day I made my first holy Comunnion.

Happy days I think. (I was juiced on cheap Sauvingnon Blanc at the time).

Quinnsworth grapes I think.

dasdog · 24-08-2014 07:20AM

We should invade Iceland and get our wimmens back. Put the office of public works in charge of the volcanoes.

Santa Cruz · 24-08-2014 08:13AM

The Swiss invented the cuckoo clock. That was a great achievement of which they are very proud

mylefttesticle · 24-08-2014 08:34AM

Lapin wrote: »

Apart from a few dreamers winning Nobel Prizes for Literature and the odd medal in the Olympics , what have we achieved?

Two Grand slams in the 100+ years of the 5/6 Nations.

Eurovision wins - Wow !

A few rock stars that hang out with Tony Blair and Bill Clinton and Oama for mutual ego building purposes.

Have we any architectural landmark buildings that anyone anywhere can point to and say 'Thats Ireland' in the same way that our nearst neighbours can do about any amount of structures in their capital city alone'?

We have nothing that says 'Ireland' in the same way that an image of the Sydney Opera House says Australia or the bravery of the Guggenheim in Bilbao exert themselves as landmarks.

Architecture is only one example. We have nothing to show for ourselves after 90 years as a nation in many other areas.

No defence force. - Our Army, Navy and Air Corps deserve better. They do a great job but by and large, our successive governments don't dive a fuck about them.

My suggestion - Abolish our charade of meaningless neutrality and join NATO now.

Infrastructure - From day one we have begged, srounged and prostituted our dignity before our European partners with the con of optaining funding for our bad roads, railways and cargo terminals in our ports etc.

What did we do with it?

Our town centres are being boarded up as people flock to the German and British stores on the edge of town.

Ireland as a nation has fuckall to show for itself.

Apart from a few trinkets .

Jeeze you really need to travel more to see the abject failure and misery that exists in a lot of countries in the world some even that you would consider first world countries with a better image than we have

whisky_galore · 24-08-2014 08:54AM

Santa Cruz wrote: »

The Swiss invented the cuckoo clock. That was a great achievement of which they are very proud

Nope, Black Forest in Germany takes the credit for that earth shattering breakthrough.

P_1 · 24-08-2014 09:08AM

Context context context OP.

Remember that Ireland is an island of 6 million (if you include the north). If anything I'd say we're punching slightly above our weight.

doolox · 24-08-2014 09:30AM

....Wellington, born Arthur Wellesley on Merrion Square, Dublin. Became the worlds greatest general and Prime Minister of England.

The Earl of Rosse, builder of the worlds then biggest telescope in 1870 and collaborator with Messier, the man who catalogued the galaxies and whose name is still used in catalogues listing galaxies in the universe.

Lord Boyle, prominent physicist and the man who formulated Boyles law relating the volume and temp and pressure of gasses.

The inventor of quarternions, a mathematical construct, Hamilton.

Several writers and creators of such "obscure characters" as Sherlock Holmes. Dracula, Tarzan etc. Giants of literature such as Shaw, Swift, Wilde, and Joyce.

The inventor of the hypodermic syringe came from Ireland.

Several medical procedures and phenomena had their origins in Ireland.

The use of Caissons, using compressed air to keep out water to allow digging bridge foundations, was first used on the Drogheda Viaduct.

Henry Ford, inventor of mass production and other industrial innovations had Irish roots.

George Boole, inventor of boolean algebra, the basis for all logical opertaions in modern computers was professor of mathematics in Cork.

John Philip Holland born in Liscannor, Co Clare, invented the submarine.

Senna · 24-08-2014 09:32AM

You know Michael Shannons character in Boardwalk Empire, whipping himself through repressed thoughts and self loathing, reminds me of the OP.

Drakares · 24-08-2014 09:54AM

Lapin wrote: »

OP Rabble rabble

Well OP, if you don't like it then leave and go somewhere else. I hear North Korea is lovely this time of year.

dxhound2005 · 24-08-2014 10:03AM

Lapin wrote: »

Ireland.

Perhaps In noticed it more in living abroad.

Ireland always has the hand out.

Youn could always go abroad again.

Valetta · 24-08-2014 10:14AM

Lapin wrote: »

Attitudes like the mine have every place in this future.

If we all had complacent attitudes like yours there would be no future at all.

I challenge - You dismiss my challenge as pessimism.

I accept that I carry an element of self loathing here in relation to Ireland. In fact, that is the whole crux of this thread.

We as a nation seem happy to quote Yeats, Joyce and others and show videaos of rugged cliffs while the rest of the world is building metros, airports, and sanititiaton.

I'm sick to the teeth of being told this country can't afford to rub two ha/pennies together while seeing places like Romania, Bulgaria etc develop modern transport links that will serve their economies in decades to come.

Bucharest has developed one of the best and most modern underground metro networks in Europe since Romania's accession to the EU.

Meanwhile, Dublin has two laid tram lines (one of them relaid on a pre-existing route). And they don't even meet.

My original post was nothing to do with pessimism. Quite the reverse. It was an expression of interest and an observation on the lack of ambitition being expressed in this country right now.

I ask anyone to prove me wrong.

You've been proven wrong in numerous posts, but chose to ignore them as they don't go along with your narrow minded agenda.

And you can't build sanitation.

osarusan · 24-08-2014 10:23AM

Cecilia Ahern and Upwardly Mobile.

but in all seriousness OP, when you dismiss Nobel prize winners as not the kind of thing you're talking about, you'll dismiss anything that anybody suggests.

I'm annoyed with myself for even replying.

cloud493 · 24-08-2014 10:28AM

I often wonder, are you Irish unable to feel content and happy, or do you just not want to? Christ, a nation of begrudgers, I thought we in the UK knew how to whinge.

sunflower27 · 24-08-2014 10:36AM

Maybe a good start would be to get rid of the horrendous politicians that seem to be elected here. So rare that one of them is above board. That is disgraceful. It is still unbelievable to me the amount of corruption in Ireland.

faceman · 24-08-2014 10:37AM

Ah OP. Yeah sure Ireland is a kip at times. We allow our novice governments railroad us to self destruction. But there are some noteworthy comments.

An Irishman designed the world's first submarine.

An Irishman designed the Whitw House.

Berkeley University in California is named after an Irish man.

Ireland came up with the whole CAB model that has been replicated in other countries.

No other nation sees their national holiday celebrated so internationally both at a politically and social level.

An Irishman was behind the first transatlantic phone cable system.

An Irish man found the cure for leprosy.

Ireland has the longest running chat show in the world.

An Irish man composed the US national anthem

The Beaufort scale? Irish.

Hypodermic syringes. Yep. Irish.

Guided missiles? Yep that's us too

Newgrange. Although id argue he Druids were drunk when they built it.

The Giants Causeway. Built by a giant. WE EVEN HAD GIANTS!

HalloweenJack · 24-08-2014 10:39AM

Lapin wrote: »

No defence force. - Our Army, Navy and Air Corps deserve better. They do a great job but by and large, our successive governments don't dive a fuck about them.

And I myself couldn't give a **** about them either. We don't need an army. Who's going to attack us?

Lapin wrote:

My suggestion - Abolish our charade of meaningless neutrality and join NATO now.

While our neutrality is a charade, I have no desire for Ireland to be involved in NATO. It's tied into my point above.

Export · 24-08-2014 10:42AM

I think it was an Irish fella who once said 'Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country'.

Fiery mutant · 24-08-2014 10:47AM

Lapin wrote: »

Apart from a few dreamers winning Nobel Prizes for Literature and the odd medal in the Olympics , what have we achieved?

Two Grand slams in the 100+ years of the 5/6 Nations.

Eurovision wins - Wow !

A few rock stars that hang out with Tony Blair and Bill Clinton and Oama for mutual ego building purposes.

Have we any architectural landmark buildings that anyone anywhere can point to and say 'Thats Ireland' in the same way that our nearst neighbours can do about any amount of structures in their capital city alone'?

We have nothing that says 'Ireland' in the same way that an image of the Sydney Opera House says Australia or the bravery of the Guggenheim in Bilbao exert themselves as landmarks.

Architecture is only one example. We have nothing to show for ourselves after 90 years as a nation in many other areas.

No defence force. - Our Army, Navy and Air Corps deserve better. They do a great job but by and large, our successive governments don't dive a fuck about them.

My suggestion - Abolish our charade of meaningless neutrality and join NATO now.

Infrastructure - From day one we have begged, srounged and prostituted our dignity before our European partners with the con of optaining funding for our bad roads, railways and cargo terminals in our ports etc.

What did we do with it?

Our town centres are being boarded up as people flock to the German and British stores on the edge of town.

Ireland as a nation has fuckall to show for itself.

Apart from a few trinkets .

Some of the best poets, musicians, artists on the planet have been from Ireland. If you don't like it here, or are not proud of being from this little island, then piss off somewhere else.

And our military? WTF? Our forces are among the most highly respected peacekeepers in the world.

Who do you want us to be like? The British? Spent the last few hundred years colonising and terrorising the world.

The Germans? Destroyed half the world less than one hundred years ago.

The Americans? The less said the better.

Don't piss on our little corner. We are what we make of ourselves, so stand up and make something of yourself.

anothernight · 24-08-2014 10:48AM

faceman wrote: »

An Irishman designed the world's first submarine.

I was taught a Spanish guy designed the first submarine, but then I went to primary school in Spain. My French friend was taught that a Frenchman did it. In Brazil, kids are taught in school that a Brazilian (Santos Dumont) was the first man to fly a plane...

mfceiling · 24-08-2014 11:02AM

We've given the world the gene for red heads, sarcoptic mange mite and the books of Amanda Bunker...

fran17 · 24-08-2014 11:05AM

every time I see that barack Obama plaza I think jesus we'll do anything for a pat on the head wont we.makes me sad to be irish for a minute or two

Hammer Archer · 24-08-2014 11:22AM

Lapin wrote: »

Every souvinier and postcard seller on every street corner from Picadilly Circus to the Taj Mahal. And behind them, the waiters trying to earn extra commission by enticing you in for traditional Vindaloo in the West End or traditional Fish n'Chips in Agra.

The Empire State may be just a building. So is the Eiffell Tower. Do you associate the Eiffell Tower with New York?

What city springs to ming when you invisage the clock tower containing Big Ben?

Just a building of cousre.

How about the Collesseum in Prague, or the Kremlin in Birmingham???

Dublin (and Ireland) deserves better.

I used to think we had the imagination to do things, but we lacked the balls.

But in recent years, I think a lot of our imaginative ones have lost both their imagination - and whatever balls they never discovered.

All Architecture shapes us.

All Good architecture makes us.

Strange, you asked earlier for someone to come up with examples of Irish architecture of the last 100 years that stands out after dismissing Newgrange and yet then you come up with examples of architecture like the Colosseum (built 2000 years ago), the Kremlin (built in the 15th or 16th century), the Taj Mahal (17th century), Big Ben, Eiffel tower, Picadilly (all 1800s) that defines other countries. The only piece of architecture you mentioned that was actually built in the last 100 years was the Empire State building.

_Kaiser_ · 24-08-2014 11:23AM

On one hand we love to beat ourselves up about how ****e the country is

On the other we like to think that we're on par with the likes of the UK, Germany etc

Reality is that we're a small, conservative, corrupt/me-fein little island on the edge of the European Superstate that is only of note because of our ability to speak English (even though a sizeable percentage of the population can't get over the "800 years" nonsense, or want us to keep pumping valuable resources into "our" language), and the fact that we have hugely generous tax incentives for multinationals to setup shop here.

Those who have the opportunity get out as early as they can and rarely look back - the rest of us with family commitments or whatever sit in silent anger at the latest corruption scandal or farce that's ignored by a population more concerned with the goings-on in Eastenders or the Premier League.

Everlong1 · 24-08-2014 11:26AM

Lapin wrote: »

A few rock stars that hang out with Tony Blair and Bill Clinton and Oama for mutual ego building purposes

The Bono hating industry is really taking off these days.

Any objective critical assessment recognises that U2 and Thin Lizzy were both world class bands who've had a significant influence on generations of musicians. There are thousands of tourists who come here to see U2's Croke Park concerts. I've met plenty of them and some of them couldn't find Ireland on a map before they started getting into U2's music.

Rumour has it that James Joyce, Seamus Heaney, Samuel Beckett and one or two others had a way with words also.

I'd agree with you that we squandered our independence to a degree. I myself have been very embittered and angry by the way the country has been repeatedly bankrupted by corrupt Fianna Fail scum but to suggest that the country has nothing to offer anyone is a nonsense.

Shakespeare's Sister · 24-08-2014 11:32AM

We're, overall, not as hardline conservative as people like to say.

Mint Aero wrote: »

We're not friendly. At all. We're self centred backward people for the most part.

Tis fashionable to say "we" are not friendly in order to stick it to the Cead Mile Failte thing... but we are. Just because you aren't, doesn't mean we overall aren't.

Biggest achievements last decade, couple of medals for boxing in the olympics and a grand slam....wow we've really conquered the world eh.

Is it essential that we conquer the world?

Our food is sh*t. What is our food anyway anymore?? Fcuk knows. Irish beef Irish chicken bolox is all I hear. Have never came across a decent place for a bit of decent grub.

Reams and reams of excellent restaurants and cafés in Ireland. Examples in Cork on a par with what you'd find in London.

Good Irish book/art/play achieving consistent international acclaim last decade anyone? Nah.

A number of them.

Good Irish pub anyone? That doesn't just stock your typical bud, heino, miller piss.

Tons of them.

Anyone from costal counties ever bother visiting anywhere or anything in the midlands ever for anything really? Worth a return trip? Thought not.

You can't say "Thought not" when you didn't even let people answer.

You know all of the above of course.

Reindeer · 24-08-2014 11:57AM

HalloweenJack wrote: »

And I myself couldn't give a **** about them either. We don't need an army. Who's going to attack us?

While our neutrality is a charade, I have no desire for Ireland to be involved in NATO. It's tied into my point above.

Being tied to NATO, and the mere existence of NATO is a major reason there isn't a need for an Irish military.

Ireland is still in it's infancy as a country standing on it's own. Even so, I am not sure that large monuments are a measure of the success of a country. Quality of life and, perhaps, global perception are more important. To these, Ireland consistently places near top on most independent reviews.

I am not saying there isn't a need to push forwards and better this wonderful country. I am only saying you must not take for granted that which works well before you commence to improve upon it.

languagenerd · 24-08-2014 12:33PM

OP, you need to remember that we're a nation of 4.5 million people. There are cities with bigger populations that our country, so you can't compare us to countries with 10 or 20 times more inhabitants and expect us to fare evenly. That doesn't make any sense. If we were to compare you to a group of 20 people, would you be happy for people to say you were failing at life because the 20 people combined had more achievements than you alone?

However, I think we have punched above our weight in certain areas when you consider what a small country we are.

Culture:
-15 Oscar winners and hundreds of nominees.
-Countless Grammy winners, most of them winning several each (U2 hold the worldwide record for Grammy wins)
-Currently 2 Irish writers on this year's Man Booker longlist (out of 13 writers from all English-speaking countries, a far bigger proportion than our population)
-St Patrick's Day celebrations, which are now a worldwide phenomenon
etc.

Science:
-Radiotherapy & colour photography (John Joly)
-The splitting of the atom (Ernest Walton)
-Proving the benzene ring is flat (Kathleen Lonsdale)
-Beaufort scale (Francis Beaufort)
-Hypodermic syringe (Francis Rynd)
-Research into cancer & prevention (ongoing)
-Guinness and Irish whiskey, consumed around the world
etc.

Society:
-First country in the world to implement a smoking ban, which influenced many other countries afterwards
-13 Nobel Prize laureates in 90 years (again, consider the proportion of our population to everywhere else)
-Highly-educated workforce, which influences multinational corporations to settle here, including most of the major IT & tech companies
etc.

Not to mention our beautiful natural scenery (particular the west coast) & geographic variety (Dublin has mountains, beaches and urban city within a short drive of each other), and our rich cultural history that can still be evidenced by monuments and traditions.

Yeah, we've got nothing going for us...

Ireland - Always the poor mouth -and nothing to show for itself.

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