Describe Ireland's Youth & Culture

Originally posted by Dustaz


Here, why dont you come down to croker some day and me and the other 79,000 people that turn out regularly to watch irish men playing irish sports can have a word in your bitter little ear.

Even better still why doesn't he go check out the world culture festival that will be taking place all weekend from Friday through Sunday next in Dun Laoire so that he may open his mind and see other possibilities apart from the run of the mill crap he's allowed himself to become exposed to during his stay of judgement here. Might allow him to explore other possibilities/idea's which may yet be incorporated into our culture along with the rest of it in 100 years time or not.

One of the biggest reasons why Ireland's culture seems to be semi-english/american is the common language (near-enough) between these countries and what has to be admitted as a huge cultural influence these countries hold. The mediterranean countries wouldn't be so confident in their connection to the older cultures if they didn't have the protection of a seperate mother language to keep everyone grounded and fairly isolated from the worst of global culture.

It still gets through in the form of fashion, secondary languages and music; but not as quick as it might do if English was the native language. At the end of the day people watch crap english soaps because they are much better than the crap irish soaps also written in english. Irish people watch soccer in england in the same way most scandavian countries do, because its a whole lot better than the national leagues.. all the best players from these countries move to the premiership.

"This close proximity to England and these numerous battles changed Ireland and Ireland became diluted and the Irish language disappeared."
To follow on from that, when Ireland started to attempt to reassert itself and define itself with uprisings and moves to become its own country again, everyone needed to cling to a sense of Irishness. What came from this is that the most Irish you could become was to be Anti-English. Similarly the English wanted nothing to do with the lowly Irish. So between themselves Ireland started to mark out a definition of Irish culture. Ireland was the place of "merry" people, England was the place of "serious" people. Irish people liked to laugh and joke and be very outward going. English people reserved an upper lip and strict protocols defined social interaction. Irish people are drunkards, And so on. Irish people started to look into a distant celtic past that in reality wasn't half as strong as people pretended it was, even a hundred years ago. Basically the Irish fulfilled the steriotypes that put them at the opposite scales from the english; helped along with this faint "celtic" theme.

I think people have realised this diddli aye, leaprehauns falling out of the sky marlarky is shallow, and it seems to have nasty connections with violence in alot of cases. Our parents generation was the last generation of people who would listen to Irish music as their culture, these days, like everyone else in the world, we listen to global music from anywhere. You can stand up and badly sing a rebel song, which if it weren't for the words would be a fine song, in lots of pubs in Ireland and get a huge cheer for nothing. You can't play a game of Gaa these days, a game which is fairly exciting to watch (good use of physical, mind, arms and hands) and play, without knowing some the spectators around you are there through patriotism more than an interest in the game itself. You're not Irish enough if you haven't killed a British solider in some very hardcore "Irish" people's eyes. You also know that the other half the country that doesn't play Gaa thinks its a bog trotters game only fit for Ra types and potato pickers. Both halfs sneer at each other, one for supporting soccer and being wannabe english-men, the other for being too-irish and too backward.

Dublin has been seperate from the rest of Ireland for long time, but it was always as Irish as anywhere, just different. I think the un-Irish feel has come in alot recently with the economic prosperty. We've gone from a bankrupt country to one thats almost cut all its debts and many people are earning alot more than they used to. Anyone who's making loads of money is most likely to be doing it in Dublin - hardly suprising being the only decent sized city in the republic of Ireland. All this new wealth has re-opened the class differences. Only this time the old Palesmen are gone and in its place there are the immatators. Cue the D4 accent. Another thing that has to be noted is the amount of people putting on a knacker accent as well. People are aligning themselves under one class steriotype or the other.

So old Ireland is backward, England is considered much more cultured and enviable by the rich, with the middle class following, everyone speaks English near enough, most of Dublin can't get away from the notion of old Irishness quick enough - never mind the whoring of it to foreigners.. and slowly ever so slowly we are no longer defining ourselves by our anti-englishness. What does it mean to be Irish these days?

FVcked if I know anymore.

To anyone not from this country coming looking for some "Celtic Irish" culture, it was dead many many years ago. The one you heard about was sold to you like it was sold to the Irish themselves many years ago. Ireland can be place of two halves. In one half you get a culture that can't become merged into the global culture quick enough (assimilated), on the other half you get those that cling onto a distant dead past. Hopefully we will see both sides merging a bit more, with all baggage dropped. For me the best "Irish nights" I ever have is singing with the (extended) family at family outings and going to music venues with live local musicians playing contemporary tunes. To hell with other peoples though of what Irishness is, I'm fed up with it, I think I'll choose mine.

Sarcastic, cynical(in good, funny ways)
Good craic
Bitterness on the up

OH NOE, TEH CRAZEY PEEPAL ARE BACK!!!

THANKS BJJ, YUO WILL RESCUE US FROM TEH FREEMASON ANTI-CATHOLIC NASTY PEOPLE. TEHY WEAR TINFOIL UNDERWEAR AND CONTREOL OUR THOUGHTS!!!!! OLOLOL

Originally posted by Keep on Trekin
Irish culture is dead, it's with O'Leary in the grave.

But for a while we've tried to market and sell what merit we had left to our forgotten Culture.

Gaelic Football during the summer.

Hurling please c'mon

i gotta agree with previous posters saying that outside dublin is where our own culture can be found