Are ye embarrassed?

Hells Belle · 11-02-2010 5:26pm

IzzyWizzy wrote: »

I agree. At the same time, you can become very successful there by working hard. Depends what you're priorities are. I'd rather be called lazy (which I was over there, for turning up 5 mins before my shift instead of 30 and leaving on time instead of 'preparing for the next day') than spend my life at work.

Well people measure success differently I guess. I love my children more than I love money, watching Ben 10 with them and having the energy to kick around a ball is much more rewarding than buying a new dress. If that makes me workshy than so be it. My lazy ass is off now, I think I might go to the cinema with my boys :pac: my life is gooood!

caseyann · 11-02-2010 5:31pm

Kivaro wrote: »

Hardly a small few.

Ireland's problems are systematic.
My original question still stands. Is it not strange that we find ourselves grouped with Southern European countries rather than the countries in Northern Europe? What are the root causes for this alignment (i.e. similarities)?

Here you go no reason to be embarrassed

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...264200716.html

caseyann · 11-02-2010 5:35pm

caseyann wrote: »

Ireland distances itself from hardest hit
EXPERT OPINION: IRELAND HAS distanced itself from the high debt problems of Greece, Portugal and Spain out of “sheer bloody-mindedness” by taking hard measures to correct its fiscal deficit, according to a UK author and expert on the euro.
David Marsh, author of The Euro: The Politics of the New Global Currency , said the recent stability of Irish sovereign debt spreads showed that the markets believed Ireland’s recovery plan was “credible, will be maintained and will be ultimately successful”.
Mr Marsh, a former Financial Times journalist, said the plan had distanced Ireland from the heavily indebted southern euro-zone states and aligned it with the more prudent northern euro-zone states such as the Netherlands.
“This will be the third time over the last 25 years that the Irish have tightened their belts – the country has shown that it is willing to take the medicine and the necessary pain,” he told The Irish Times on a visit to Dublin.
Ireland has a much better chance of succeeding than Greece, Portugal or, dare I say, Spain
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2010/0211/1224264200716.html

And i bump this

Ickle Magoo · 11-02-2010 7:27pm

Pittens wrote: »

It is historically protestant to close down on Sundays. Calvinism was very strong on this, and probably still is outside the big towns.

Remember this

Devout Christian Euan Murray remains part of Andy Robinson’s Scotland plans despite ruling himself out of the Six Nations opener with France because it is being played on a Sunday.

Sorry? One born-again christian rugby player means Scotland doesn't shut up shop on sundays, are you serious?

Your argument against someone claiming catholicism and closing up shop on sundays is to argue that ireland is now more protestant than some protestant countries - I'm not sure what point you are making?!

Pittens · 14-02-2010 1:36am

Like the poster who repeatedly would say on here that Ireland was the best place to live in the World, based on 'quality of life' published by an Economist magazine. Just because they say it does not necessarily mean that it's true (for the majority of us). Maybe they surveyed the people who do not work, or are the beneficiaries of an over-generous social welfare system, or people serving very light time in prison for serious crimes, or bugus asylum seekers, or the girl (with her child and employed partner) living rent-free in the new 3 bed semi-detached house in the ghost estate, or the best paid public 'servants' in Europe, or maybe they did the survey on a Friday/Saturday night after the pubs closed.

Pittens comes in again to point out the survey - from a more reputable source than Izzywizzy on the internet ( the Ecnomist I believe) - shows that the Irish are the second most productive people on the planet. It doesnt matter what racist anecdotes Izzy Wizzy came up with about the Lazy Irish, Pittens supplied actual real statistics to show Izzy Wizzy wrong. At this stage I would suggest ending the thread.

Pittens · 14-02-2010 1:42am

Sorry? One born-again christian rugby player means Scotland doesn't shut up shop on sundays, are you serious?

Your argument against someone claiming catholicism and closing up shop on sundays is to argue that ireland is now more protestant than some protestant countries - I'm not sure what point you are making?!

what now? It was never a Catholic thing to keep the Sabbath as vigoursly as Protestantism. You claim was that we "Catholics" were lazy becuase we didnt work on Sudnay. WEll historically Protestants dont work or play on Sunday.

Which is why Soccer used to be on Saturday only, but GAA matches were traditionally on Sunday only. When I say that Protestantism is more keen on the Sabbath I am actually arguing from something historical I actually know - the rugby player who didnt play is an example of what everybody believed and acted a few generations ago.

And historical influence is presumably what you meant by Protestant and Catholic values - since all Western coiuntries are, by an large, secular in practice these days.

Is is also the case that Ireland is more open for business than Germany on a Sunday, and that Catholic towns in Northern Ireland buzz on sundays ( Newry etc. ) but Protestant towns are dead ( Lisburn).

Anyway all this is off-topic. Just correcting bad history.

DamoDLK · 14-02-2010 2:29am

No.

I've been living over in Melbourne for a while now, I had a job until Christmas, then work dried up a bit. The Irish that I worked with grabbed as much overtime as possible, whereas the Aussies, no harm to them, avoided it more so. People in warmer climates seem to me to be more focused on recreational activities and family, beaches, bbq etc etc - rather than being work focused, which is a great thing.

We, the Irish, actually do have a great reputation abroad for being hard workers.

I remember Bill Clinton visiting my home town in 2000, heres a link to his speech:
http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/events/peace/docs/bc121200.htm
Note how he refers to Irelands economy growing faster than any industrial country in the world! the mind boggles when you think of where we are now.
But I know that it was us all who had us there, and with some luck, someday we might be back in a similar, if not more cautious, boat.

rossie1977 · 14-02-2010 2:41am

25 years to be even considered in the same bracket as spain or italy would have been unthinkable and now we are embarrassed to be in that group.............

if only we could borrow 10 trillion dollars from china we could make everything ok again

Wolflikeme · 14-02-2010 3:16am

Pittens wrote: »

Pittens is going to point out FOR THE THIRD TIME that Ireland's workforce is the second most productive in the world.

And I'd like to point out to Pittens that it's funny how this coincided with almost half a million foreign workers now working here.

Pittens · 14-02-2010 3:18am

No it didnt. Increases in productivity per employee slowed since 2001.

Please no more racist anecdotes.

Kivaro · 14-02-2010 3:28am

Pittens wrote: »

..... At this stage I would suggest ending the thread.

You don't dictate when a thread ends, irrespective of the skewed logic you present.

Using even a tiny bit of common sense: if the Irish are the second most productive people on the planet, then Ireland would not be in the predicament it is in now and not "a nation in a financial death spiral" according to the Wall Street Journal today.
Keep your heads in the sand and it may not happen.

mr_happy · 14-02-2010 3:31am

Im the late eighties The European news paper had a survey of some sort and its findings about Ireland were:

Its an isolated island
They fight and drink a lot.

Dudess · 14-02-2010 4:01am

Why the fuck would anyone Irish be embarrassed?

epgc3fyqirnbsx · 14-02-2010 4:06am

No need to be embarrased unless you did something to embarrass yourself

Sure every country is fcuked

Don't take the weight of the nation on your shoulders kids

Ickle Magoo · 14-02-2010 10:20am

Pittens wrote: »

You claim was that we "Catholics" were lazy becuase we didnt work on Sudnay. WEll historically Protestants dont work or play on Sunday.

I demand you quote my claim that Catholics were lazy.

Or stop lying to try to make some stupid point. Perhaps if you weren't scrabbling around being so over the top defensive you might actually read what I posted.

I have no idea why you think anything historical about taking days off for religious reasons hundreds of years ago bears any semblance of relevance with the way things are today in the majority of a population - which is what people are posting about.

Pittens wrote: »

And historical influence is presumably what you meant by Protestant and Catholic values -

What I meant by what? If you are going to accuse me of something, try ensuring it was actually me that said it! :rolleyes: :mad:

YOU are the one trying to make some off the wall suggestion that having trouble finding anything open or running on Sundays today in the Republic of Ireland is somehow a non-issue because historically having a Sunday off was down to protestantism, choosing to blindly ignore the fact that a predominantly protestant country like the UK doesn't have such issues today while Ireland does - so what it has to do with protestantism in Ireland in 2010 is beyond me.

14-02-2010 10:37am

Am I embarresed? Yes, when in the 21st century, religion still causes conflict here!

I know that in other parts of the world* the people are reverting to religion to escape from the harsh realities of life, but I thought that we were above that.

*The middle East for example, even the US to a lesser extent.

Angry Troll · 19-02-2010 1:34pm

just came across this article http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2010/0219/breaking32.html ...thought it kinda fits the topic...

Are ye embarrassed?

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