Eire, Éire, Eireann, The Emerald Isle, Saorstát na hEireann, and of course Ireland. These are just some of the words that have been used to describe the Republic of Ireland: my home country. If I were to say the word "Ireland" to you, what words would you think of? Small, insignificant, "paddies", part of the UK? (more on that last one later!). Or do you think more readily of green, friendly, leprechauns, "faith and begorra, top o’ the marnin’ to ya". Hopefully, the second was closer to your answer. If it was, then, you were very close to an accurate representation of the country (lacking only "wet!").

The fact is that Ireland simply is the most friendly country you could find. This trait has become part of the Irish way of life. In most shops (at least in my part of the country), people will call you "love" or, if the person is older than you "pet" (eg. What can I get for you, love?). Now, as I fear I’m beginning to sound like a brochure for the Irish tourism board, I will properly begin my article.

When I first envisioned this article, I had named it St. Patrick’s Day: An Irish Perspective, but as the days of planning went on, it developed in to the article you have before you - me trying to set the record straight.

Around the time of my first thought of writing, a poll had been newly posted on the OTF message boards about nationalities. A complaint had been raised about the wording of one option which, as far as I can remember, grouped Ireland with the UK. I am sure members who read that topic were astonished as to the level of debate about this. Firstly, I’ll explain it, the set the facts straight.

In the 1600’s, England and her empire invaded Ireland and made us a territory (don’t ask me what kind exactly-history was never my best subject!). For hundreds of years, the English oppressed the Irish and slowly reigned the Irish people in through a system of "plantations" of English lords and settlers. In 1847, Ireland had a massive famine which decimated the population from over 8 million to under 3 million. It is a known fact that, had the people of the time not had to pay crippling taxes to the crown, such a scale of devastation could have been reduced. In the late 1800’s, an uprising by the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) was quashed. In 1916, the IRB, (now known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA)) held an uprising centred in the capital - Dublin.

Due to organisational problems, the rising went ahead a day late, on Easter Sunday. Padraigh Pearce read the Proclamation of the Republic to a few onlookers from the steps of Dublin’s General Post Office (GPO-still stands complete with bullet ridden holes to this day). Then the British army moved in on the IRA’s strongholds. For (I think) a week, the battle raged. Most of the rebels were killed or later executed along with thousands of suspected civilian "collaborators". These events were chronicled in the Hollywood Blockbuster Micheal Collins.

Anyway, in 1922, Ireland finally gained independenceish. We were entered into the British Commonwealth. The row over whether this was enough led to a bloody civil war. As far as I know, Ireland left the commonwealth for good in the 1950’s.

So you see, there was/still is a lot of resentment left in the country for the English crown, mostly now centred around Northern Ireland remaining a part of the UK. That said, it is a given fact that, Ireland could not be the successful country it is today without the occupation. Being an English-as-a-first-language (technically Irish is the first language but you get the picture.) country has led to heavy investment from multinationals from the USA and elsewhere.The single most irritating thing to me, is the level of ignorance surrounding our country. During the poll mentioned earlier, there was great debate over the nature of Ireland’s political affiliations, so here’s the facts.

Ireland is in the British Isles, NOT in the UK, is in the EU, uses the Euro, and is not in NATO. Also, there seems to be a common misconception that we are all leprechauns who live in thatched cottages and say "faith and begorra" etc. Personally, I am 5'5", my father is 6'3", I have only seen one thatched cottage in my entire life that wasn’t in a tourist attraction, and I have only ever heard "faith and begorra" said as a joke on St. Patrick’s Day-supposedly the day that the whole world becomes Irish.

So what is St. Patrick’s Day like in Ireland? Usually, we get up and dress in anything green we can find. Adults and older children attach a clump of shamrock (basically a smaller version of clover) to their coats/jackets, while younger children will wear green, white and orange rosettes to their coats (In march, it’s still too cold to go out without a coat). Those who live in any of the big cities/larger towns will go to their local St. Patrick’s Day parade. Even the biggest in Ireland (Dublin) is much smaller than the world’s most famous parade in New York City. While NY’s is usually glamorous with huge beautiful floats, our parades are usually about 30-60 minutes long with fleets of vintage cars, fire engines (fire trucks), bikers, skaters, cheerleaders and truck mounted floats which contain bands/performing groups/blatant advertising/modern drama & art performances.

Afterwards, it is customary to "wet the shamrock" (go to the local bar/pub for a drink). Adults will usually go for an Irish beer (Guinness, Murphy’s, Harp) while those under the drinking age will opt for a fizzy drink (soda) in the form of the ever popular coca cola or fanta/club orange. For the most part, families will go out for a meal, visit a friends house (and have a meal) or have friends over...for a meal.

And hence, I find my reservoir of writing material drying up, so I finish with a quick lesson in Irish-our national language. "Beannachtaí Lá Fheile Padraigh"- Happy St. Patrick's Day.

CL3 KC
Cork, Ireland