A Storybook Ireland: The Misconceptions and Merits of the Irish People of the 21st Century

As promised, I'd like to introduce Meredith Davis, my smart and funny bestie who just came to visit, here to guest blog on Songs of the Solomons!  You can follow her on Twitter at @14below OR on Instagram at @mahotah.  Enjoy!

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Greetings followers, fans and readers of Songs of the O’Solomons!  Meredith Davis here to give you my perception of Ireland through the lens of a first time visitor.  You may be familiar with some of my other travel writing such as NYC Cabs are Yellow : And Other Insights to the Obvious and Are we there yet? : Driving Across the State of Texas.  

I boarded the Aer Lingus plane with pre-conceived visions of both Ireland and Irish people, even though I’d never been, and returned to NYC with actual credit to believing some stereotypes and new ones of my own.

Let’s first start with the misconceptions.

Why do we want the “Luck of the Irish”?  I understand the phrase was coined in irony, but I think Americans forgot that.  The Irish have to be the unluckiest people in history.  England treated them horribly.  (I now know see where the phrase “red headed step child” comes from).  The country’s been divided by civil war.  Finally, they have their own independence but are now crippled by a recession.  Wait a minute, this pattern sounds very familiar.  Where have I heard of a country that broke from England to then have a civil war and now in a recession?....  Whatever, this country’s history is centuries full of invasions, famines, failed protest rallies, and the like - where is the luck?  

Another Irish stereotype that is born and grown in America is everyone is a red head and leprechaun.  The only leprechauns I found were in the shops selling “Kiss Me I’m Irish” t-shirts and Guinness keychains to lines of American college students.  Dublin itself is much more continental and European than I realized.  The majority on sidewalks not only do not look particularly “Irish” but are probably not speaking English.  Many Europeans move to Dublin to learn English because it’s cheaper than the poshier town of London.  Who knew?  Now I do, and you do too.

My final surprise, while not really a misconception, is that tribal language is alive and spoken!  Literally, everywhere signs read both English and Gaelic.  The bus driver announces next stops and routes in English and Gaelic.  Gaelic sounds like German and pooky paka tribal language in a blender.  Don’t even bother trying to sound it out and your Texas accent will only butcher it more.  I still have no idea how to say “Merry Christmas” in Gaelic.

  

Remember those videos you’d watch in 5th grade that started with a textbook, opened to a picture and then zoomed in to play a reenactment of a scene?  Well, several times I looked around to see the cameras shooting our lives for an Ireland film because I felt straight out of a storybook.  Turns out, some moments are just as you dreamed.

Ireland is a nation rich in traditions and history, sung through folk songs.  Lauren mentioned in an earlier post our evening at Ireland’s oldest pub, The Brazen Head.  Textbook opens and you see a photo of an Irish band playing live music.  Zoom in and this was our real life on Sunday night.  The chorus of every song triggers a sing-along.  And everyone sings along.  Everyone from the 82 year old man in the corner tearing up with memories of yesteryear to the group of 20-somethings dancing together in traditional choreography.  The unlucky tragedy of Ireland is the theme; haunting melodies about wakes, lost love, nostalgia.  On a lighter note, the musicians are jolly, talented and can rock a pair of spoons.  The Irish value live music so it was a common treat where I even knew some choruses by the end of the week.  There’s whiskey in the jar!

Speaking of whiskey, the Irish love to drink.  Maybe because they’re so out of luck.  Maybe because they have 2 world famous brands brewed and distilled on their land.  Maybe because they stop working and starting drinking at 4.  Oh wait, that’s why they’re in a recession.  Point being, if you are not at work, you are at a pub.  Every city in the world has an “Irish pub”, but these imitation pubs very much resemble the originals.  Pubs are on every. single. block. with cliche names including an O’ a Mc and/or a Molly.  Every pub claims they have the best pint of Guinness (maybe Drew can actually vouch for certain ones).  The drinking culture here isn’t one of mixology and fine wine, but straight pints and pints of beer and the occasional Jameson.  So find a rugby game or a cozy nook and order 3 pints of Guinness - one for you, one for me and one for our new friend!

How many cities can you list where a top tourist attraction is a bar?

And that’s because friends seem easy to make in Ireland.  So do boyfriends.  ANYWAY, the Irish are eager to know where you are from, do you have Irish roots (Katherine, the lovely woman Lauren pictured at Thomas Dillon shop in Galway excitedly tore the “Davis” page out of the phone book to prove I have Irish relatives) and how you’re enjoying your time in their country.  I think I noticed how friendly they are when I returned to New York to have a bus driver at JFK yell at the entire bus.  I thought “they would never treat us this way in Ireland.”  On top of the Irish living with open hearts, they always seem up for a joke and a giggle.  

Thank you Ireland for not taking yourself too seriously.

Driving from Dublin to Galway proved Ireland countryside truly is as breathtaking as I envisioned.  No doubt why Ireland is called the Emerald Isle.  The green is sometimes too rich to capture on film (or iPhone filter).  You know you’re a city girl when you scream every time you see a sheep.  (My mission for my next visit is to go to a sheep farm and befriend a shepherd.)  The rainy weather did not permit me to sing on the cliffs wearing a floral head wreath, but a girl can dream, and now I know the backdrop is that gorgeous.

When I am asked about my week in Ireland, I smile.  I remember the picturesque strolls through St. Stephens Green and Merrion Square, my first sip of Guinness, the delicious meals at Dillinger's, Bear, Junior's, Queen of Tarts, Monks, discovering a new part of the world for me.  But I really smile because I had a full week with my best friends.  I had a full week to be silly, be me, be loved.  Thanks to Lauren & Drew O'Solomon for giving me such a beautiful picture of their life in Ireland.  Off to find a new excuse and time to come back!  Or move back?...