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An Irish-American View of St. Patrick's Day

Hmmm...which Stewie was just talking?
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I was raised in Galway, but not born in Ireland - tell me I'm English and I'll pretend to laugh as I fetch my pistol ... well, that's a bit Hollywood, but place of birth is a convenience compared to the ties of family and community.

I've met many Americans in Ireland, and the gas thing is that you can place their ancestors in specific parts of the country just by asking for surnames - Farrells in Leitrim, O'Briens in Clare etc. These are people coming from Boston, Seattle and Houston and so on, and they're always emotional when they find their genes funnelled into a few square miles of sod.

The accent matters a lot, and east coast America has more in common with Ulster and the West Country than the Home Counties. Canadians get ****** off when you ask if they're American - No, actually! And their accent tells if you listen carefully - more Ulster-Scots (code in Ireland for British). f*** 'em - they don't spend much anyway.

Dev was a hero, and a cunning *******. Which great leader isn't? And I know Castro, and Dev was no Castro.

I tan like a Spaniard (Black Irish), but sometimes a bracing walk in England's milky sunshine is all you need.

And here's to Ireland's greatest hero - Patrick.
 
There is a reverse side to this as well...
My Father-in-law (from Belfast) gets treated like he's flippin' royalty when he's in the states. "Oh, say that again!" "I'm Irish Too!" "Oh, I just love your accent...it's like my great-grandfathers" "I'm going to Ireland next summer, any advice?"
My God, people line up to talk to the man...granted he's funny, and a good storyteller. He works the Irish mojo when he's in America.
There are so many of we Irish-Americans in the US dying to reconnect. If I were in Ireland, I'd try to find a way to exploit that a bit.
 
There are so many of we Irish-Americans in the US dying to reconnect. If I were in Ireland, I'd try to find a way to exploit that a bit.
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Like those clever people at NORAID did? ;)

(no offense intended. Maireann croi eadrom i bhfad)

SB
 
Yeah, but I was speaking more of tourism, not terrorism...but whatever floats your boat, right?
 
Yeah, but I was speaking more of tourism, not terrorism...but whatever floats your boat, right?
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Sorry, I was just being facetious. Just ignore me.

Incidentally if you go into the tourist office in Belfast the first thing they tell you to do is troop out west to see the murals on the Falls and Shankill Roads. Surely something a bit nicer than that should be top of the list. It seemed to be that or an exhibition about The ***anic.....jolly stuff!
 
When I said Americans get emotional, I wasn't having a pop. It's touching. There's a story by Frank O'Connor - forget the ***le - set in the 1950s, about a well-to-do American bringing his family to the Oul Sod to let them see where they came from. The local gentleman plays host, being on the same social level, and gets on well with the American. He even lends his car to the family for a tour around the hovels and shebeens that their ancestors emigrated from, where they meet the spirited, barefoot locals. In the end, the American realises the ancestors of the gentleman were the ones who drove his family out - and in that moment, his soul is trapped. That's not doing it justice, but it's a great story. You hear the phrase Plastic Paddy, but Irish America has something true about it and shouldn't fall into that soul trap. Stop me before I go too far ... :cryy:

Oh, BTW - the tourism angle has been covered for 50 years. Try the Arann Islands for American accents.
 
Pulled at the ole heart strings, you did. What about American Accents and the Aaron islands?
 
i think they aaron islands and the isle of man have a dialect and accent that sounds very similar to ours which is very odd and intriguing..
 
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