I do not understand the Irish Phenomenon.
On a global scale, we are a tiny island stuck out in the Atlantic to the west of Europe. Coming in from outer space you’d be lucky to find us at all unless you had a damn good satnav The entire island would comfortably fit, multiple times in most other countries.
There are only a few million of us. The population of the entire island is less than that of many of the worlds cities. If they accidentally stuck our population into a table of the world’s major cities, we would be way down the list. I just did a check – there are 80 cities with a larger population than all Ireland. Tokyo alone has seven times the population of this small island!
So why does Ireland have such a massive influence on the planet? Saint Patrick is being celebrated right across the globe as I type. There are parades, green floodlights on world famous landmarks and Chicago is even turning its river green. I would imagine that a hell of a lot of the worlds revelers don’t even know where Ireland is, yet they still celebrate “Irishness”.
The remarkable thing about the whole phenomenon is that I don’t know of any other national holiday that gets worldwide attention. Does the world go mad on Bastille Day? Are there worldwide parades to celebrate American Independence? No. National holidays come and go and the world ignores them, but not Paddy’s Day. That has to be celebrated from New York to Sydney, from Dublin to Dubai. Just for one day, everyone seems to want to be Irish.
Even outside Paddy’s Day everyone seems to know the Irish. It always amused me that in France I would walk into a shop and stumble out my pidgin French. I would be greeted with mild hostility and a flood of the local dialect in return. I would slip in that I’m Irish not British and instantly I am best friends with the shopkeeper who suddenly speaks fluent English.
Don’t get me wrong. I am proud to be Irish. Amn’t I directly descended from one of the great High Kings of Ireland after all?! I am Irish first and foremost and then a citizen of the World. Under extreme torture I might even add being European.
Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh go léir.
