8 months in Ireland! - typical Irish? 🐑

When you live in another country for 8 months and accept it as your new, albeit temporary, home, you inevitably gain a deeper insight into the ways of life and views of the locals and the general 'system'.

When I wrote the first blog entry about 'Typical Irish' 6 months ago, I wrote more about the topics that are quite obvious - such as the weather or the ignorance towards traffic lights. Regarding traffic lights, let me make a note: it seems that there are actually no consequences for crossing a red light. I realized this when I saw a group of tourists in Dublin waiting for the green light, while another group - with policemen - simply crossed the street. A similar situation occurred at a festival. This quickly rubs off... I need to get rid of this habit as soon as possible when I'm back in Germany... But now, let's move on to more interesting topics and stereotypes:

Pubs & Live Music

Things often associated with Ireland are pubs, country music, and excessive alcohol consumption - especially Guinness and whiskey. In my last report about the weekend in Killarney, I already talked about the two types of pubs I noticed here. However, in my opinion, it is also important to distinguish between local village pubs and tourist pubs. In the truly Irish pubs, people meet up for a pint in the evening, especially on Fridays to Sundays, and simply enjoy each other's company. The pub in Shankill is also filled during the week. It's not about getting drunk, but rather pubs are like an extension of the living room, a place to gather and maintain social contacts. The preferred drink is definitely Guinness (not my cup of tea), but cider is also very popular. I also find it interesting to observe how differently people dress up for a pub visit. Some appear as if they just got off the couch, others come straight from work, and then there are others - mostly women - dressed as if they were going to a champagne reception. And I'm not exaggerating, I'm talking about high heels and cocktail dresses. Similar extravagances can also be seen when it comes to makeup, but I'll talk about that later. What I actually want to say is that it really doesn't matter how dressed up (or not) someone goes to the pub. Everyone has a great time together and nobody stares at each other weirdly or judgmentally. Excessive drinking is more common in big cities or tourist hotspots. Especially in Dublin's Temple Bar district, almost everyone in the pubs is a tourist, spending their weekend in Ireland or celebrating bachelor parties as if there's no tomorrow. The music in these bars definitely creates a great atmosphere, but at some point you have heard it enough, as it is usually the same songs repeating everywhere. For us, it has come to the point where we occasionally enjoy listening to it, but then we need a break from it.

Live music in general plays an important role in Ireland and you can find it everywhere - on the streets, in pubs (often with a football match playing simultaneously), at markets, ... Last week, I attended a volunteer meeting at a nursing home and an older gentleman simply brought his guitar and started playing and singing :). It is also true that compared to our German culture, the Irish are much more outgoing. However, most pubs are supposed to close at 12, but the emphasis here is on 'supposed to'. It takes some getting used to, but on the other hand, it's actually better because you have so much more of the next day. It is also forbidden to drink alcohol in public, and in the pub, they more or less strictly check your ID - the age restriction is generally 18, sometimes 21.

The Healthcare System

If there is one reason for me not to stay in Ireland, it is definitely the healthcare system. I will try to summarize my experiences with it as briefly as possible: A few months ago, I had to go to the doctor for something and hoped to get an appointment with a specialist relatively quickly and uncomplicatedly. I thought it shouldn't be a big difficulty since I can use my European health insurance card and I am also insured additionally. Well, that quickly turned out to be an illusion... My host mother had already told me that it would be difficult to get an appointment with a general practitioner. And since I actually should have gone to a specialist, she recommended that I present myself at the hospital, as treatment there is free. So I walked to the first hospital. It is not as if you have the opportunity to speak directly with a doctor, no, you present yourself to a nurse who then decides on the next steps (and whether you can even see a doctor). The nurse there asked me what I was doing there with my concern and told me to go to my local GP (general practitioner). When I told her that I don't have a GP in Ireland, she sent me to the next hospital. When I arrived there, I again asked to speak to a doctor, but without an appointment, no chance. I was sent to the emergency department. There, I spoke to a nurse again and told her that I need to see a specialist for my problem. She told me that I can speak to the doctor soon. My host mother had already warned me that I should bring a lot of food with me because I would probably spend the whole day there. So I waited for 5 hours to finally be able to speak to a very stressed, very unfriendly doctor for 5 minutes - with the result that he couldn't help me (I should go to a specialist) and he didn't know what to do with me. So he called the next hospital in the relevant specialist department - an appointment would be available in 6 months. After that, I was quite frustrated and also a bit desperate because I simply didn't feel like anyone here would help me. Then I tried to get an appointment in Shankill and was directly turned away by a group practice with 6 (!!!) doctors because they apparently hardly have time to take care of their own patients. The next practice had a similar situation, but the lady at the reception told me that she would put me on the waiting list and do her best to let me come back the next day. I was never called back since then. And my host mother later told me that this is often how it is handled here and that the friendliness is sometimes simply fake. At that point, I was already relatively desperate and felt very alone and helpless. Maybe it's not understandable for everyone, and I don't think I would have felt the same way in Germany either. However, it's completely different to be in another country, explain your problem in a different language, and not have a feeling for the local healthcare system. But it goes on... I called several practices in the area, with the same result of rejection. Finally, I called the HSE (Ireland's Health Services), who gave me the extremely helpful advice to just keep calling other practices after describing my problem. After many more calls, I finally succeeded, but I would have liked to spare myself that stress.

I also learned from my host mother that even cancer patients who are not privately insured have to wait up to 8 months for an appointment, and when her mother broke something in her back, she had to wait for hours at the emergency department instead of being prioritized. From another au pair, I know that when her host father went to the doctor, it actually happened that the doctor started googling his symptoms. During a trip, I met a German man who lives here in Ireland with his family and learned that his son (4 years old!) had problems with his ears - I can't remember exactly what it was, but it would have caused long-term damage to his hearing if nothing had been done about it - so they actually flew back to Germany to have him treated there (it would have taken months here)

Even though the Irish have to contribute to health insurance, money is still required at every doctor's visit. I would have had to pay 120€ for my 5-minute conversation if I hadn't had my insurance card. I don't want to completely badmouth the Irish healthcare system, but these are just the experiences I have had with it. I am not alone in my views, and I also know from other friends that some doctors did not make a very competent impression on them. All of this has definitely made me appreciate the German healthcare system more.

The Appearance of the Irish - Red Hair?

I came here with the expectation that 50% of the population has red hair - that's not the case. It definitely applies to a larger portion of the people, but I would say it applies to less than 10%. Actually, the typical appearance of the Irish is pale skin, blue eyes, and dark brown to black hair. Women, in particular, like to do something about the pale skin. It is apparently seen as a beauty ideal to wear makeup in a shade at least one tone darker (so that it is noticeable), and since Easter, you can see failed attempts to apply self-tanner discreetly everywhere. However, I recently learned from a friend that her host mother told her that it is supposedly intentional for the self-tanner to be visible. Irish boys and men all have a very similar haircut and are relatively small in stature compared to others.

Influence of History

The fact that Ireland's history is marked by famine and disappointment towards the English is still noticeable today and is often mentioned during dinner with my host family.

Stone circles, Celtic crosses, and monastery ruins testify to the influence of the Celts, who immigrated around 300 BC. Their tribes formed kingdoms, which ultimately united into 5 large provinces (which still exist today). Ireland was christianized from the 5th century onwards, especially under the influence of Saint Patrick, whom I have mentioned before. And after a subsequent marriage in the early Middle Ages, Ireland was exploited by the Vikings and then, after they were driven out, centuries of Anglo-Norman rule (who had previously conquered England) over Ireland began.

From 1541, Ireland officially belonged to England as a kingdom, the majority of which belonged to the Protestant faith, while the overwhelming majority of the Irish population felt affiliated with the Catholic Church. To prevent possible uprisings, Anglican Englishmen, especially in the northeast of Ireland, were settled - which only led to tensions and caused many conflicts. To suppress the Irish, their trade was restricted and a large part of the land was transferred to Protestant Englishmen. The worst phase that Ireland had ever experienced was from 1846 to 1849. For several years in a row, the potato harvest was unusable due to potato blight, which led to 2 million people starving and another 1.5 million emigrating - mainly to America. What is still implicitly reproached to the English today is that their parliament did nothing to help the Irish. This only reinforced their desire to become independent.

Followed by the Easter Rising in 1916 in Dublin, which was suppressed, the Irish War of Independence began in 1919 (led by the IRA). In 1921, 26 out of a total of 32 counties achieved independence. The remaining 6 counties form today's Northern Ireland, which still belongs to England.

The Northern Ireland conflict from 1969 to 1998 caused violent clashes again, as the Catholic part of the Northern Irish population wanted to join Ireland, while English Protestants (whose predecessors were settled) wanted to continue to belong to Great Britain.

Until 1990, Ireland was economically very weak and is now also recovering from the international financial crisis of 2007, mainly thanks to the relocation of foreign companies.

------

Through this brief summary of history, it also becomes understandable to what extent I can still feel the effects and consequences of the past here:

As mentioned before, there is still a subtle dislike towards the English or jokes are made about them, for example, in one of our favorite pubs - but in a funny way. During my tour to Belfast, our tour guide, referring to the construction of the Titanic, said: It took 10,000 Irishmen to build it, but only one Englishman to sink it.

Also, as a result of the English subjugation, the official language here is English. However, the Irish people's own language is Irish or Gaelic. This language is hardly used, and only a few people (especially in rural areas and in the west of Ireland) speak it actively. Nevertheless, all signs are translated, and all children have to learn the language in school. Many children attend a boarding school on the west coast of Ireland for 3 weeks during their summer vacation after finishing the 8th grade, where they are only allowed to speak Irish and are taught in Irish for that period of time. (My host children also participate in this program).

A large part of the Irish population is still Catholic, although not as strict anymore (except for the older generation). My host children attend Catholic schools, but children must be baptized to get a place at their schools. My youngest host child is in a Catholic school, but there is another school for different faiths or non-believing children in the same street. When my host mother was studying in Dublin in the past, Catholic students were apparently accepted preferentially, and even the hospital where my host children were born was (I don't know how it is now) under the control of the Catholic Church. Abortions were also prohibited for a long time and are still frowned upon to some extent.

In recent years, many foreign companies have established themselves in Ireland (especially in the Dublin area), and my host mother works for a company with its headquarters in the States. As a result, I also occasionally become aware that the conditions for employees in Ireland are not the best. Recently, she said about it: 'We have to accept it, so as not to go back to tasteless, monotonous food and scratchy sweaters.' You can also see again and again how proud Ireland is of its own production and manufacturing.

Irish Travellers - 'the walking people'

Irish Travellers or Tinkers, as they are also called in German, are an ethnic minority in Ireland who have no fixed abode, mostly live in caravans, and follow a series of their own traditions - similar to Gypsies. The Irish tend to view them with some condescension and consider them a strange people. I recently had a conversation with my host family about this and learned that quite a number of them also live in Shankill. Their clothing is described here as what we would call 'trashy' in Germany, and their general behavior does not conform to societal norms. My host sister told me about an incident when she had to queue at a coffee takeaway and one of the Travelers pushed forward in the line, banged on the counter, and threatened to cause a riot if he didn't get his coffee immediately. My host mother had a different experience when she was in a drugstore in Shankill a few years ago and a group of Travelers entered the store, filled their bags with items, and ran away. There was also a Traveller girl at my host child's school, but she was only there until the third grade before becoming behaviorally disruptive due to being accustomed to a completely different environment at home, and eventually left the school. Marriages between cousins within the family from the age of 16 onwards are also not uncommon, and apparently, the weddings are very special. I couldn't believe it until my host mother showed me photos. People dress up in strange exotic costumes (sometimes very lightly dressed) for which they pay several hundred euros to attend the festivities - for example, dressed up as a pineapple. Girls are put in huge, lavish dresses for their First Holy Communion and wear expensive designer jewelry - a certain irony compared to their general appearance. Here are two examples:

https://youtu.be/RlOD0tLAo8c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMqWfUsQebc

The Diversity of the Country

I believe I have already hinted at this in other blog entries, but I can only mention again how impressed I am by the diversity of the country. Especially in terms of nature, which differs in every part of Ireland. In some coastal towns, such as Bray, it feels like walking along a promenade in a Mediterranean country - you see palm trees, the sea, and many small restaurants with a Mediterranean flair. In Malahide and Howth, on the other hand, I always feel reminded of the Baltic Sea: Fish and Chips + many fat seagulls. At the same time, it is possible to hike in the mountains and an hour's drive away, you find yourself in the middle of nowhere - sometimes in villages consisting of a single street with a few houses. Often you can also see individual houses in the middle of nature, secluded from cities and any other places. Apart from the two major cities Dublin and Cork, the many small towns with colorful houses are considered typical (in a way, everything looks very similar). But no matter how small the place is: pubs where hearty dishes such as Shepard's Pie, Irish Stew, or Guinness Pie are served are always present. Generally, dishes with beef, lamb, or even fish and chips are popular.

When driving through the country, it is very likely that you encounter flocks of sheep or can observe golfers playing outside regardless of weather conditions. And of course, the many castles, stone circles, and ruins are further evidence of the Celts.

I think this has become quite long today, but I hope I could bring you closer to Ireland again - maybe with some facts that are not so common. And of course, it doesn't have to be 100% true, I'm not so familiar with everything. I write as it was told to me or as I have experienced it myself. Sorry for any spelling and grammar mistakes... I'm increasingly mixing both languages :D

I want to thank everyone again who wished me a happy birthday last week. It means a lot to me because it's a nice feeling to know that people back home still think of you, even when you are far away.

Best regards ❤️