Is there any point in celebrating being Irish anymore?

IS THERE any point in celebrating ‘being Irish’ anymore? As we approach another St Patrick’s Day, and don our ‘Kiss me, I’m Irish’ t-shirts and our shamrock-bedecked silly hats, what on earth does it all mean? Does taking part in this ritual have any actual bearing on our lives especially since our economic sovereignty is a thing of the past, asks sociologist Ethel Crowley.

A well-known Irish butter advert shows a young emigrant and his pregnant German wife visiting his mother at home in rural Ireland. Before he leaves, he extracts a sod of earth, placing it in a shoe-box to take with them. He says of their baby, “He’ll be born in Germany, but his feet will touch Irish soil first”. This clever ad touches our hearts and raises many issues that are pertinent in today’s Ireland.

The young man in the ad still sees rural Ireland as his ‘home’, despite living in Germany. Our ‘home’ is a comfortable place where we feel relaxed and happy, giving us a sense of wholeness and stability. We feel naturally connected to our home, based on shared collective memories with family and friends. It is the most significant place in the world for us. Because of early memories, it surpasses all other places in its emotional power. Our home provides us with an anchor in the sometimes hostile and choppy seas of modern life. It’s the place that evokes melancholy in our emigrants after a few beers.