Why I'm proud to be from Ireland

We drink too much, we don’t talk about our feelings enough; the importance of mental health is still a nascent issue in our public consciousness, writes Louise O’Neill

WHEN I was growing up, I never gave much thought to my ‘Irishness’. It was just the standard. I was Irish, everyone I knew was Irish, and those who weren’t Irish seemed almost intoxicatingly exciting. True story — I once trailed American tourists around Clonakilty because I thought they must know Leonardo diCaprio and would introduce us.

It was only when I moved abroad that I began to think about my national identity in a more deliberate fashion. I was told that my accent was “adorable”, and I was “so Irish looking!” on a daily basis in the States.