I came to Ireland on a study abroad trip during the centenary celebration of the 1916 Rising. For those of you who don't know, the 1916 Rising, also called the Easter Rising, took place on the Monday after Easter in 1916 in Dublin, Ireland. The uprising was a rebellion against British rule in Ireland, and the city's General Post Office was the site of the rebel headquarters. If you care to learn more, then you can take a virtual 1916 tour of Dublin here.
From being in Ireland during the 100 year anniversary of such a monumental national event, I learned that the Irish have a lot to be proud of and that there is an abundance of history surrounding us on a daily basis that we don't even know about.
But more than that I learned that Ireland is a country full of love, peace, and loyalty. In my honest opinion, these are not traits that I see across the board in America. Americans are fast-paced and narrowly focused. The Irish take the time to offer you tea and coffee and to ask you how you're enjoying the weather because they genuinely want to know.
Whether they be full of love for their family, their country, or a group of complete strangers coming for a visit, they are certainly warm and welcoming. Again, there is almost always tea or coffee ready; there are bound to be Irish flags flying everywhere, and many businesses are family-run and close early enough that everyone can be home for dinner.
During the first week of our trip, there was a national bank holiday that was completely made up just to give people some time to spend at home. Government offices and many of the stores and restaurants were closed just so that people could enjoy a long weekend with their family during the summer. We don't do that here. Most holidays, stores are still open because there is a profit to be made.
In Ireland, people smile at you while you're walking down the street, and they ask you how you're enjoying your visit and the weather because the genuine want to know. To talk about such things as the weather in America is considered polite small talk, which is also code for "I'm only doing this to be nice." In America, people don't smile at you while you walk about town. They glare at you or run into you because they can't look up from their phone for more than two seconds at a time.
In many ways, Ireland is still struggling. Between the rebellion and the Great Hunger, also known as the Irish potato famine, Ireland lost over half of her people to emigration. The numbers still have not risen, and Irish men and women often still seek to leave. There are many street performers and homeless people just trying to get by on the good grace of others, especially in the bigger cities, such as Dublin. But somehow they don't seem needy or out of place. They still appear to be a part of the community, an accepted and loved brother or sister just going through a hard time.
That is not a sentiment that we have in America. The less fortunate are looked down upon and pitied rather than helped in most cases. Titles are more important than your name or your heritage, which is vastly the opposite in Ireland. In America, if you struggle, it is your fault. In Ireland, if you struggle then your community struggles with you.
