Quote from: Tills on June 16, 2025, 11:04:02 PMPolice Service of Northern Ireland. It's a bit old hat now since The Good Friday Agreement between the two countries. The Troubles, as they were euphemistically termed, are a thing of the past.

The Troubles are over in one way but they're not in another. I love the place, but over the decades have learned to see it through Irish eyes. It's a land where there are constant reminders of the division, in the form of the many ruins left from the disastrous Civil War that followed the War of Independence. The split that followed is reflected yet in Irish politics and while the border remains, the tension will always be there.

It's a quiet thing, barely visible at first, but the better you get to know Ireland, the more you'll begin to see it. We were in a bar a few years ago in Cork, still a hotbed of Republicanism, as the south and west tends to be, and our friend's wife said, 'People are looking at you because you're singing along.' I was, 'Why?' and she said, 'Because you're Brits and they don't expect you to know the words, let alone repeat them!' In the end we were invited on the stage by the band and I had to admit to the crowd we'd not being doing it consciously, but we got a cheer all the same.

In the south, it's still the case in some areas that catholic farmers won't work with protestant ones and vice versa. This thing runs deep, but once you're aware of it, it's easy to stay out of it.

Two films are worth seeing by anyone who wants to visit Ireland. The first, which absolutely captures the spirit of the old border, is Eat the Peach. It's sweet and funny and we've seen it three times, I'll not spoil it by spilling the plot. The other, more serious, is The Wind that Shakes the Barley, which captures the essence of what the War of Independence and the Civil War did to Ireland.

If anyone wants to read a book about what Ireland was like not that long ago, J.G. Farrell's Troubles is an absolute must read. It's not serious and it's extraordinarily well written. If the content at times seem unbelievable, there is hardly anything in it that I haven't seen in Ireland at one time or another. It's the most magical piece of writing.

I think, if I may say so Tanya, that you may be rather out of date. I know you have built a career out of conciliation between factions but one can get stuck in the mindset that there are factions to reconcile. If you view a world through that lens then you'll see it.

I first came to Ireland many years ago and things are entirely different now. I don't want anyone coming to this thread with a possible view of looking to settle in Ireland to be put off by something that was true thirty years ago, or more.

I'll write-up thoughts for people when I've come to the end of my tour. A phrase that used to have another meaning in these parts.

xx

Quote from: Tills on Yesterday at 08:58:00 AMI think, if I may say so Tanya, that you may be rather out of date. I know you have a career built out of conciliation between factions but one can get stuck in the mindset that there are factions to reconcile. If you view a world through that lens then you'll see it.

I'm sure it depends where you go and what company you keep, Tills, but we were last there just before Covid and the place hasn't changed that much since. As our friend says, you could live there a long time as an outsider and never be aware of it. It's not something that is likely to cause anyone serious problems but an awareness of the country's conflicted past consequent on British settlement is worth respecting, if that makes sense.

Quote from: TanyaG on Yesterday at 09:06:11 AMI'm sure it depends where you go and what company you keep, Tills, but we were last there just before Covid and the place hasn't changed that much since. As our friend says, you could live there a long time as an outsider and never be aware of it. It's not something that is likely to cause anyone serious problems but an awareness of the country's conflicted past consequent on British settlement is worth respecting, if that makes sense.

It does Tanya.

I'm sure you don't mean it to sound condescending though, but it all does a tad. You know, you're the insider with the insight kind of thing.

I've spent all my life nomadically around the world and wouldn't presume to say I knew a country better than anyone else, even those whose languages I speak fluently, nor that I had insights that others haven't.

I'm primarily concerned that no one is put off Ireland by erroneous and esoteric "information". There may be reasons for people on this forum not to consider settling here but the old Troubles isn't one of them. And nor is it anything like the conservative country you have implied. It's far more progressive on so many levels than the UK.

Anyway I just arrived in Dublin on my multi-circular routes around the country. I came here once to be interviewed for a senior lectureship at Trinity College.

Peace

xx

Quote from: Tills on Yesterday at 11:12:35 AMI'm sure you don't mean it to sound condescending though, but it all does a tad. You know, you're the insider with the insight kind of thing.

Not so, and very far from my intention, but I can no more stop you interpreting it as you wish, Tills, than I can influence the rate at which you breathe.

Recent posts had all the trappings and tensions of a philosophical debate. I loved it! Especially the good natured ribbing. Okay. Well, ribbing at any rate. But most informative and enlightening. I learned so much about Ireland in a few posts. Thanks Tills and Tanya.