Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Thoughts on Ireland

The Irish are very friendly, helpful and polite. In Dublin, being a large city and everyone is rushed, this can get strained, but in the other towns and in the countryside, everything is very friendly. They make everyone feel welcome. Unlike the English, the Irish are very demonstrative; they let their hair down easily. And they definitely have the “gift of gab” (otherwise known as blarney).

Ireland has historically had a “pub culture” but this is sadly vanishing. The harsh driving-after-drinking laws plus the escalating costs of a night out have caused many pubs to close. Those that remain just don’t get the volume of business they used to. A way of life is disappearing, especially in the rural areas.

The Irish are very proud of their alcoholic beverages. They think Irish whiskey is vastly superior to scotch and bourbon. Cider, which is fermented and carbonated is popular. The national ale, Smithwicks (pronounced smitix), is quite good. While Murphys stout is also popular, Guinness is king. Beer is served just slightly chilled. Rather than the beer just gushing out of a tap like in the US, an Irish draught takes several pulls of the tap. It takes two minutes to serve a Guinness. The glass is first filled to within about an inch of the top and it’s cloudy so it takes a couple of minutes to clear and the head to form; it is then topped off. Pulling pints is an art and cannot be rushed; if it’s not done correctly, find another pub.

Ireland is green—many intense shades of it. The wet climate is the primary cause; don’t come to Ireland for sun. The countryside is beautiful with green fields separated by rock walls and various ruins of churches and castles (not to mention sheep, cows and horses) dotting the landscape. The absence of large stands of trees is notable. At one time Ireland was heavily forested, but most of this was cut down to provide farmland and fuel, especially during the famine years. There is currently a reforestation initiative but it will take a long time before any success is obvious.

The island is small; you’re never more than 75 miles from the ocean. Dublin and Cork are only 145 miles apart. However, if no motorway is available, driving even short distances can take awhile; but that’s a good thing. Ireland is half the size of New York state and the population is smaller than many of our big cities. The television stations and the major radio stations are national, as are most newspapers. The police force (Garda) is also national. This makes sense on such a small island.

Driving is an experience. Not just because it’s on the left; many of the rural toads are quite narrow. Even in cities and towns many streets are a challenge; and often people park such that travel lanes are blocked. When two way access is impossible, people just take turns with no hassle. The person let through usually gives a friendly wave. Just try that in a large US city; the wave will probably be with one finger! Although most drivers are courteous and polite, they do tend to dangerously tailgate when they want you to either drive faster or get out of their way; I’m surprised there aren’t more serious accidents.

It has been interesting following politics. Ireland is a true parliamentary democracy with a lively discourse between political parties. Until it joined the European Union, Ireland was a backwater in many ways and its economy was poor. Since then, they have become “The Celtic Tiger”. They have developed a high tech culture and their economy is soaring. The education level is high and they are the cream of Europe. But this has come at a cost and that is cost; prices are up on everything and Ireland is generally expensive. Demand is high for social services (like national health) but paying the price for these services makes taxes (and cost of living) high.

The European Union proposed a constitution that had to be approved by popular vote in ALL member countries. This constitution ran to 400 pages and was so complicated that it had a lot of opposition and was voted down by France and Netherlands. So the powers-that-want-to-be got together in Lisbon and created a smaller document that is not a “constitution” but a “treaty”. And it doesn’t have to be voted on by popular referendum; government approval is enough (this is being pushed by France). Ireland is the ONLY country that has put it to the public in a plebiscite and this vote will take place in a few weeks. This has created a fierce public debate between the supporters of the treaty and those opposed. While we have trouble understanding the whole thing, it seems to come down to deciding how much power to give to a powerful, centralized government. The Irish are fiercely protective of their independence and self-determination in the face of much larger and more powerful countries like France and Germany.

The food is generally mediocre to good; Irish food has come a long way since the unification of Europe. Traditional pub food is OK and there are gourmet restaurants all over. However, they haven’t learned how to make a sandwich; if you order a ham sandwich, you get ham on bread, period. EVERYTHING is ala carte, sometimes even salad dressing and mustard! Also, you seem to get chips (French fries) with just about everything; can you imagine lasagna and chips? Overall, we’d say that you don’t come to Ireland for the food.

The biggest problem is the value of the Euro. Ireland would be expensive even with the Dollar at parity with the Euro. With the Euro currently at $1.60, the costs are brutal. If you plan on travel to Ireland, be prepared for sticker shock. At one time, Americans were the backbone of Irish tourism. Since 9-11 and the dollar dropping, American tourists have all but vanished, decimating the tourist industry. They now depend on Germans
for this business.

We think it would be interesting to live in Ireland for an extended period; not in Dublin but in another city like Cork or a town like Kilkenney. However, to do so would require either the Euro to drop significantly against the Dollar or for our earnings to be in Euros. So I guess it’ll be a while before we do this.

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