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Kansas City Irish Festivals, Music, Pubs, & Events by an Artist in Ireland

8 Responses to “Frequently Asked Irish Question”

1. Aaron Svoboda responds: July 4th, 2008 at 8:46 am

   You know, Eolai, this is a dumb question but a fair one. I found it very odd that shops and pubs in Dublin had 4th of July specials when we were there in 2005. The most surreal moment came the morning of July 4 when my wife and I were sitting at breakfast in our B&B in Dublin and we were listening to BBC radio. The announcer wished the Americans a “happy Independence Day.” Wow. The day when the US celebrates giving the finger to the British Crown, the BBC wishes a happy 4th. Talk about not holding a grudge.

2. eolai responds: July 4th, 2008 at 9:41 am

   Aaron, it’s fair the way you phrase it but that’s not how it was couched in the instances I’m referring to.

   People in Ireland and Britain are aware that it’s Independence Day in the US so it’s common to wish Americans the best for the this day. The commercialisation of it is an extension of this. There’s plenty of Americans in London and Prague for example, so you’ll find July 4th stuff there, but you wouldn’t say that Britain or the Czech Republic celebrate American Independence Day.

   What I was asked every year in America was different. I’m referring to being asked specifically what the customs of Irish people in Ireland were in how they went about celebrating the 4th of July for themselves.

   This was always part of a longer conversation, so there was no doubt as to the meaning. The 4th of July was treated by these questioners like Christmas or Easter, a worldwide holiday differing from country to country only in some local habits.

   Perhaps this is because no one I know in the US spoke about the day as “Independence Day”, rather it was only ever the 4th of July and a big party with no particular theme, so the concept of American Independence didn’t commonly rear its head.

   I was pleasantly surprised to find it an enjoyable day. I hope it’s a lovely day for yourself there today, and I’m glad you got something out of the day when you spent it here in Ireland.

3. Aaron Svoboda responds: July 4th, 2008 at 9:54 am

   I like the Czech example you used. Was that intentional based on my name? Fitting to the conversation because my last name means “freedom”. I understand where you were coming from but I just wanted to share my experience. I love this part of your blog, by the way. As a teacher I find myself saying “there are no dumb questions” but I don’t think that is always true.

4. eolai responds: July 4th, 2008 at 10:08 am

   If I was in Dublin right now I’d be able to update your experience of today there, but here in rural Wexford in the rain the only references to the 4th I’ve seen are online.

   I wouldn’t be surprised though if the Irish or British television schedules, especially with this being a weekend, use the 4th as an excuse to present something particularly American (over and above the normal American programming, that is)

   Thanks for sharing that - I’ll try and share similar, and probably increasing, American slants on life in Ireland, when I get back to Dublin. I can tell you that my dog is very happy today to be chasing birds and horses in the surrounding Irish fields rather than back in KC cowering from fireworks and homemade explosions!

5. Aaron Svoboda responds: July 4th, 2008 at 11:49 am

   I know that Bailey, our 11 year old Golden Retriever, would love to be in Ireland right now as well. She HATES the fireworks. The Basset Hounds don’t care.

6. stwidgie responds: July 5th, 2008 at 7:47 am

   Funny and irritating. Makes me think of the years I lived in France and how strange it felt on Thanksgiving Day, which no one there was aware of. A bit like going through the Total Perspective Vortex.

7. joe responds: July 5th, 2008 at 4:15 pm

   Were these people just random idiots?
   How did you respond? You had some funny responses to some of the sillier Irish questions. I wonder if Americans abroad ever run into situations like this. I hope so because I’d hate to think we have a monopoly on stupidity. It appears we very well may.

8. eolai responds: July 7th, 2008 at 7:49 am

   stwidgie - perhaps strangely, I felt the Total Perspective Vortex effect on March 17 every year, when everybody was aware of it.

   Joe - some of these people were idiots, others were just being thoughtless at that time. You could tell whether a person was in one group or the other by their response to my reply. Usually my reply was in the silent form of the arched eyebrow, or the verbalised form of that where I said “Think about it”.

   I’ve witnessed much ignorance and presumptuousness about one part of the world by people from another part (much of it by myself), and it’s often comic. The US certainly doesn’t have a monopoly on it, and were I not living in isolation so much at the moment in Ireland, I’d be in a better position to relay similar situations in reverse.

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