“Everything will be alright in the end. If it’s not alright, it’s not the end”
The Kindered Spirit’s Monument, Middleton, Co Cork
There is an old irish proverb: Beidh gach uile ní go maith faoi dheireadh. Mura mbeadh sé, ní bheadh sé ina dheireadh. Which roughly translates to: Everything will be alright in the end. If it is not alright, it is not the end. This simple saying holds a powerful meaning behind it and is exemplified over and over again in the Irish culture. The Irish people have endured many hardships, both at home and abroad throughout history and it is amazing that in our modern world being Irish is something that all those who can claim ancestry are proud of. The most famous hardship the Irish endured was the Great Famine but Irish history is full of difficulties for the Emerald Isle, from the British invasion and occupation to the Famine, to their fight for independence and discrimination from other countries.
Hibernophobia, or Anti-Irish sentiment has had a colorful history throughout Britian and spilling over to the United States in its early years. Starting in the early 1100’s there are still places in the world today that view the Irish people as less than, though it is far less common than even 100 years ago. Famous American writer H.P. Lovecraft held extreme anti-Irish views and was quoted as saying “England has the right to rule (Ireland) because she does... It is not chance, but racial superiority, which has made the Briton supreme.” The worst discrimination faced by the Irish was during the potato Famine when many chose to leave Irish shores in search of a better life. All across Britian and in some places in the United States signs bearing “help wanted, Irish need not apply” were common in the 1800s. It’s nice to believe that such sentiments are relegated to the dusty pages of history books but in March of 2012 “no Irish” appeared in an advertisement for a brick laying job in Australia.
Yet despite all of this the Irish are a welcoming and respectful people. In 2015 the 'Kindred Spirits' Sculpture was erected in Cork, Ireland commemorating the generosity of the Choctaw nation who donated $170 to Ireland during the worst year of the Famine in 1847. Tourism has boomed in Ireland over the last twenty years, and someone can visit Ireland and discover where their ancestors lived though town records. Visiting Ireland is on many people’s bucket lists, and you would be hard pressed to find a school in the United States that did not celebrate Saint Patric’s day in some way. Other more subtle connections to Ireland can be seen throughout the world. Halloween originated in Ireland as the ancient Celtic festival of Samhai. The making of Moonshine originated in Ireland and Irish music heavily influenced the Bluegrass genre. So many things can be traced back to Ireland and the brave Immigrants who fled this small country during the Famine and found new homes in the United States.
Everything will be alright in the end. If it’s not alright, it’s not the end.