Ireland is a hard place to live

[Mooshamoo]

Just watching the video of the black child being not given a medal by Irish gymnastics.

I was wondering if there is anyone else on here on craicnet, who is not Irish, living in Ireland. What your experiences are.

I think that Ireland can be a very hard place to live if you are not fully white and fully irish.

I'm half Irish. I was bullied all the way through school for not having an Irish surname. Then when I grew up and lived in the same small town, all of the same girls from my school were living in that town. And as adults they refused to talk to me.

I see the women who are fully Irish, being popular , having great lives.

To be totally acceptable and popular in ireland, you have to have a rich family, brothers/father who play gaa etc.

All the rich girls in my school hung around together. And again as adults all the rich Irish women hung around together in small town Ireland.

If you were foreign, from a single parent family, seen as poor, you were not accepted at all.

And it's who you know

I think this makes Ireland a very difficult place to live

Without going into too much detail I think being careful around others outside of a close circle is part of our heritage, colonisation and they way the Irish have been treated will do that to the nation's pschye.
There's really interesting literature on Irish English, how we speak, how it's code or hiding the real meaning. It comes from a particular place OP.

I've heard of that. Eckhardt Tolle? But i totally agree. Trauma sticks like treacle.

Thanks for that point. Yes i have heard people say that Ireland can be suspicious of outsiders because of history.

And I agree Ireland went through some awful things , in early last century.

However the other side of the argument is - Ireland wasn't the only country to be invaded last century. Most countries in Europe were invaded last century. That is how last century in Europe was. It would be good if we could all move forward

That was at @Orders76

As I said, to give context for anyone engaging in good faith on this thread.

If it makes you think for even a second that maybe people have a point, and there are things you can do to help yourself get better, then fantastic.

Seeing everyone as the enemy must be exhausting. It is a trauma response.

There's nothing to be ashamed of in seeking support, and suggesting it is not bullying.

Yes I think he talks about it too. I think the whole country tbh suffers from it to some extent, from the legacy of the famine, wars, the Troubles.
Just because cognitively we know things and time have moved on - we haven't collectively done "The Work" that allows us to fully move past the trauma response. Just my rambling musings in fairness.

I was born abroad (white), my parents are Irish and moved back in the 80’s. We put up with a lot as “blow-ins”. Never accepted, in fact I was in the town I grew up in recently and saw someone who was in my class in primary school and he just gave me the filthiest look when i said hello. shocked that the people there haven’t changed in 40 years.
where I live now in rural Ireland is NOT like that. In fact I find the locals very welcoming and friendly. So you can’t tar everyone with the same brush. It’s the luck of the draw really.

The bits that i heard literally blew me away! But had to be careful not to overload. He was excellent. (But it's sad that it's so predictable etc)

You're talking quite arrogantly though @Sakura7 . You keep saying peopel are "engaging in good faith on this thread". Like they have been misled in some way. Which you are not making any sense about .

When in fact many, many people have now come on this thread and talked about their bullying experiences in Ireland.. and you have not answered any one of their posts. You have dismissed them all

Good post.

It was obvious OP's posts are not in good faith. My first thought was Daily Mail journo digging for views (hence the constant questions..."give me more detail"), but now I tend to agree with you.

The internet has given us great access to information (helped make us more worldly in the process), but one of the drawbacks is it also gives a platform to people who otherwise wouldn't get it.

That's a good point.

But Ireland wasn't just invaded last century.
There's centuries of history to pick through.
And the reason GAA is such a part of communities is because it became a way of forging a national identity when we didn't and weren't allowed to have one.
I'm no big fan of it, the opposite in fact! But can see why it's such a big part of communities around the country.

Thanks for sharing. Sorry to hear about your earlier bad experiences. Happy to hear about your later better experiences. Sometimes you do need to move to find a better spot. Did you move far away from the town that you were originally in?

Yes you have to be in the right space for it for sure.
I've two of his books on my tbr pile so I haven't made it to that space yet!

I don't think other countries in Europe were just invaded last century either. They all have had centuries of invasions. That is how Europe was. Neighbouring countries constantly invaded each other. The good thing about Europe now is that we have grown and moved forward

I remember reading Eckhart Tolles book ages ago. I must read it again. Its so long ago, I forget what was in it. I know he wrote that to stay in the now stops all suffering

What are you basing the statement "The good thing about Europe now is that we have grown and moved forward" on as a matter of interest?
I'm not trying to be goady, just trying to understand your thinking on it. Do you have experience living in any of these countries?
And with respect, I still don't think it's comparable to the history of our islands. But again just my opinion.

You're entirely correct. But you seem somewhat stuck in history. Irish history is what it is. We can't change it. And we will remember it. To forget history, is to repeat it etc.

So hard to stay in the now, when the past keeps drawing you back into it. I'm definitely not there.

Racism and xenophobia is an issue across Europe, that's clear from the rise of the far right in so many countries.

Well Europe as a whole os still not perfect. But i believe it has made several excellent steps in the last century to improve relations between countries ,and to promote peace between European countries.

For example the forming of the European Union . That has fostered a lot of positive connections between countries.

I knew it had recieved a nobel prize but I didn't know what year so I had to Google the date.

It says that The EU was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 2012, in recognition of the organization’s efforts to promote peace and democracy in Europe.

Which ties in with Chickens point about those who forget history etc

Yes I've lived in several different European countries.

Well I say lived. I suppose what do you define as living. I mean I lived in Spain for a year for example. Thats not a very long time .

Probably better wording is to say that I've worked there. : I've worked in several different European countries.

This has made me 'muse'. Thanks!