The Local: Where Are You From

In a country as small as Ireland, where local parish control of life (so called “parish pump politics”) was, and is, still so important, the seat of knowledge, the gathering place (the pub), became known as, “The Local”.  But for migrants (emigrants and immigrants) moving from/to any country, there is more to those words than meets the eye. Earning the label of a “local” is often a lifetime achievement, and is often a badge of distinction that only the immigrant’s ancestors will enjoy.  Yet understanding the importance of all things local raises issues far beyond personal identity.

Though Ireland has always been a small country with a strong sense of local/parish identity and intense regional distinctions, much of the power to govern and control has moved from the local level (Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, etc.) to the national level (Dublin).  Here again, Ireland’s strong sense of local identity doesn’t exactly match up with the reality of its governance or actual life on the ground.  For emigrants moving to Ireland (and elsewhere), it’s important to know what aspects of life are controlled locally, and what matters are under federal control.

It’s not enough to simply say Ireland (or any country) is one thing.  As someone who emigrated from the United States, I often wind up conversing about life in the U.S. Over the years, I’ve heard many people say something along the lines of “Oh, I love the States. I would move there in a minute.”  Following up, I always ask, “Have you been there?”  Often the answer is a resounding, “no”.  These people have formed their impressions solely based on the juggernaut of American public relations.  Of those that have been to the U.S., I’m always amazed at the number of people who have only visited New York and Orlando and are convinced they “know America”. For the Irish, that’s like someone visiting Dublin and claiming full knowledge of the culture.

In Ireland, you’ll often hear that Dublin is not Ireland, and that you must head west to see and know the “real Ireland”.  Galway, Cork, Connemara, Killarney, and many others are proudly, defiantly their own place.  Mayo is remote, self-sufficient, coastal, and just a stone’s throw from Boston.  Donegal is the harsh, brutal north.  And Cork is, well, it’s Cork.  Because there has been talk of secession, and the locals often consider themselves to be more “real” than others (particularly Dubliners), Cork is often referred to as “The Republic of Cork”.

It seems the seeds of rebellion are never thrown out, just quietly preserved.  Once a country has rebelled, there may always be a bit of the rebel tucked away in some dusty cupboard of the soul.  Even in modern, complacent, compliant, authority-obsessed Ireland there’s still a sense of uneasy détente – a feeling of unrest and disquiet roiling just beneath the public facade.  It’s largely the local traits, customs, and priorities that dictate the thickness and condition of that veneer, controlling how often unrest and disquiet break through the surface.

But locality is more than just a place.  It’s people too.  Being a true “local” demands knowledge of people, stakes, history, and a deep sense of place grounded in that history (e.g. “That stone bridge was the site of a crucial battle during the uprising of XXXX. My second uncle’s brother-in-law’s great grandfather was killed there. He’d just stepped out of McGinty’s Pub where he was having a few jars…”]

But if you’ve moved somewhere new, and you genuinely want to get to know the locals, how do you yourself become a “local?  Get involved in the community.  It helps to have children.  Parents bond over their kids, and share an unspoken hope for the future of their community – a sense of stakes.

Because of its effectiveness, more and more parents are looking into chiropractic care for early prevention. viagra generika 50mg Bpd or manic-depressive disorder, viagra uk no prescription also known as bipolar affective disorder or manic depression, is a medical condition that results in the inability to use certain body parts correctly. Usually, the desire for lovemaking session or libido viagra canada cheap is not lost but penile erection is either weak or doesn’t last long enough to complete intercourse. Instead of delay, consult the sexologist doctor http://amerikabulteni.com/2011/12/15/amerika-bu-whati-konusuyor-cainin-kabineden-istedigi-koltuk-yillarin-sunucusunu-sok-etti/ generic prescription viagra without without wait for overcoming the problem of sexual performance. Sadly, I think one of the things undermining our sense of local identity is the fact that so many young people have deserted Ireland in the past few years.  As young people flee and older generations die off, the middle generations, who raised their children hoping that they would carry on their local community, have seen those hopes dashed as their children have emigrated to Australia, Canada, and the U.S.  In the wake of that loss, a sense of “what’s the point” has taken hold, and more and more people have stopped fighting to maintain local control of the issues that affect their lives.

This loss of local control is yet another way that Ireland (like many other countries) doesn’t legislate (or live) the way that it imagines it does. While regionalism is still quite strong in the Irish heart, practical local control is largely a thing of the past. In a young country like Ireland, with a storied history of emigration rather than immigration, I’m anxious to see how the recent influx of immigrants alters the sense of local identity.

Living in Dublin, it’s interesting to see how certain parts of the city have started to be identified based on the immigrant owned markets and businesses in various neighborhoods.  The city now has a number of strong Eastern European communities, and a growing Brazilian population. But whether those businesses, neighborhoods, and localities will ever wield any practical/functional control in civic life is yet to be seen.

Immigrants must be willing to accept the fact that, hard as we try, we may never be considered “locals”.  Then again, we share a different sense of place.  Without ties to a romanticized past that often has nothing to do with real modern life, we may be the only population capable of encouraging our new homes to move forward in ways that the “locals” cannot or will not.

Things to look forward to in upcoming posts:

* Renting Abroad, Home Maintenance and Property Management in a Foreign Country

* Corporate Taxes Abroad, and the Con Artistry of Luring Foreign Investment

About Glenn Kaufmann

I'm an American freelance writer, photographer, and web publisher. I specialize in writing about travel, food, arts, and culture. I also write dramatic scripts for stage and screen. I'm based in Ireland.
This entry was posted in Dublin Life, Home & A Sense of Place, Immigration & Emigration, Irish Countryside, Irish History, Irish Life & Society, Modern Life, Pubs and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

9 Responses to The Local: Where Are You From

  1. mdaltonarch@eircom.net says:

    Very enjoyable. Observant, witty, and sharp, as usual .

    Keep em coming !

    Mairtin

  2. Oh I have given up on finding a ‘home’ country or being ‘local’ a few years back. I once heard. Once you are an ‘immigrant’, you are never ‘home’ again. You feel foreign when you are in your new country, you feel foreign yet again when you visit your home country because things move on…without you. I have come to terms with it at this stage, knowing I can be happy and comfortable in my life anywhere I go, that’s a blessing in itself. I have a career here, I have lots of friends, I am involved with local charities, I have a life here. That’s enough for me. However, sometimes when I hear local people sort of ‘forget’ I am not Irish and includes me as one of them in their conversation, that’s a nice feeling knowing I somehow belong…

  3. Walt Kleinedler says:

    I enjoyed this very informative post! Please keep up the good work. We are learning much about our daughter’s newly chosen home from your posts.

  4. Anne says:

    Very interesting post again… Personally I’ve always tried to mix with the local population more. If you go to another country, what’s the point of staying within your own community? In order to be accepted and eventually become ” a local”, you have to integrate and respect the people of the country you’re in. I’ve always done that and I think most of my friends or colleagues consider me one of them now( even if I get the odd slagging because of my nationality!)

  5. Susana says:

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    • Hi Susana,

      I’m glad you like the blog. And, please take this advice with a grain of salt. I’m no expert on blogging. I’m not very faithful about posting (maybe one a month). My “blogger friends” tell me his is low and not very committed. I counter by saying, “but I try to make sure every post is focused and relevant (not just what I had for breakfast)”.

      More than anything, I’d say make it your own. It’s blogging not brain surgery, and should be an expression of you.

      Also, for me, it’s important to encourage comments, even those that disagree with you. My rule has been that I’ll “approve” (WordPress speak for “post”) any comment as long as it’s not vulgar, not spam/an overt advertisement for something, and not grossly off topic. I think comments, and creating an extended “conversation” about a topic may be the main selling point for blogging as journalism, non-fiction, commentary.

      And I try to thank people for contributing.

      Be honest and write from the heart, but don’t attack anyone yourself (even in self defense (and don’t permit attacks on others from anyone who submits a comment).

      Good luck with it.

      -Glenn

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    • Hi Todd,

      Thanks for reading, and thanks for the advice. But if I wanted traffic I’d chase traffic. I’m not interested in creating tabloid-style headlines.

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