It is true that Ireland, despite the stunning landscape, culture and economic development, is still not a familiar country with Asian people. Whenever I mentioned about Ireland to my loved ones, I usually had to make it clear that I mean the Republic of Ireland, not Northern Ireland, neither Iceland nor Scotland. The interesting thing is that people, who might not feel familiar with Ireland as a country, are in fact living the Irish culture in some way or another. Here are 5 things from or related to Ireland that become well-known globally today.

1. Halloween festival

The festival on 30th October has gained massive popularity. According to Gaelic Matter, Halloween was derived from an Irish festival called Samhain. Samhain is a Gaelic Autumn festival which marks the end of harvest season and the start of winter where the livestock was slaughtered for winter (Gaelicmatter.com, 2019). 1st of November was the Celtic New Year, and the celebrations began at sunset of the day before ie its Eve. After the arrival of Christianity in Roman Europe, the festivals and traditions were incorporated into Christianity. 1st November became All Saints Day, also known as All Hallows Day and the evening before became known as Hallows’ Eve, and from there the origin of Halloween, as a word, is clear.

2. Guinness beer

Drinkers around the world may know the amazing taste of Guinness, however, they may not know about its birthplace. Guinness is an Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James’s Gate, Dublin. There are 10 million pints of Guinness are produced in Dublin every day. Today, it is brewed in almost 50 countries. To drink like an Irish, don’t drink Guinness at home, go to an Irish pub instead. Together with beer, Irish pubs have been exported around the world. You can likely to find an Irish pub in any city. Another interesting fact is that Ireland ranks sixth in the average consumption of beer per person.

3. St. Patrick’s Day

On 17 March every year, the whole world goes green to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Ireland, the little island of  Europe is where it all began. St. Patrick is the Patron Saint of Ireland. He is thought to have grown up in Britain but was kidnapped to Ireland as a slave. But on his escape, he returned to Ireland to spread the word of Christianity until his death on 17 March 461 in County Down (Ireland.com, 2019). The green color and shamrock are associated with St. Patrick’s Day. Hence, if you have a chance to join the festival from any country on earth, make sure you a piece of green clothing to celebrate it as an Irish.

4. Irish boybands – U2 and Westlife

Needless to say that good music always goes beyond the boundaries of a nation. Indeed, Westlife and U2 have been traveling far from their homeland, reaching millions of audiences worldwide. In South East Asia countries like Vietnam, Westlife’s love songs have been associated with sweet memories of 8x generations, of first love, friendship and the dreams of youth. I learned by heart most of their song back then, and I never thought that there is one day I am coming so close to them. I might pass by them on Dublin’s streets without knowing that. There is one funny story when my professor visited Vietnam and spoke to students at a University. When he asked if anybody knows Ireland, just a few of the audience raised their hands. Nevertheless, when he asked if anybody knows Westlife and U2, everyone shouted out excitingly. That was how he introduced about Ireland.

5. St. Valentine

Valentine’s Day was not created by Irish, however on Valentine’s Day, many couples and singles travel to Dublin to see the remains of St. Valentine in Whitefriar Street Church in Dublin. People lighten the candle and pray at the Shrine of St. Valentine since “the shrine contains the sacred body of Saint Valentinus the Martyr, together with a small vessel tinged with his blood.

Reference:

GaelicMatters.com. (n.d.). Irish Pub Culture and Pub Life. [online] Available at: https://www.gaelicmatters.com/irish-pub-culture.html [Accessed 27 Mar. 2019].

Irish-genealogy-toolkit.com. (2019). The origin of Halloween is found in Celtic Ireland. [online] Available at: https://www.irish-genealogy-toolkit.com/origin-of-Halloween.html [Accessed 27 Mar. 2019].

Irish-genealogy-toolkit.com. (n.d.). A history of St Patrick, patron saint of Ireland. [online] Available at: https://www.irish-genealogy-toolkit.com/history-of-st-patrick.html [Accessed 27 Mar. 2019].

Ireland.com. (n.d.). 9 St Patrick’s Day Facts. [online] Available at: https://www.ireland.com/articles/st-patricks-day/ [Accessed 27 Mar. 2019].