cultural heritage of the irish heritage
TRANSCRIPT
Running Head: CULTURAL HERITAGE OF THE IRISH HERITAGE 1
Cultural Heritage of the Irish Heritage
Kerry Dunn, Chris Chavez, James Chavez, Terry Harrington
Alvernia University
CULTURAL HERITAGE OF THE IRISH HERITAGE 2
SUMMARY
Irish people have a very rich, diverse culture with much of their cultural aspects rooted in
religion, family, and festivals. Many Irish people are Catholics, but other religions such as
Anglican and others are prevalent. Ireland has a long, lush coastline and Irish people practice
various sports such as football, or American soccer. Ireland has had a lot of immigrants who are
slowly eroding their culture. Irish people place a lot of emphasis on education and the people
pride themselves among several well recognized universities in the world. The family acts as the
basic social structure, and is headed by the man. Irish people tend to maintain strong ties with
their extended families. Communication is a very essential element in the Irish community. The
people of Ireland hold a lot of emphasis on politeness and etiquette and even have designated
locations associated with cultural rituals and religion. They have a trend of celebrating their
church holidays just like national holidays. Gaelic is the vernacular language for the Irish people.
Ireland enjoys a parliamentary political system and is an agricultural economy with industrial
sectors that serve as the backbone of the economy.
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The Irish culture is one of the most popular cultures in the world. The Irish culture is
commonly referred as the culture of Ireland. This culture gains popularity due to the many
cultural aspects (Wilson, 2014). The Irish culture is comprised of customs, language, music,
sports, art, traditions, and folklore. The most amazing thing about the people is how they
embrace their culture. Festivals and traditions are neither ignored nor are they passed
uncelebrated. In the modern world, it is important to understand and embrace other people’s
culture. This eliminates situations where some individuals tend to think that their culture is more
superior to those of others. The understanding of other people’s cultures promotes cohesion and
peace among individuals and communities. This paper will examine the Irish culture in detail
and its diverse aspects. The main focus is to get a clear understanding of the Irish culture
(Rachel, 2014).
The geography of Ireland comprises of navigable rivers that extend to the inland, central
plains and low-lying mountains. Located in Western Europe, Ireland borders Britain in the west
and the North Atlantic Ocean with the capital city being Dublin. Ireland also has a lush
vegetation as a result of its changing ocean climate. The island covers approximately 32,599 sq.
miles (Ireland – Language, Culture, Customs, and Etiquette, 2013). The climate of the island is
maritime and is predominantly determined by the North Atlantic currents and often enjoys cool
summers with mild winters. Higher precipitation rates on the island provide a more humid
environment. In terms of winter, Ireland experiences freezing temperatures which normally
occur in a duration 40 days during the year.
The Irish culture has been impacted significantly by a number of factors. The Irish
culture was originally known as the Gaelic Ireland. It has received significant influenced from
the Anglo-Norman, Scottish, and English cultures as the main models (Rachel, 2014). The
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Anglo-Norman influence on Ireland’s culture resulted from their invasion of Ireland in the late
twelfth century with the colonization of the country by the non-native Anglo-Normans which led
to the emergence of the Scots-Irish and Anglo-Norman cultures. The impacts of these cultural
influences are still eminent to this day. This is highly manifested by the Protestants and the
Catholics.
BIOLOGICAL
Some biological variations according to Larry Purnell (2013) include diseases such as
Phenylketonuria, Neural Tube Defects, cardiovascular disease, alcoholism, and skin cancer.
Most people of Irish decent have dark hair and fair skin or have red hair, rosy cheeks, and fair
skin. Due to having such a fair complexion, those of the Irish heritage are more likely to develop
skin cancer. Alcoholism is a large problem in Ireland compared to other countries, having one of
the highest rates internationally. Health professionals have determined that the use of alcohol is
seen as a coping mechanism to stress and have been working to encourage the exploration of
more effective and healthy coping strategies.
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death with a record amount of 10,000
deaths in 2008 (Irish Heart Disease Awareness, 2011). Almost 10,000 people in Ireland die each
year due to strokes, heart attacks, and other cardiovascular problems that occur meaning that 1
out of every 4 Irish natives will pass away each year. The most interesting piece of information
from this website says that 70% of people will suffer a heart attack due to plaque ruptures that
cause blood clotting.
The Irish also run a risk of Neural Tube Defects (NTDs) that are birth defects of the
brain, spine, or spinal cord and often include problems such as spina bifida and anencephaly
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(NIH, 2014). Although the exact causes of Neural Tube Defects are unknown, health
professionals believe there is an increased risk of having an infant with NTDs when the parent is
obese, has poorly controlled diabetes, or takes certain kinds of anti-seizure medications. It is
recommended that getting enough folic acids before and during pregnancy can help lower the
risk of a baby developing NTDs.
Another disease that many Irish blooded individuals run a risk for is Phenylketonuria, or
PKU. PKU is a birth defect that causes amino acid phenylalanine to build up in the body and
occurs due to mutation in a gene that prevents the production of an enzyme to break down the
amino acid. Almost all countries do screening for PKU at birth. Those who develop PKU are
recommended to follow a strict diet that limits the amount of phenylalanine, most commonly
found in foods that contain high protein like red meat (Anderson et al., 2010).
NUTRITIONAL
The Irish believe that the best thing to preventing a deformity in a newborn is to have a
well-balanced diet and eat the “right kinds” of food (Purnell, 2013). As stated in the biological
portion, many Irish run the risk of having diseases that are caused by consuming nutrient poor
foods. Additionally, the consumption of foods with too much proteins, such as red meat, dairy,
nuts, that contain phenylalanine, the amino acid that is dangerous to those who have
Phenylketonuria, will have an adverse effect as well.
IRISH FOOD AND TRADITION
The Irish diet is not different from the food consumed in the parts of the North Europe
Nations (Wilson, 2014). The people of Ireland are fond of consuming high nutritious foods such
as bread, oats, and meat and potatoes. They also consume a large variety of vegetables, which
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include carrots, broccoli, cabbages, and others. These vegetables are always cooked together
with meat and potatoes. From the past, the people of Ireland use to consume honey and would
use it to make mead. Potatoes were also consumed from the ancient times and were seen as the
main food crop since they provided a lot of energy. Most of the foods consumed today in Ireland
have been adopted from the western culture. The Irish culture has adopted fast foods due to the
heavy influences from Britain and the United States. Some of these foods include pizza, Chinese
food, and curry.
Their traditional eating habits were greatly influenced by the farming methods. Their
diets and eating habits were divided into four meals. The four meals include: breakfast, high tea,
dinner, and tea in the evening (Wilson, 2014). Roasted meat and stews of pork, chicken, and
lamb act as part of their diet. They also consumed sea foods especially fish, with fish and chips
being a popular dish. In the modern world, the consumption of frozen foods and processed foods
has increased. Foods such as sausages, breads, and bacon have also gained popularity today.
They have also adopted drinks such as Guiness, Irish whiskey which are widely consumed as
another part of the diet. There are also regional dishes that consist of breads and potato
casseroles. The essential meeting place for the Irish people was the public house where they
served dinner. The Irish culture boasts of a wide range of traditional foods. The Irish breakfast is
a popular traditional meal consisting of fried eggs, sausage, bacon, and white and black pudding.
There is also the Dublin Coddle which is a pork dish with bacon and potatoes. Other foods
include the Irish stew, potato bread, rich cheeses, and meat.
In the past, there were different pubs segregated for men and women (Wilson, 2014).
However, these behaviors have been overtaken with the time and they have diminished. The
people of Ireland also hold food ceremonies. Whenever there are gatherings with larger sized
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families, they always sat together and shared roast meat of chicken and turkey. These meals have
become the preferred meals during Christmas festivals. The Irish culture also has the pub culture,
often referring to the habit of frequenting pubs by the Irish people. The Irish people have a
tradition of over consuming alcohol. However, their traditional pubs contained more than just
drinking. The pubs played a significant role by acting as the meeting places. People meet with
their friends and their neighbors where they discuss and share thoughts and ideas. The clubs
gained popularity according to the type of music that they played. Some clubs, which played a
more traditional style of music, gained more popularity among the tourist than it did Ireland
natives.
EDUCATION
The Irish people lay a lot of focus on education and literacy. They believe that every
individual should be literate. The literacy rate of Ireland – especially among young children – is
98% which demonstrates the dedication to education. Children attend school at an early age
(Cleary & Connoly, 2004). Children at the age of four years old are old enough to join nursery
school. They join the primary school at the age of five years. Ireland boasts about the three
thousand primary schools which serve a large majority of its children (Wilson, 2014).
A significant majority of Irish people has also attained higher education (Rachel, 2014).
The high levels of education include colleges, universities, and technical schools. The
institutions of higher learning are funded by the state. Around fifty percent of youths in Ireland
have attended the higher levels of education. About half of the youths who attend higher
education pursue degrees of some sort. Ireland prides itself amongst world-class universities
such as the Dublin City University and Limerick University to name some (Ireland – Language,
Culture, Customs and Etiquette, 2013).
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RELIGION
The Irish laws guarantee the freedom of religion. Irish culture does not possess any
official religion. However, the majority of Irish people belong to the Catholic religion (Wilson,
2014). A small percentage belongs to the Anglican religion, as well as Presbyterian, Protestant,
and Methodist sectors (Rachel, 2014). Due to the prominence of the Catholic faith, the Catholic
religion has remained to be very influential and it has shaped the lives and values of people in
Ireland. Some of the laws that the Catholic have reinforced include the ban on abortion and
divorce. The Catholic Church covers the whole of Ireland. The top religious official of the
Catholic Church is the Archbishop, and there are more than four thousand priests who engage on
religious matters only; they do not engage in politics in anyway.
The Irish people recognize some specific shrines and holy places (Cleary & Connoly,
2004). Such places include the Knock Shrine in the village of Knock, County Mayo. It is a
Roman Catholic pilgrimage site and National Shrine. Other holy places include the Holy Wells,
like Knockanare Well, that thousands of people a year as a site where miracles have occurred.
Such holy places act as homes for rituals and fests. The holy places bear close associations with
the saints that are praised in the Irish communities. The Irish people observe important days of
the Catholic Church just like any other national holiday.
Catholic rituals are performed during funeral ceremonies (Cleary & Connoly, 2004).
Other activities such as the wakes are held in homes. However, the rituals are slowly getting
eroded. The Celtic festival got its start from Samhain, a Gaelic term of Halloween. This was also
considered to be the Gaelic New Year and a celebration of the end of the harvest season in
Gaelic culture.
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Another holiday that is high regarded in Irish culture is the Feast of Saint Patrick,
otherwise known as Saint Patrick’s Day, the day in which many Irish descendants pay homage to
Saint Patrick. It is both a cultural and religious holiday (Wilson, 2014). The people of Ireland
continue to hold religion with the highest esteem.
It would not be right to discuss the religion of the Irish culture and forget that other small
religions such as Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhists also exist. However, they only have a minute
number of followers in Ireland (Rachel, 2014). Their influence cannot be compared to the
influence of the Catholic religion.
HOLIDAY CELEBRATIONS
Irish people have a number of traditional ceremonies and events that are held every year
(Wilson, 2014). It has many museums that are used for the various cultural practices. The most
widely celebrated festival is the Saint Patrick festival. This festival attracts a large number of
people with an average of 500,000 people. This festival is celebrated on March 17th and is widely
recognized all over the world including countries such as Great Britain, United States, Canada,
and Australia. The day is viewed as a special occasion’s day and in Ireland, usually lasts for 3 or
4 days. The festival starts with a mass and is followed by parades all across the country. Music
and meals are shared afterwards and several activities are hosted for adults and children. One of
the most popular events hosted for children is an egg eating contest.
LANGUAGE
Ireland people speak two main languages namely English and Gaelic. The Irish language
came into existence through the migrations that occurred in the sixth century. The Irish language
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has been used as the vernacular language for a long time. This language acts as one of the
popular symbols that exist in the Irish nation. The English language has been replacing the Irish.
TIME
Those of the Irish culture live based in the present and spend only part of their time
remembering their past events. The Irish also spend a good deal of time incorporating it into their
cultural heritage.
COMMUNICATION
The Irish people have transformed speaking into an art form. They exhibit verbal
eloquence in their communication. They also like using anecdotes and stories when they want to
pass on an important message. The Irish tend to exhibit modesty in communication and they can
raise suspicions of a person who talks loudly. They loathe people who try to show off their
superiority (Ireland – Language, Culture, Customs and Etiquette, 2013). The Irish people tend to
exhibit a level of politeness and they are often humorous. They evade conflicting situations at all
costs and try to play a lot of emphasis into politeness rather than talking the truth. The Irish
people will always offer a salutation during daytime and handshakes act as the basic form of
greeting one another. The greetings are warm and friendly, and would turn into a conversation.
People always maintain eye contact as a form of trust during greetings. The Irish people are well
known for trading jokes with one another and they like teasing (Cleary & Connoly, 2004). This
occurs to people who are very close such that no one will feel offended. Story telling is a
common phenomenon among the Irish people and they use it as a way of passing information
from one generation to the next.
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SPACIAL ASPECTS
Relating back to the Communication section, the Irish tend to keep at a kind and
considerate distance. They will do their best to be polite and attempt to disregard any kind of
negative aspects of conversations. The Irish people will greet each other with a firm handshake
and initiate conversation.
FAMILY STRUCTURE
The Irish people place a lot of emphasis on the family structure. The family members
tend to hold close ties with other members (Cleary and Connoly, 2004). The extended family
poses as an important social structure. It is quite interesting to note that, even though
urbanization is slowly eroding the familial ties, those who migrate to towns still hold close ties
with their family members regardless of the distance.
The Irish people practice monogamous marriages. The Church and the state recognize
monogamous marriage as the only legal form of marriage. The state also allows for divorce.
Individuals select their spouses which is a reoccurring norm in the Western cultures.
Most marriages take place during the autumn. Some of these festivals could bring
individuals together and help promote establishing relationships and possible marriage
candidates. However, these festivals may not continue in the near future. This is because the
constant criticisms it has received from the Irish people have endangered it. In the ancient times,
the age of marriage seemed to be old. Marriages between couples were common. However, due
to the influences from the other cultures, it has been observed that the trend has changed. Today,
the age has dropped significantly and marriages between couples have become common.
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The nuclear family forms the domestic unit of the family structure. It serves as the basic
unit for consumption, inheritance, and production. Just like any other society, the man acts as the
head of the family.
In the past, the sons had the privilege of getting the patrimony properties (Clear &
Connoly, 2004). In some instances, the father could only give his property to only one son
without considering whether the others existed. This left the other siblings to anguish in poverty.
However, the Church has played a key role in ensuring that the laws are reformed to ensure that
all the siblings get a fair share of the inheritance. However, beliefs still exist that a farm should
be inherited without division in case of the farmers. Gender and class form key determinants in
matters of inheritance.
The nuclear family poses as the main kin group. Children will adopt the surnames of their
fathers. The first name must be a Christian name. They believe that naming is a way of honoring
their ancestors.
RECREATION
Ireland enjoys a large coastline that is ideal for leisure and recreational activities (Wilson,
2014). People practice sailing, surfing, fishing, diving, and cruising among other activities. The
equestrian sports appear to be very popular among the Irish people. They practice horse racing
which attracts a lot of people. Ireland prides itself with more than 200 gold courses and they also
play rugby. Gaelic football appears to be one of the most popular types of games that is play in
Ireland. Many Irish people like participating in various sports (Rachel, 2014). Some of the games
played in Ireland have also gained international recognition. Ireland is known to send teams to
the Common Wealth games, where exemplary performance is reported.
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SAFETY ISSUES
Many Ireland natives have day-to-day safety issues that occur such as automobile
accidents and train fatalities as well as other health issues such as smoking and drinking. Going
back to the biological section, Irish people can have problems occur due to too much sun
exposure.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS
Irish people maintain a great respect for the land in which they reside and are concerned
with sustainability for the lands to be used in the future. Since agriculture plays a key role in the
Irish life style, there is a strong push for keeping the environment as clean as possible with
different initiatives.
SOCIAL ISSUES
It is unfortunate that political history disputes occur frequently in Ireland. The crime rates
have been reported to rise significantly on an annual basis (Wilson, 2014). There is an overall
general obedience of the law and institutions such as the Church play a crucial role in shaping
the morals of individuals with in the Irish communities.
ECONOMY
The industrial sector has replaced the agricultural sector as the main economic activity
(Wilson, 2014). The industrial sector accounts for more than 35 percent of the national Gross
Domestic Product (GPD). It employs a large percentage of the workforce and produces the main
exports. Ireland still places a lot of emphasis on agriculture, which happens to be a large part of
their economy. The Irish also use the Euro as their current currency.
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POLITICS
The Irish people practice the parliamentary democracy. The parliament has the House of
Representatives and the Senate. The executive arm of the government is led by the Prime
Minister and the Cabinet (Wilson, 2014). The Irish politics have been greatly influenced by the
Catholic Church and British institutions. The leaders must gain support of the people in order to
succeed in politics.
CAREER/WORK
The people of Ireland have a strong work ethic incorporated with their strong educational
values. Often many Irish people work several jobs in the industrial and agricultural jobs.
HEALTH CARE BELIEFS AND PRACTICES
There are many alternatives to the modern medicine by the Irish people. There exists a
variety of forms of folk and other medicines. There are healers and healing places in many rural
communities. Pilgrimages to Knock and other rituals are believed to have some healing powers.
The Irish people respect these places a lot and believe that they contain healing properties.
The Irish people tend to conceal some health issues such as pains and aches. In this case,
it is possible that an Irish person may go to the hospital and fail to expose to the doctor their
symptoms such as pain. This kind of information is very crucial to the doctor for him or her to
take the right course of actions. The Irish people may only disclose such information to very
close members of their families. It is important to note that Ireland acts as a home to more than
170 tribes. These tribes have different cultural practices and beliefs that are related to health. The
health practitioners have to learn and understand the existing cultural practices so that they can
be able to provide quality medical care (Galanti, 2000). In their response to this challenge, there
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are a vast amount of resources where doctors can source vital information on different cultures.
Doctors aim to provide equality in health care and they always remain sensitive to the underlying
cultural issues. They also exhibit politeness and etiquette in their services.
CONCLUSION
Irish people have a very diverse culture. Some of the cultural aspects of their culture
include cultural festivals. Many Irish natives are Catholics along with other religions such as
Anglican or Protestant. Irish people have their traditional foods, yet are adopting the western
foods that are becoming more popular. They are well known for their humorous natures. It is
amazing to know that the Irish people have tried to maintain their culture despite the eroding
effects of modernization.
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