Irish Humor
Pluralism is a belief that the world is composed of many things that are uniquely different but interconnected. It focuses on the individuality, diversity, and uniqueness of human beings. The approach I took in designing my part of the learning center is a Pluralist approach, in that Humor is something that crosses cultures. Many cultures have jokes that, though unique to the culture possess aspects of comedy that are relatable to people from different cultures. Humor is the ability or quality of people, objects, or situations to evoke feelings of amusement in other people. Humor is subjective. This means that people, objects, or situations that one person or culture find humor in have the potential to evoke laughter in different people from different cultures. Humor is judged based on a person’s taste.
In researching Irish humor, I discovered that there are certain themes prevalent throughout traditional Irish jokes and sketch comedy. The most prevalent theme is drinking. Drinking is the aspect of Irish humor that makes the jokes or comedy sketch uniquely Irish. It also transcends cultural barriers and evokes laughter from individuals from other cultures as well. A common theme in American humor is politics. Politics can be seen in many American jokes, sketch comedy, and even in political cartoons. Even though people from other cultures may not understand the political humor of America, because they are too far removed from American society, the idea of political satire is something that can be humorous in other cultures.
After completing my research regarding Irish humor I hope to help convey to the students that the people of the world are not as different as you would think. There are many things common to different cultures, and if we can find such commonalities, we may better be able to establish equality and understanding throughout the world.
Irish Education
The Irish education system consists of three different levels. The first of these levels is Primary education. This level accounts for children ages six-twelve, and children four-five who attend pre-school. The public Primary schools are funded by the government and are free to the children. The country has 500,000 children attending over 3000 primary schools. At some of these schools, the children study Gaelscoileanna, curriculum conducted entirely in Irish. The primary school curriculum is determined by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment and the inspectors of the Department of Education. It focuses on the child’s individuality and promotes their needs and interests. It also focuses on activity and guided-discovery learning and teaching.
The second level of education is Post-Primary which is for children ages 13 to 18. There are over 350,000 students, 450 secondary schools, 250 vocational schools, and 100 other schools in the Post-Primary level. The public secondary and vocational schools receive about 95% of their funding from the government. The other schools are funded individually. Secondary and vocational schools are free to attend. However, books and extra-curricular activities are funded by the students. The curriculum of the Post-Primary level consists of two cycles, junior cycle and senior cycle. The junior cycle consists of a three year program ending with the Junior Certificate Exam. The senior cycle ends with the Leaving Certificate. This is equivalent to the first year of college in the USA. There is an optional transition year offered at the age of 15 for students who don’t wish to attend school. These students may also continue learning in Apprenticeships, Youthreach, and Community Training Workshops.
The final level is higher education. About 50% of students continue on to higher education. This level includes universities and technical college. There are four universities in Ireland, The National University of Ireland, University of Dublin (Trinity College), The University of Limerick, and Dublin City University. There are also 12 technological colleges.
The old pastimes and new modern traditions of Ireland
The country of Ireland has many old pastimes and new modern traditions that many people still enjoy and remember today. Some historical events that Ireland is remembered for are the potato famine, the Battle of Clontarf, the legendary Saint Patrick, The Blarney Castle, the sport of hurling, and much more.
One of the most visited attractions and landmarks of Ireland is the Blarney Castle. Cormac MacCarthy built this large remarkable castle in 1446. The most well-known and anticipated attraction at this castle is the Blarney stone, which is located at the top of the castles tower. It is also known as the Stone of Eloquence because legend has it that if you kiss it, you will attain everlasting eloquence (“The gift of gab”) and you will never be at a loss for words of again. To kiss this magical stone, one must lay on their back and lean backwards while holding on to iron railings and kiss the stone. Many world leaders and presidents have taken advantage of this famous stone in the hope for the gift of eloquence.
Another important and old pastime that people still participate in today is the sport of hurling. Hurling is a sport similar to hockey in that they both are played with a small ball and a curved wooden stick. Hurling was originally a form of martial arts that people used to train warriors for combat and fighting. It is the oldest and fastest of all European field games. Hurling was used to settle disputes where entire villages fought one another. Eventually, hurling evolved into a fierce game during the medieval period. Due to the life threatening risks, hurling was banned as a sport in 1527. Over two hundred years later hurling was once again established, but the old version was toned down with stricter rules. Today, Hurling is a national and competitive sport with minor and major league competition teams.
One holiday that is celebrated all over the world is Saint Patrick’s Day. This holiday celebrates the remembrance of the great patron saint of Ireland, Saint Patrick. It is said that he used the shamrock as a symbol to explain the holy trinity; which refers to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. This national holiday wasn’t established in rememberance of the birth of Saint Patrick, but rather the day of his death on March 17th 461 A.D.. This day represents the celebration of the widespread baptism of Ireland. Even though this is known as a Catholic holiday, it has presently evolved into a day to celebrate being of Irish descendant.
Ireland has contributed many significant and historical traditions and events throughout its time as a country. Even though this country had to overcome many hardships and troubled times, it has created an even better present day society.
Religion
The main religion of Ireland is Catholicism. Though the majority of the people are Catholics, there is very little religious discrimination. In fact, it is almost non-existent in Ireland. There have been people from both Muslim and Jewish religion that have been elected into parliament. Ireland’s school district is very different from ours here, in that they do not have separation of church and state. The school actually prepares the children for their first Communion and Confirmation. Because there is no separation, there are schools that are made to accommodate those of another religion, specifically Muslim, Protestant and Jewish. The women of Ireland typically attend church services more than the men, and about half of all Irish go to Mass weekly. When it comes to deciding one’s religion, the main factor is the religion of a child or adolescents parents. Children typically follow after their parents.
A main symbol of the religion in Ireland is the Celtic cross. These crosses are made from either sandstone or granite, and were made to portray Bible stories. They were made this way to educate the people because very few had access to the written word. The stories on the crosses usually portrayed the main stories of the Bible such as Adam and Eve, the Crucifixion, birth of Jesus, and Abraham etc. According to legend, St. Patrick was the first one to make a Celtic cross. It is said that he took the design of a Latin cross, and drew a circle in the center. The circle is made to represent eternity.
Ireland is often referred to as the “Land of Saints and Scholars.” Many popular saints have come from Ireland. St. Patrick who is a symbol of Ireland and was the one to first bring Christianity to Ireland. St. Brigid who was founded the first double monastery and opened a School of Art. St. Columba was ordained at 25 and spent fifteen years preaching until a family feud sent him into exile. While in exile he, and friends established a monastery and continued to spread the gospel.
When I think about the colorful Irish culture, food is not usually one of the first things that come to mind. Once you get past all the green, lepricons, beer, four-leaf clovers, and hot tempers, however, there is a lot of very interesting things to learn about Irish food. The ingredients, techniques and the history surrounding this area’s cuisine is more than bland potatoes.
Irish food really only has a twofold history, before the potato and after the potato (Linnane). First, we will focus on pre-potato dishes. A cauldron was the main method of cooking and the staple dishes were mainly stews. The cauldron is a large three-legged pot that is hung over a fire. The cooking time for the soups and stews made in this large pot often exceeded ten hours. It could also be turned upside down and used as crude oven. Coastal regions ate a lot of shellfish in addition to the staples of the inland diet of game and farm animals, herbs, and vegetables. Cabbage is an Irish staple. Some joke, “Prior to the potato, the cuisine has been best described as food you slurp.” In addition to the stews and pottage, milk, cheese, honey, and cereals such as barley and oats supplemented Irish families (Hopkins).
Common pre-potato dishes and drinks were made from things found and planted in the countryside. A customary Irish drink is “Mead” which is a fermented alcoholic drink made from honey, water, and yeast (“Mead”). The poor folk often consumed a meals of “Offal”, the entrails and internal organs of butchered animals, “Porridge”, made by boiling oats or another meal in water, milk, or both, or “Blood Pudding”, a sausage made by cooking animal blood with meat, fat or other filler until it is thick enough to congeal when cooled (“Offal”)(“Porridge”)(“Blood Pudding”).
The potato was introduced to Ireland in the second half of the 17th century. It was a garden crop that quickly grew to a major source of food for the poor because of its high-energy value (“Irish Cuisine”). After the potato hit the Irish, many of their dished consisted mainly, if not entirely, of this vegetable. Common dishes then included things such as Colcannon, is a dish made of potato and either wild garlic, cabbage or curly kale, and Champ, a combination of mashed potato and egg, into which chopped scallions (Hopkins). Cabbage and potatoes replace the more traditional Irish dishes until the Potato Famine from 1846-1849. During the famine, the potato crops were ruined by potato blight, which left millions of Irishmen starving (Irish Cuisine).
The evolution that Irish food has gone through is quite interesting. The food went from boring meat stews to the every loved mashed potato meals we all know and love. Irish cuisine is more a part of everyone’s diet then we realize. On thanksgiving, before you dig into your big hardy helping of mashed potatoes just think about the melting pot of cultures we live in today.
WORKS CITED
Hopkins, Kate. Accidental Hedonist.” Irish Food History. 17 March 2005. 11 Oct 2006 .
Linnane, John. “A History of Irish Cuisine.” Before and After the Potato. Dublin Institute of Technology. 11 Oct 2006 .
Mead. (2006) In Wikipedia [Web]. from .
Offal. (2006) In Wikipedia [Web]. from .
Porridge. (2006) In Wikipedia [Web]. from .
Blood Pudding. (2006) In Wikipedia [Web]. from
Irish cuisine. (2006). In Wikipedia [Web]. from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_cuisine
