IRISH PEOPLE CULTURE, GEOLOGY, SOCIAL INTERACTIONS AND PREJUDICES
This essay may be on a topic of your choice relating to ethnic groups. We have covered many topics this semester. You can pick one of those that you want to know more about, or a topic that we did not cover. Do not use the United States as your topic or examples as that is a different class (Soc 107); we are looking at ethnic groups in other parts of the world. Remember, this is a 4 page essay so the topic should be clearly defined and manageable in a short essay. It MUST have the following components:
An introduction to the topic and a thesis which concisely summarizes the main point or argument of your essay; topics could be about the current situation of an ethnic group, or conditions in the past.
A description of the ethnic group(s) that you are discussing, which should include: cultural elements that make this a distinct ethnic group; macro description of the ethnic group (size, location);
Discussion of other information necessary to support your thesis;
Use of at least 5 concepts from this semester that help in the analysis of your thesis; these concepts should be defined and applied in your discussion; examples of concepts include prejudice, discrimination, and intergroup relations, or the reactions of minority groups, minority/dominant groups, any theories in the readings. If you look at the reviews for each exam, you will find lists of concepts as well as many topics.
Irish people: culture, geology, social interactions and prejudices
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Irish people: culture, geology, social interactions and prejudices
Introduction
This article describes the ethnic group known as the Irish people. When you look at the term Irish, it is normally used as term of reference. Irish normally means the people who reside in the Nation of Ireland; it also means the nation itself and the culture pertaining the people itself. Since the people of Ireland are divided into two, that is the republic of Ireland and the Northern republic of Ireland, the people who live in the Northern identify themselves as the British people. They owe their allegiance to the Queen and identify with the social development and political aspirations of the British people.
Thesis
The content of this essay is a description of the ethnic composition of the Irish, their cultural practices, the prejudices they hold or they don’t hold against other cultures. The migration patterns. The ethnic dilemma that these people have. It also looks at the size and location of the Irish people in terms of geological descriptions. Past conditions in terms of culture, education, and social advancement will also be described in the essay. It is true that due to the changes in technology especially most countries in the Europe advancing and having first world status, there is an undeniable truth that Ireland has been on an upward trajectory and become a first world.
Population composition and Geographical location of the Irish people
The Irish people reside in two countries. One country is the Republic of Ireland. The other one is the Republic of Northern Ireland. Ireland as a country is composed of the following regions: The Midlands Region, the Northern Ireland region, the South East Region, Shannon Region, the West Region, the Cork Region, and the Kerry Region.
The population composition of the people who stay in Ireland is: Ireland has at least seven ethnic groups. The Irish people comprise about 80% of the total population. People who travel and reside in Ireland comprise about 0.7 %. These are foreign migrants who sometimes go to Ireland for work, education or business purposes. The other white i.e. the people who have come from countries such as Germany, England, France, and Italy is about 9.5% Asians and the black community population is about 2.1 % and 1.4% respectively. Other ethnic groups who remain unclassified are about 2.6%. As we can see from the compositions above, in Ireland the Irish people are the majority of the total population whereas the black community and the Asians are the minority.
(A map showing the regions of Ireland: source: https://www.discoveringireland.com/regions-of-ireland/
Language, symbolism and other cultural elements
Irish people normally speak the two distinct languages. We have the Gaelic language which is a language spoken together with the English language. Gaelic is a language distinct and original to the Irish people. Gaelic language certainly has its main origins from the Scotland and from the Celtic people. There are some phonotypic relationships especially between the sounds and the words pronounced of the people living in Scotland, Irish, and Celtic. It is described that the Celtic people brought the Irish language (Gaelic to Ireland during the sixth century before Christ.
Towards the end of the sixth century the Irish language proved to be a popular one. Many people took it as a vernacular language which is spoken throughout the Irish nation. A vernacular language is one which is incorporated in the daily activities of the people. Many children born after that sixth century grew up learning the Irish language. There is no doubt to say that Gaelic as a language has really gained some widespread use the Ireland people. Gaelic has also been promoted to become one of the official languages of the Republic of Ireland.
The components of the language, including the grammar and language usage, continue to form part of the examinable subjects which are studied by the secondary school going children and also the primary learners. This language is an official medium and is spoken by the political leaders who want to communicate some important message to the people. The language, alongside English is also used in the Irish Parliament.
The flag is actually the symbol of National Unity for the Irish people. It contains three vertical bands with different colors. The colors of the flag are Green, white and Orange. These colours have different meanings to the Irish people. The colors represent a deep reverence to Saint Patrick, who is normally regarded as a patron saint to the Irish people. The other color represents the Dublin workers. Dublin workers are a symbol of the ever growing and hardworking labor force in the Ireland country. These are people who mostly work in the factories. They show a deep determination and an unwavering need to be successful at everything that they do. The green color which is found on the flag is a representation of the religion. Ireland is a deeply religious country with a majority of the population being Christians. Among the Christian Community, there are two denominations: The Roman Catholic Church and the Protestant Church. Orange is associated with the Protestants while the Green color is normally associated with the Catholic community.
Ethnic relations of the Irish People
The culture of the Irish people is one which is said to be very peaceful. The ethnic relations of the people of Ireland are somewhat thoughtful, tolerant, co-existing and peaceful. This is due to the fact that the overall Ireland culture is a homogenous one. Irish people have also sought residence in many places around the World (Eveyculture, 2018)there is an Irish population in United States of America, Germany, Australia, Russia and other parts of the world. These people are often proud of their Irish culture which is displayed proudly in their social dealings. Irish people dress distinctly compared to the other segments of the population. Irish people eat separately and carry themselves in appearances and social gatherings in ways which can only be described to be distinctly Irish. They are often proud of their cultural activities as evidenced by the fact that the Irish people actually celebrate the Saint Patrick day as an important national event and these celebrations are held in many parts of the world (Eveyculture, 2018)
Prejudice
Though we can pride ourselves that there exists a lot of homogenous relations in the Irish people, over the years the Irish people have not been overly welcoming people (Belfast, 2018)There exist some instances where the travellers who go to Ireland have experienced some form of prejudice. These people have been viewed as individuals who are invading the private culture of the Irish people. Sometimes these racial conflicts have led to the spread of some political wars as seen in political violence wars which have been reported (Eveyculture, 2018).
Migrant discrimination
Previously people who had migrated to Ireland did not live in very good conditions. The immigrants often came from disadvantaged countries in continents such as Southern America. These people were ready to earn a living in the poor conditions. They actually did not mind their conditions as long as they gained some income. As a result this caused some feelings of hatred among the dominant communities who were used to privileged status. They saw that these people could be taking up their opportunities which they worked so hard to achieve. However recently there has been a decrease in the reports of racial discrimination and a decrease in race related crimes (loc.gov, 2019)
Religious Conflict
The people in Ireland especially the Catholics and the Protestants have not always co-existed in the past. In present there is a harmonious relationship between the Protestants and the Catholics. In the past especially towards the end of the 19th century, the Protestant community burned down Saint Mary’s Catholic Church. A community church which was mostly frequented by the Irish community who were living in New York in the USA. These conflicts led to mistrust between the two groups. Conflicts also arose on which church was better than the other in terms of preaching a true God and in the superiority of Bible interpretations, dogma and doctrine (Belfast, 2018)
Conclusion
This report has tackled several issues which relate to the Irish people as a distinct social grouping and also as a distinct community with its own rules and regulation. Irish has a place in the arena of world global issues. The Irish people originated from Celtics and Scotland. This is determined through their dominant language. The two religions which are present in the country’s spiritual set up are the Catholics and the Protestants. Historically there existed some prejudices of Irish people towards foreigners but this has largely decreased. This essay has tackled the cultural issues of the Irish people, the ethnic relations which they project towards the rest of the world and how the Irish people carry themselves especially those who have migrated to the other parts of the world. It has eloquently skimmed through the geographical location of the Irish people. Ireland is a relatively small country and it covers 68000square kilometers of land 1400km square of water (DiscoveringIreland, 2018)
Works Cited
Belfast, (2018). Prejudices against ethnic minorities in Northern Ireland falling, official figures show
Retrieved from: https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/prejudice-against-ethnic-minorities-in-northern-ireland-falling-official-figures-shows-37559140.htmlAccessed on 24/5/2019
DiscoveringIreland.com, (2018). A map showing regions of Ireland
Retrieved from: https://www.discoveringireland.com/regions-of-ireland/Accessed on 24/5/2019
Everyculture.com, (2018). Countries and their culture: Ireland
Retrieved from: https://www.everyculture.com/Ge-It/Ireland.htmlAccessed on 24/5/2019
Loc.gov, (2019). Library of Congress: Immigration
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