The question that I will be answering in today’s blog is “What will Ireland look like in 3 years, and how is that different from today?”
Since being in Ireland we have witnessed the evidence and proof of all the great things we learned about Ireland’s booming economy. Both companies and young talent are flooding the area bringing boat loads of money into the Irish economy. Multi-nationals like Facebook, Google, and Amazon are all coming in to get a piece of the action. Although, with all of this good going on, there is a potential storm on the horizon for the Irish people.
I definitely think history may be repeating itself in Ireland, but in a different way. We have learned all about the British rule over Ireland in the 1800’s, and how their occupying the area led to people losing their Irish heritage. If it was not for the GAA and the uprising of the Irish people, Ireland’s traditions and culture could have been lost forever. If you look at what is happening today, it really isn’t that different. There is a large amount of foreign companies that are coming into the country, Dublin specifically because of Brexit. On the other hand, all of the Irish born companies that we went to visit hinted at how much of a challenge Brexit is. So, on top of the fact that there are already a ton of foreign influence coming in, the Irish companies that are here could be dying.
So what does that mean for Irish culture? Well, if it is anything like when the British came in (which it is, just less extreme), then the tradition and culture of the Irish people could be dying too. I think if Brexit turns out to be as bad as everybody expects it to be, you could see a much more commercial country, without the importance placed on culture. In just 3 years, the beloved culture of the Irish people could be lost unless they really focus on preserving it like they had to do over 100 years ago.
