Irish Or America Case Study

Even though there are many similarities between the Scottish and Irish cultures, there are also many differences. For one, the Scottish have trouble defining what Scottish culture is, this is because they joined the UK at a very early time. Because of this, much of Scottish culture has joined together with English culture. This could be seen when we were walking around Glasgow and saw many English Art and sculptures, as well as walking around the Holyrood house in Edenborough. And now that Scotland may break away from England, the people cling to fantasy and mystery, as well as their own accomplishments to create and define Scottish culture.

Not all the Irish drink and the stereotype is false in many cases pertaining to Irish Americans.

    The overall organization of the U.S. and Irish government has a lot of similarities but also has its differences. Ireland is known to be a parliamentary democracy and has 3 branches of government, which are the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary branch. The United States is similar in the way that they also have three branches of government which are the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branch and has a democracy. The constitution was the foundation for the U.S government just like it was for the Irish government and how they govern their country. In Ireland there are many political parties while in the U.S. there are mainly only two. The Irish constitution applies to the 32 counties in Ireland but in the United States it refers to the 50 states.  In Ireland their common law system is based on the English model and in the United States it’s based on the English common law.

The book, “The Irish Way” by James R. Barrett is a masterpiece written to describe the life of Irish immigrants who went to start new lives in America after conditions at home became un-accommodative. Widespread insecurity, callous English colonizers and the ghost of great famine still lingering on and on in their lives, made this ethnic group be convinced that home was longer a home anymore. They descended in United States of America in large numbers. James R. Barrett in his book notes that these people were the first group of immigrants to settle in America. According to him, there were a number of several ethnic groups that have arrived in America. It was, however, the mass exodus of Irish people during and after the great

The United States has always been known as "The Land of Immigrants." People from all parts of the globe have traveled to America, to be free from oppression, disease, and hunger, or simply to start a new life. Many different people of different culture, race, and religion have made their mark and helped to shape the American culture. One of the most influential immigration movements in American History is the Irish Immigration.

The Scotch-Irish can trace their ancestry through Scotland and Northern Ireland. (Everyculture) The Scotch-Irish are descendants from 200,000 Scottish Lowland Presbyterians who were forced to move to Ulster in Northern Ireland in the 1600’s. Due to the economic conditions along with religious and

Stereotypes in the past had a significant impact on the Irish people. Stereotypes such as the religion of the Irish: Catholicism. Catholicism brought new holidays: Ash Wednesday and lent. English-raised Americans were scared of these. Leading to the names “vampire” and baby killer” for the Irish’s belief of wine and bread to represent Jesus Christ: Transubstantiation. Then, the Irish were compared to apes and equivalent to the blacks in the South. Irish were now seen as inferior to those of English-decent. Not only were the women unmarried, all the men were young and single. It was assumed any single woman staying in a tenement was sleeping with all the men. Leading to names “Bridget” and “Paddy” being derogatory for the Irish women and man. Whereas in reality, they were street smart and independent. Traditions were twisted into stereotypes, such as the Irish’s “pub-culture.” The men would drink before and after work in order to relax themselves for the day, but was depicted as alcoholism.

Reginald Byron, in Irish America, has pro vided a thorough historical and ethnographic picture of Irish American ethnicity in Albany, New York. In addition to deepening our knowledge of the immigration of Irish people to the United States in the nineteenth centu ry, Byron also forcefully argues against total izing narratives of ethnicity. By focusing on an Irish population that constituted a significant portion of the population of Albany, we can see that ethnicity is a complex phenomenon. Byron begins his discussion of the Irish in

The ethnography that I choose to read was titled Celtic Tides: Traditional Music in a New Age by Martin Melhuish. The book is written from the perspective of Melhuish as he talks about places he has been and memories that he had from growing up in Ireland. Celtic music has seen a huge rise in popularity worldwide over the past century due to mass media and spectacular musicians that brought it into the public spotlight. Melhuish’s goal was to find out, what is the “Celtic thing”? Why does it touch our hearts and give us vivid images of times long past? The author begins the book by investigating Celtic music in the most unlikely place, the country capital of the United States Nashville, Tennessee.

Have you ever heard someone say that the Irish are all drunks, or African-Americans are always late, or women are bad drivers? These are types of stereotypes: commonly held ideas about specific groups of people. Have you ever wondered why we stereotype others this way? What makes up these stereotypes? And where does it come from? All these questions formulate into one main idea and that is a prejudice opinions, which I have wondered for a long time. These opinions greatly affect the image of others such as African American people. As you could see in our history class that they were slaves. Because of that we considered them as the lowest class in our society. As you could see the story by BRENT STAPLES, “Black man in public space” which the author was stereotype as a scary black man. Nowadays we see that people were stereotype African American in a negative way, as lowest and scariest class.

How did Irish Immigrants culture and way of lifestyle affect the economy? Without these conflicts we would still have bad discrimination today. “What makes someone American isn’t just blood or birth but allegiance to our founding principles and faith in the idea that anyone-from anywhere-can write the next chapter of our story.” –Barack Obama

In my introduction chapter (chapter one), as well as the aforementioned introduction to my topic, I present an historical overview. This chapter gives the reader a clear picture of my goals in writing this dissertation and of the history of Irish immigration and their involvement in the American music industry. In Chapter Two, I look at the literature surrounding my research questions and take into consideration the research of other scholars. Chapter Three presents my personal research. I have included two interviews, one with fiddler, John Carty and the other with fiddler, Frank Gavin from the band, De Danann. Following the interviews, I present an ethnography taken from a gig performed by John Carty and his band, At the Racket. This ethnography

Despite the Catholic Irish people making up over 80 percent of the population, they were subjugated to the lower classes to live in squalor.

The main noted difference between the United States government and Ireland’s government is the office of President.

I decided to better my understanding and my cultural awareness on the country of Ireland given my family's Irish heritage. The island in the north Atlantic, and the northwestern part of Europe, has a rich history and a vibrant culture. It is important to keep an understanding of their culture because Ireland is not all too different from ourselves. Ranging from politics and social culture, Ireland does have a uniquely authentic identity developed through centuries of struggle. I find it is important to have a deeper understanding of their culture.