Another St. Patrick’s Day has passed, and this one probably without a lot of green-beer-at-the-pub-action. Let’s talk about what sort of representation of Ireland we were supposed to get out of all that merriment, as it’s certainly not akin to the stern, very religious ceremonies that we the growing-up experience of our guest Larry, who’s written books, plays and many songs emanating from and often about his Irish heritage.
He joins Mark, Erica, and Brian to discuss the appeal in the U.S. of Irish culture and how it relates to history, who gets to define what’s authentically Irish, slurs and stereotypes, the range of Irish music, the character of Irish humor, Larry’s journey as front man for Black 47, and his new novel about Irish cops on 9/11: Rockaway Blue (enter 09FLYER at checkout on the Cornell Press site for a discount).
Watch one of Black 47’s old videos. Wikipedia lies about Tim. What is Ireland’s REAL national color?
Larry ‘Tim’ Kirwan? I think someone is taking the piss. In Scotland, and Glasgow in particular, Tim is a derogatory term for an Irish Catholic. Also see Taig. A lot of the sectarianism in Scotland is focused on football (aka soccer) and especially the Old Firm. Hate and religious bigotry or just a bit of banter and a good craic? It’s complex. If you want to get a taste of it watch this documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cggTbCcbcNA
Another documentary that has more of the historical background:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thZMT5gn6yk