Stories, Music, and People in Ireland

Unit04_Welcome to Ireland                                                       p.87

Literature in Ireland

Irish people love stories, and many great writers were born in Ireland. Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) was a churchman in Dublin. In his book, Gulliver’s Travels, a man called Gulliver leaves his home and visits many strange countries. In Lilliput, all the people are about ten centimeters tall and in the country of the Houyhnhnms, horses are cleverer than people. But when Gulliver comes home, nobody believes his stories.

James Joyce (1882-1941) wrote all his stories about Dublin. His most famous book, Ulysses, is 700 pages long. It is the story of everything that one man, Leopold Bloom, does in Dublin in one day, June 16, 1904. Every year on June 16, Bloomsday, people visit Dublin to talk about Ulysses and to visit the places in the story.

Joyce’s friend, Samuel Beckett (1906-1989) won the Nobel Prize for his work in the theater. His most famous work, Waiting for Godot, is about two poor Irish men who are waiting for a man called Godot. Perhaps Godot is a man, or perhaps he is God — they do not know. But he never comes.

Music and Dance in Ireland

Unit04_Welcome to Ireland                                                       p.88

Ireland has many famous musicians. Bob Geldof is one of them. His mother died when he was seven. Young Bob was often alone and always poor. He saw many poor people in Dublin. Bob Geldof wanted to live in a better world. In 1984 he organized a charity group, Band Aid and planned a concert called Live Aid the following year. He used the money from the concerts to help hungry people in Africa. In 2005 he did this again, with a concert called Live 8 with another Irish musician called Bono.

Bono is in an Irish group called U2. Some people say that U2 is the biggest rock band in the world. Like Bob Geldof, the band does a lot of work to help the poor people of the world. Two other famous Irish pop groups are the boy bands, Boyzone and Westlife. There are famous women singers too, like Sinead O’Connor and Enya.

Most people in Ireland love music and dance. The Irish word for party is ceili, a time for people to tell stories as well as play music and dance. It has been hundreds of years since the Irish people started dancing at ceilis. In many Irish dances, the dancers keep their hands still by their sides, and move their feet and legs very quickly. Irish dancing is not only an Irish pastime anymore. It has become popular all over the world. Irish dancers are famous in many countries. Thousands of people have seen them in Riverdance and Lord of the Dance for over 20 years.

Unit04_Welcome to Ireland                                                       p.89

Places and People in Ireland

Unit04_Welcome to Ireland                                                       p.90

Ireland is a country with high mountains, big beaches, and long rivers. It also has beautiful towns and cities. Dublin is the most important city in the Republic of Ireland. One of the most beautiful buildings is the Custom House. There is a nice walk along the River Liffey from the Custom House to O’Connell Bridge. North of the bridge is O’Connell Street.

South of O’Connell Bridge is Trinity College, Ireland’s oldest and most famous university. Near Trinity College you can see the famous statue of Molly Malone. People say that she was a poor but beautiful girl who sold fish on the streets. There is a famous Irish song about Molly.

In Dublin’s fair city

Unit04_Welcome to Ireland                                                       p.91

Where the girls are so pretty,

I first set my eyes on sweet

Molly Malone,

....

Walking along the streets in Dublin, you can visit museums, theaters and fine shops. You can also meet Irish people who are not only kind but also friendly. They want people to visit their island, to walk in their beautiful mountains, to fish in their quiet rivers, to sing and laugh and dance at their ceilis, and most important of all, to enjoy themselves. Most of the time, the Irish are the friendliest people in Europe. And the three most important words in the Irish language are:

Céad míle fáilte

“A hundred thousand welcomes.”