I was at home in Ireland last week renewing my visa. The weather was unbelievable -- so amazing that I didn't want to come back to New York. That's the problem with Ireland: there is no other place I would rather be in the sunshine. Everyone was in such good form which is a change from the way the country has been the past year and a bit. Obviously, the people of Ireland are still very concerned about bills, mortgages etc., but the weather gave them a sort of new hope and I suppose many realized that one doesn't necessarily need money to enjoy life.
Something that struck me when I as chatting to family and friends about my life in New York is that emigration is a very active topic of conversation in Ireland. People want to leave the country. They want to escape Ireland's problems. The young people of Ireland want to find a way to get away from the desperate times that Ireland is in. There is a dramatic increase in the number of people emigrating. Obviously this is due to the economic slowdown as these people feel the need to leave the country, something that is heartbreaking to think about. In one way, it can be beneficial for young adults to live away from home and gain worldly experience, but many are being forced to leave, with their only other choice being unemployment in Ireland. The Irish today (like the Irish for centuries) are emigrating to England, Canada, America, Australia and many other countries to try and carve out a new successful life for themselves.
Hopefully, these emigrants will be able to return home to their native land having gained experience and wealth and live in Ireland once again in the future. This is a very real problem, a problem that every family in Ireland in faced with. Everyone knows someone who has just left or is planning on leaving in the very near future. No one remained untouched by the death of the Celtic Tiger.
It will take a considerable time for the country to stand on its own two feet again. Confidence in the Irish government and banks has been completely shattered, something that could take an entire generation to be rebuilt.
But something good has come from this mess. During the good times, people became obsessed with money, material goods, vacations, big houses and 4X4s (or SUVs as they are called in America). People thought that these were the important things in life.
Now people understand that it is not necessary to have large sums of money to enjoy life.
Money does not bring you happiness, it give you options. The most important things in life are things like spending time with loved ones, reading a good book, taking a terrific photo, preparing and eating a meal, going to the beach etc. Yes, it's true that many people in Ireland have to start from scratch again and the country is in bits at the moment, but things will improve and I believe that a valuable life lesson can be learned from what happened. People will now be more thankful for the smaller, simpler things in life.
The Irish were almost living in a fairytale and now they have been brought back down to reality, something that I feel needed to happen. Irish history is full of hardship, heartbreak and misery and we have always managed to overcome any issues and I feel we will overcome this economic meltdown also and we will be better off as people afterwards; it will add another layer to the fascinating character of the Irish. Our morals will be returned and we will have our priorities in the right place. We'll be ok.
Bhí mé sa bhaile an tseachtaine seo caite chun mo visa nua a fháil. Bhí an aimsir chomh deas sin nár theastaigh uaim teacht ar ais go Nua Eabhrac. Sin an fhadhb l'Éire, is í an áit is fearr ar domhain nuair atá an aimsir go breá. Bhí gach aon duine níos sástaí ná mar a bhfaca mé iad le fada an lá. Tá gach aon duine trína chéile mar gheall ar chúrsaí eacnamaíocht. Tá siad buartha faoi billí, morgáistí agus araile ach leis an aimsir bhreá, tá sé soiléar nach gcaithfidh airgead a bheith ag duine chun sult a bhaint as an saol.
Rud a thug mise faoi deara agus mé sa bhaile ag labhairt le mo chlann agus cairde faoi mise bheith thall i Meiriceá, ná go dteastaíonn ó a lán daoine an tír a fhágáil. Teastaíonn uathu ealú ó na fadhbanna atá in Éirinn faoi láthair. Tá daoine óga na tíre ag lorg bealach chun sos a fháil ón droch scéal a bhfuil ag titim amach sa tír faoi láthair.Tá méadú mór tagtha ar líon na daoine a bhfuil ag dul ar imirce. Is mar gheall ar an gculú eacnamaíocht atá daoine ag iarraidh an tír a fhagáil, rud atá an-bhrónach ach dár liom, is rud maith é le déanamh uair amháin i do shaol, taithí a fháil ar cónaí áit eile ach is mór an trua é nach bhfuil an dara rogha ag na daoine óga agus go gcaithfidh siad fágáil nó bheith dífhostaithe in Éirinn. Tá siad ag dul chuig Sasana, Ceanada, Meiriceá, an Astráil agus áiteanna eile chun iarracht a dhéanamh saol nua a chruthú dóibh féin toisc nach bhfuil aon deiseanna dóibh in Éirinn faoi láthair.
Le cúnamh Dé,beidh na n-imiricí seo in ann filleadh ar a tír dúchas amach anseo tar éis dóibh cuid dá saol a chaitheamh mór thimpeall an domhain. Is fadhb iontach mór é do gach clann in Éirinn. Tá aithne ag gach aon duine ar duine ar fhág an tír le deanaí nó atá beartaithe acu le dul go luath. Ní bhfuair duine ar bith sólás ón fhadhb seo,tá gach aon duine thíos le bás an Tiogar Ceilteach.
Tógfaidh sé tamaill mhaith ar an tír teacht chuici féin agus ní bheidh muinín i rialtas nó i mbainc na hÉireann le fada an lá.
Ach faraor,tá maitheas áirithe tagtha as an ndrochscéal seo. Sna amannta maithe, bhí gach aon duine ró-thógtha l'airgead, rudaí deasa, saoire, tithe mór millteach, 4X4sf (nó SUV mar a ghloightí i Meiriceá). Cheap siad gurb iad seo na rudaí is tabhachtaí sa saol. Anois tuigeann daoine nach gá airgead a bheith ag duine chun saol compordach sona a bhaint amach. Ní thugann airgead sonas duit, tugann sé roghanna dhuit. Na rudaí is tabhachtaí ná am a chaitheamh le daoine, leabhair a léamh, pictiúr a thógáil, béile a dhéanamh, ag dul go dtí an trá agus araile. Sea, caithfidh daoine tosaí as an nua arís agus tá an tír ina phraiseach ceart ach tiocfaidh feabhas ar an scéal tar éis dúinn ceacht daor a fhoghlaim. Beidh daoine níos buíochasach as na rudái beaga sa saol. Bhí muintir na hÉireann imithe thar fóir le gach rud agus anois is daoine redúileach muid. Bhí ceacht daor le foghlaim ach mar gheall gur Éireannaigh muid, beidh muid ceart go leor. Tá stair na hÉireann lán de cruatan, briseadh croí, anó agus clampar agus d'éirigh linn an bua a bhaint amach ar sin agus éiróidh linn an uair seo chomh maith agus is níos fearr as a bheidh muid mar tír ina dhiaidh. Beidh ár móráltaí ar ais againn agus beidh ár n-aidhmeanna san áit ceart. Beidh muid ok amach anseo.
