Postcards from the Edge Mary Kenny
Mary Kenny celebrates the news that Ireland, historically underpopulated, produces more babies than any other developed society
Ireland is gearing up for seven exhausting referenda in 2018.
There’s one on whether sixteen-yearolds should be allowed the vote; and a controversial referendum on whether to liberalise Irish abortion law. At present, the law only allows termination of pregnancy if the woman’s life is in danger.
The demographics around the subject of fertility are fascinating. Ireland currently has the highest birth rate in the EU, with 16.1 annual births per 1,000 of the population. The average EU rate is 10.1 per thousand.
Many of the other European nations – including the nominally Catholic Italy, Spain and Portugal – have exceptionally, even catastrophically, low birth rates. But Ireland continues to produce more babies than any other developed society. Some feminists would no doubt say this is because pregnancy choices are constrained, although contraception is legal and easily available. Actually, a survey earlier this year indicated that many middle-class Irish couples wanted larger families than they had, while many working-class families wanted smaller ones. (This may be similar in many societies – the availability of housing being strongly linked to family size.)
Low birth rates in some other European countries have led to grumbling about the higher fertility of immigrants. The Alternative für Deutschland party campaigned to persuade German women to have more babies rather than leaving fertility to migrants. And the French National Front has frequently expressed its disapproval that the most popular name for male infants now in France is Mohammed.
Ireland has quite high immigration for a small country – the number migrating inwards increased by 84,600 this year – and 11.8 per cent of residents in the country are now non-irish. Yet there is no right-wing political party, no anti- immigrant movement and no palpable hostility to immigrants of any kind.
Could this be linked with the continuously high Irish birth rate? That’s to say, if a host nation feels they’re keeping up their own indigenous numbers, then people don’t get windy about being ‘outbred’ by incomers?
Granted, most emigrants into Ireland are from other parts of the EU (and that will increase by leaps and bounds after Brexit); so the French fear of too many infants called Mohammed isn’t replicated. There are Syrians in County Roscommon, and a thriving Brazilian community in County Clare, but, sure, they all seem to fit in just grand.
In the past, Ireland has been an under-populated country – fear of depopulation runs deep. So maybe an increasing population, from native babies to incoming migrants, is still welcome. But then the psychology of demographics is only in its infancy.
Ireland had a referendum in 1995 to introduce divorce.
My late friend Stan Gebler Davies heard a couple of farmers in West Cork discussing this prospect. ‘’Twill be great, altogether!’ they were joking. ‘There’ll be free women all over the country!’
Stan intervened to suggest that there might be a downside to all these ‘free women’. A man might have to pay alimony, child maintenance and, horrors!, he might even have to part with half the farm after a divorce. A pause set in.
‘Ah, now wait a minute, lads…’ one of the rustics reflected.
The referendum just squeaked past the post by 1 per cent.
Surely Dame Vera Lynn must be declared Oldie of the Century. At the age of 100, she’ll probably be the best-selling female artist of 2017 with the release of her centenary album, Vera Lynn 100, this year. It’s a re-orchestrated compilation of all the old favourites, from ‘We’ll Meet Again’ to ‘A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square’, and it’s delightful.
Dame Vera has done more than sing about the White Cliffs of Dover; she has more or less saved them. She gave her backing, and her image, to a campaign to save the chalk cliffs, which swiftly raised £1 million. The money will allow the National Trust to buy land behind the clifftop which will keep them as a safe landmark, rather than exposed to possibly dodgy development.
Dame Vera’s image alone was enough to elicit an instant public response. What a gal! And what an iconic oldie!
Following my observations on how much German has penetrated English, I’m now wondering about the influence of Swedish and Danish after all those Scandi noir thrillers on TV. But I suggest only two words of Swedish and Danish have made it into our everyday consciousness: ‘Absolut!’ and ‘Tak!’
National treasure Kate Adie is an ace Swedish scholar. Her degree is in Swedish and she informs me Swedish is the only two-tonal language in Europe. Absolut!