Can the Irish save civilization again?
In his 1995 best-seller “How the Irish Saved Civilization,” Thomas Cahill told the remarkable story of how Irish monks, inspired by St. Patrick, not only preserved the classics during the Dark Ages and chaos following the fall of Rome but also re-introduced literacy and learning throughout Europe. Today, as tribalism and xenophobia surge amid fears about terrorism and technology, the environment and the economy, perhaps we should all look again to Ireland for some hope for the future.
Ever since St. Patrick inspired the Irish to abolish slavery sometime in the mid-fifth century (i.e., some 14 centuries before we in the U.S. did), Ireland has been proud of its tradition of encouraging equality. That tradition runs so deep in a nation where 84 percent of the population identify themselves as Roman Catholic that, in 2015, it became the first country to legalize same-sex marriage by a popular vote. That same year, with overwhelming popular support, transgender people received the right to self-declare their gender for drivers licenses, passports and marriage.
In his classic story “The Dead,” James Joyce praised Irish hospitality. A century later, with a foreign-born population roughly the same size as that of the United States (about 13 percent), that tradition continues to flourish. Unlike its not-always-benevolent neighbor England, Ireland still welcomes immigrants seeking work. Today the Republic’s population of 4.5 million includes about 122,500 residents from Poland, 112,500 from Great Britain, and 17,600 from Nigeria.
Instead of marginalizing those noncitizens, Ireland allows all of them to vote in local elections. And in one of history’s true ironies, after a 700-year struggle to achieve freedom from England, the Irish also allow citizens of Great Britain residing in the Republic to vote in elections for its Dáil or Congress.
One area where Ireland could certainly be a model for all of us is its sense of financial responsibility. During the world’s Great Recession in 2008, the Irish found themselves with the highest level of household debt relative to disposable income in the developed world, a massive 190 percent. The following year, their economy plummeted a crippling 7.1 percent.
With a minimal amount of grumbling, the country adopted the most austere economic policies in Europe, including pay cuts for all public and civil servants (including politicians). Within six years, it had the fastest-growing economy in the European Union. In 2014 the German finance minister announced that Germany, the fourth-largest economy in the world, was “jealous” of what Ireland had done. Apparently nothing helps an economy rebound quicker than cutting politicians’ pay.
Above all, in a world where armed conflict seems universal and inescapable, the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Great Britain agreed in 1998 to end an ancient conflict by signing the Good Friday Peace Accord. What seemed like an intractable religious, economic and cultural struggle gave way to a peace that has lasted for almost two decades.
So this March 17, when everyone has a chance to become Irish for a day, perhaps in our toasts to St. Patrick we can also resolve to become more like the Irish — more tolerant, more hospitable, more welcoming, more responsible and more peaceful.