Let that old song of Irish begrudgery fall on deaf ears, Boyz

YOU would hope that perhaps the pandemic would have made us better people. We might have learnt to be more mindful and appreciative, to be less critical and judgemental, to be grateful for getting through, even if we have a little less.

Yes, you would imagine that surviving a world crisis might have encouraged more altruistic thoughts about our neighbours and made any harboured resentments a thing of the past as we celebrated progress in our new, awakened state.

Not so: Ireland is still a nation of begrudgers, or so at least says Keith Duffy, pictured, formerly of 1990s boy band Boyzone. The 47-year-old, who has reignited his pop career alongside Brian McFadden of Westlife with ‘Boyzlife’, made the comment in an interview this week while discussing the pair’s success – everywhere but Ireland, that is.

According to Keith, Boyzlife are big news around the world, with a large fan base in the UK, where they are touring,

before heading to the United Arab Emirates and elsewhere. But don’t expecting to see them playing at home any time soon, as the duo won’t be doing any Irish shows.

In fact, Keith rarely even socialises in Dublin because when he goes out, he’s not sure whether he’s going to get ‘a pint or a dig’, he says.

‘It really is just begrudging. People don’t listen and they insult... People assume it is going to be sh*te because they don’t like us from the days of the 90s,’ he complained.

I have to admit, my first reaction was to agree. Like many of my fellow countrymen, I still remember Boyzone’s very first Late Late Show appearance back in 1993 (once you’ve seen it, you can’t unsee it). It was hard to imagine how these cocky, fumbling fellas, falling over themselves in a bizarre dance that looked like they were avoiding wasps, would ever do anything but continue to mortify themselves.

And even though they went on to prove us all wrong, by becoming one of the biggest boy bands in the world at the time, we still refused to take them seriously.

In a land of saints and scholars, perhaps it was simply musical snobbery. Surely Boyzone’s saccharine pop was the antithesis of our rich, cultural heritage? Nope, that wasn’t it. Even being part of one of the most influential bands of all time doesn’t guarantee patriotic asylum. Bono knows this.

‘In the United States,’ the U2 frontman noted in a New York Times interview in 2014, ‘you look at the guy that lives in the mansion on the hill and you think, “You know, one day, if I work really hard, I could live in that mansion”. In Ireland, people look up at the guy in the mansion on the hill and go, “One day, I’m going to get that b ***** d.’

Plenty of Irish celebrities have spoken out about suffering the wrath of the Irish public in the past – Rosanna Davison, Eamon Dunphy and Roy Keane, to name but a few. Ireland seems to have a very particular type of begrudgery, in which you’re deadly as long you’re no better than anyone else. But if you start to get ‘notions’, or dare to become overtly successful (especially if you leave the Emerald Isle to make your fortune), you may well be in danger of entering ‘dose’ territory.

How egalitarian. Perhaps the source of modern Irish begrudgery can be traced back to colonialism. Ireland, as a land of thwarted ambition and frustration, offered a perfect environment for a sentiment like envy to flourish, so maybe we can blame history for any tendency to choke on a compliment.

Begrudgery is not just the preserve of the Irish of course. It’s familiar the world over. As social creatures, we compare ourselves to others, so when someone we see as a peer does well, we feel threatened. As F Scott Fitzgerald wrote, ‘Nothing is as obnoxious as other people’s luck’.

When dealing with other people’s success here – especially if, like Boyzone’s, it’s perceived as fortuitous – one of two things happens: either verbal abuse ( slagging) to take them down a peg, or nothing at all.

Why do you think celebrities love to visit Ireland so much? They say they like the way they’re left alone here. But that’s not because we respect their privacy, it’s because we’d rather suck lemons than give them any more attention. Now you know why Kim and Kanye chose Portlaoise for their honeymoon – it wasn’t for its scenic value.

I think, however, like Keith in Boyzone, we’ve come a long way since those ‘self praise is no praise’ days. We champion home-grown talent and tolerate the accomplishments of our peers more. If people are still being mean to Keith and Brian, they are simply jealous that it’s not them living the dream. So boys, it’s like this – f**k the begrudgers.