{"id":6248,"date":"2017-03-17T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-03-17T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2020-09-12T15:48:46","modified_gmt":"2020-09-12T19:48:46","slug":"so-your-character-is-from-ireland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/victoriagracehowell.com\/staging\/6258\/so-your-character-is-from-ireland\/","title":{"rendered":"So Your Character is From Ireland … Featuring Alex (AI) @ Mouthful of Ink + Pierina @ Pierina Reads"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Happy St. Patrick’s Day! It’s time for this month’s So Your Character is From Another Country! This is a monthly or bimonthly segment where I interview lovely volunteers from around the world to give you a firsthand account of being a citizen of their respective country. I’m hoping to encourage international diversity, break stereotypes, and give writers a crash course on how to write a character from these different places on our planet. If you haven’t checked out last week’s So Your Character is From Papua New Guinea … be sure to hop on over there and give it a read!<\/span><\/p>\n

Ireland is one of the many countries I wish to travel to one day. I’ve known several people who have been and it sounds like a beautiful place. I’ve also seen Ireland fairly frequently on TV or movies whether it be the Secret of Roan Inish or on BBC. I know a fair amount this country already, but I’ve always wanted to talk to someone who’s lived in the country their whole life. Let’s welcome Alex and Pierina!<\/span>
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\nDisclaimer: The content below may be culturally shocking to some. Each of these posts are as uncensored as possible to preserve the authenticity of the cultures of each of the interviewees.<\/span>
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\nAlex (AI) is 19 and from Ireland, and feels really weird talking about herself in the third-person so she\u2019s going to stop that. I\u2019m a book blogger, voracious reader, and sporadic writer. I live in the south-east of Ireland in a country town that\u2019s so small I\u2019m not naming it for fear of someone stalking me. I live with a dog, my best friend and my mother. You can find me at my blog<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, Goodreads<\/a>, and Tumblr<\/a>.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Hi, I\u2019m Pierina. You might be thinking: is that an Irish name? No, it isn\u2019t. It is Italian. Let\u2019s just say my family is half Irish and half Italian. I definitely have more Irish genes than Italian such as the pale skin, freckles, and ability to burn instead of tan. Anyway, I live in the countryside of Kildare (the county right beside Dublin) with my parents and three sisters. I am an avid reader, a major dog lover and love doing nothing. I am currently a student at Maynooth University (hopefully graduating this Summer) and work part-time at a fish and chip shop. <\/span>
\nBlog<\/a>\/\/Twitter<\/a>\/\/Goodreads<\/a><\/span>
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\nWhat do you feel is unique to your country? Landmarks? Celebrations?<\/b><\/span>
\nAlex: <\/b>Would it be cheesy to say the literature? I think it\u2019s well-known that for its population, Ireland and Irish writers take up quite a bit more than their fair share of literary renown. And then of course apart from that, we have tonnes of landmarks, some gorgeous one like the memorial to Daniel O’Connell, and some not-so gorgeous (*ahem* the Spire *ahem*). And then just the architecture, in Dublin especially, while not particularly unique, is still absolutely beautiful in my opinion!<\/span>
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Pierina:<\/b> Each country has something unique. To Irish people, it is the history of colonization and the segregation of Northern Ireland and the Republic. Irish history remains a sore subject especially when it comes to sports and politics. To anyone who isn\u2019t Irish, Ireland is known for its shamrocks, leprechauns and the infamous St. Patrick\u2019s Day (we just call it Paddy\u2019s Day). Ireland is built on stereotypes ingrained in our culture but ones that we can sometimes play into. The Irish landscape for one is magnificent with something in every county you visit. The Burren in County Clare, Macgillycuddy’s Reeks in Country Kerry. Ireland\u2019s mountains and terrain have the power to take you from reality to a magical land, you just have to watch out for the changelings.<\/span>
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Macgillycuddy’s Reeks in Country Kerry<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Tell me about your country’s environment. What are some of your favorite places?<\/b>
\nAlex: <\/b>The question here is, what do you mean by environment? If you mean nature-wise, I love it, and it\u2019s gorgeous. We might not have exciting animals like Australia, or frozen tundras and deserts, but I\u2019ll always take my home\u2019s lush green grass and garden sparrows over that.<\/span>
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The social environment really depends on your age and where you live. I\u2019ve always complained and advocated that in small towns like my home-town there needs to be more to do for kids and teenagers between the ages of 13 and 18. Because once you\u2019re \u201ctoo old\u201d to play games on the road with your friends, but still too young to travel on your own to different towns or go drinking, there\u2019s nothing to do outside the cities. I\u2019ll share a quick photo of what I got up to at age 15 because of this.<\/span>
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There\u2019s me, age 15 at 5am camping out in the field behind a friend\u2019s house. What can you do apart from getting into trouble at that age if there\u2019s nothing else?<\/span>
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<\/span> My favourite places have always been the cities. Dublin, Galway, and Waterford especially.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Pierina:<\/b> <\/span><\/span>Generally, Ireland is a bustling little island. Of course, it depends where you are or where you want to go. Dublin is busy and flooded with people, lights and drunken messes on a Saturday night. The countryside is quiet and tranquil, the only sound is the thundering engines of tractors driving to and fro with their hay bales. There is a division between Dublin and the rest of Ireland. Dublin being more central, every other county rolling its eyes when Dublin win the All Ireland for the millionth time in a row. <\/span>
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\nPersonally, I tend to stick to the outskirts of the city and even venture to the West from time to time. Last year, my friend and I drove to Achill Island off the coast of County Mayo. The landscape was serene, the sheep baaahing and the battered cod was divine. Because I live in Kildare, I spend a lot of time in Maynooth where I attend Maynooth University, now that is a great town to be in. <\/span>
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Tell me about your country’s food. What are some of your favorite dishes?<\/b>
\nAlex: <\/b>You can\u2019t go wrong with your meat, two veg, and potatoes. Well, yes you can, considering I don\u2019t know anyone under the age of 50 that actually enjoys eating that. If you want to know how to make Irish food, you\u2019re pretty safe with just boiling the life out of every ingredient and adding nothing for seasoning except salt, pepper, and butter. So much butter.<\/span>
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\nBut then again, there is the Spice Bag.<\/span>
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Pierina: <\/b><\/span><\/span>Well not to be stereotypical but I love potatoes. Give me a cottage pie and I am happy as a cow chewing on grass. You see Ireland is going through a transition period and once again it depends where you were raised. Fast food is becoming so prominent these days as well as freezer foods. But from my own upbringing, I was raised on potatoes and vegetables. Dad made stews, Mam made casseroles. Nothing like beans on toast for breakfast though, cornflakes if you\u2019re up early for school. Pizza and pasta are becoming favourites as well as curries and kormas. Yet, there is one thing that many Irish turn to, especially on a Saturday night, and that is a good ol\u2019 bag of chips smothered in salt and vinegar. A large Full Irish fry the next morning to cure that hangover. <\/span>
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Tell me about any different speech patterns in your country. Slang? Idioms? Words for things such as \u201cbiscuits\u201d instead of \u201ccookies\u201d?<\/b>
\nAlex: <\/b>Oh, there are way too many to list in one post! And also almost all of them are rude or curse words. I think instead I\u2019ll link a video. Actually, this whole YouTube Account is a great reference for Irish culture in general (I can\u2019t tell if I\u2019m being sarcastic or not).<\/span><\/p>\n

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