MY NEWS AGGREGATOR scrapes places from 13 different time zones and returns with delightful things -- like Chris Gulker's pictures. He shot some beautiful images in Dublin and got me thinking about how the people behind the landscape must have changed since his last visit before the turn of the century. I believe a New Ireland emerged in the late 1990s and it's very apparent to those returning visitors or natives who left Ireland in the 80s.
It's an Ireland chock-full of confident twentysomethings.
Where its beautiful women seem to be acquiring orange tans and where natural red heads are going blonde.
It's an Ireland whose counter service is likely to be non-Irish.
It's an Ireland resisting its melting pot mandate--slipping away from being The Land of the Thousand Welcomes.
It's Rip-Off Ireland where it's cheaper to buy a pint of Kilkenny in Berlin than down the street from the brewery.
It's a land of traffic hell.
I like New Ireland, bought a house here, and feel obliged to contribute to her culture. I'm surprised at the rise of unapologetic consumerism and worried about the total demise of vocations of service. But I'm not alone in my concerns and I think that means New Ireland will emerge from this decade with a blend of confidence and creativity--characteristics that would make the Global Irish proud.
Chris Gulker -- "Irish music" snapped in the back room of O'Donoghue's pub just off Stephen's Green in Dublin.
More: "Ireland on Pause" on InsideView, July 24, 2012.
Bernie Goldbach curates links about Ireland.
