12 years and you're still a blow in?! Come on! I know on our street (7 years now!) we're fully accepted, and are members of our little community. But that is insane!! I'm sure there's going to be talk of "Ah, sure, they're country folk.." but really...
There's been an interesting back and forth going on at the Dublin Community Blog about immigrants and work permits (60 comments!!), and I think it shows some of the xenophobia that happens here, which really can permeate sometimes. But I have to say you all have only shown me love, which I appreciate...
My folks live in Carlow, moved there 9 years ago from Dublin, they will always be considered blow-ins, one of their neighbours married a man from their area, she was from Castledermot just 8 km's away she feels like a blow-in.
ReplyDeleteI dunno small towns just cant seem to accept change, or possibly it has to do with not wanting to accept the sprawl of the Dublin Suburbs, and they want to hang on to their Identity.
There's the new concept to of blow-backs. People who come back to a small town having been in England for ten years etc thinking they can just slot back in.
ReplyDeleteOn a separate issue. A friend of mine just moved to Blessington from London and made a comment of finding it too lacking in cultural diversity. I thought to myself, is this not an inverse piece of racism, finding a community not acceptable because it's too white.
She could always move to Parnell Street Milan if she feels uncomfortable ;)
ReplyDeleteOk, we lived in Prosperous in Kldare, a tiny three pub town, probably initially a couple of hundred people lived there but due to dubs moving out of the big smoke looking for a bit more space and fresh air there are probably a couple of thousand there now. Now they have a graet primary and secondary school, they are well serviced and the locals (new and old) have helped to finance them. Now I'm originally from kildare, dad's family are from kildare and kilkenny and when my folks got married they moved there (to a lovely modern house in Naas) and they stayed there until I was three (mum couldn't take it any more). So I am a kildare woman (handsome....like a horse) In prosperous I was a blow in...not married to my brother and I've left the homeland for too long. My friends have lived there for about seven years, her mum and dad moved down from Dublin to be close to them, her parents are originally from the country and moved to Dublin 30 years ago (I know Ironically) they are blow ins. Her mum while having a conversation with the local owner of a little nursery (she was buying her ready made hanging baskets) listened as her gave out about the "Blow ins", now he was born and bred in kildare, his business was flourishing with Dubliners buying the flowers he sold, his daughter has a creche catering for the women who have moved to prosperous and last (but by no mean least) he sold the 10 acres of family land he had, now there are 200 houses on it...he's a millionaire!
ReplyDeleteThe lesson my dear Polka is that in Ireland (remember Dublin is in Europe, not Ireland) you'll always be a blow in....then again the other option is to be in bred...You decide!
MW, I think the local residents assoc was a far worse fate for you than the locals.
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