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The top ten greatest gifts from Ireland to America

The people and products that make the world green with envy

JAMES O'SHEA,

IrishCentral Staff Writer

Published Monday, July 9, 2012, 7:56 AM

Updated Monday, July 9, 2012, 9:52 AM

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Maureen O'Hara

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1. Maureen O’Hara - She starred in “The Quiet Man”, the Irish movie that has captured the hearts of millions of Irish Americans and will continue to do so for ever.

2. Waterford Crystal - For generations the embodiment of the best that Ireland could offer and produce. Still number one on most Irish Americans' gift list.

3. Michael Flatley - The embodiment of the Irish American influence on Ireland, he liberated Irish dance along with the “Riverdance” producers and later struck out on his own.

4. “Danny Boy” - Love it or hate it, it has become the needed adjunct to many Irish gatherings, combining sentimentality and sadness at our historic plight.

5. Maeve Binchy - Her books were the “Fifty Shades of Grey” of their day and still are massively popular with Irish American women and “chick-lit” seekers.

6. Bono - The quintessential rock star has retained his massive appeal but has always underscored his Irishness to American audiences.

7. Guinness - The black brew embodies Ireland for millions of Irish Americans and is associated with good cheer and a fine time.

8. Jameson - Coming up fast, the Irish whiskey has bewitched Lady Gaga and millions of other Americans as it takes off.

9. “Ryan’s Daughter” – This movie is nowhere as popular as “The Quiet Man” but it absorbed millions of Americans who saw it and encouraged them to visit Ireland.

10. Brown bread/soda bread - The humble Irish staples have continued to grab the loving attention of millions of Irish in America who want a taste of the old sod - literally.

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31 Comments

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MPPM | Jul 29, 2012, 12:40 PM EDT

Woundedknee: congratulations I can see you know some Spanish. No need to insult me though. You wouldn't like to be called some "f" word. There are some foreign migrants in Spain - & yes, unfortunately there are racist people in Spain too -, especially from South American countries where you claimed we committed mass murder, slavery, etc.. You Irish like to state that against many other nations because Ireland was one of the colonized countries and not the opposite. I'm sure you will say the same to English, Portuguese, French, Dutch etc.. And do not give me the lecture about how good you are, with your Nun Laundries, and you awful mental institutions and your pedophile priests. You are not even good to yourselves, your own daughters, mothers, (especially taking into account you're all mammy's boys!). How hypocritical! Man, woman, whatever... there's no way I would like to be your 'buddy'

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MarkMary73 | Jul 18, 2012, 04:13 PM EDT

Sorry, but "Ryan's Daughter" does not belong on this list. I found Lynch's portrayal of the Irish, and the backdrop of the Irish struggle for independence, as misshapen and facile as the phony village it was filmed in. The film does not do justice to the Irish people or the "terrible beauty" of the times intended to be portrayed.

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ciaradexy | Jul 11, 2012, 11:54 AM EDT

Sean, i really dont care about caribbean migrants or Irish migrants in the US. I care about my country and my family & friends.

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ciaradexy | Jul 11, 2012, 07:30 AM EDT

George, ''But you still haven't told us here in what respect the Irish were deficient so as to make them deserve the settlement of their country by foreign migrants.'' ITS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS WHAT HAPPENS HERE!!! YOURE A FOREIGNER!!!

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Seanmor | Jul 10, 2012, 08:01 PM EDT

Some immigrants are a valuable asset to the host country, while others are a heavy burden. In the late 1980s a NYC daily newspaper told about a middle-adged woman from the Caribbean area who was unemployed, homeless and penniless. An advocate for the homeless arranged a court hearing for her and the judge ordered NYC to provide shelter for this immigrant. The city found her a hotel room that cost $100 a day. At that time I knew a waitress from Ireland living in Yonkers Yonkers wh0 got up at 4 every morning in order to start her shift at 6AM in a midtown restaurant. This waitress paid taxes to the IRS, N.Y state, N.Y City (where she worked)and Yonkers (where she lived). Should the Irish waitress have begun work at mindnight and pay extra taxes so that the Caribbean woman could be kept in a more luxurious residence?

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WoundedKnee | Jul 10, 2012, 01:20 PM EDT

ciaradexy: You're a hypocrite, because on another site you post offensive racist slurs about Romany people. But you still haven't told us here in what respect the Irish were deficient so as to make them deserve the settlement of their country by foreign migrants. Why do right-wing globalists like you think the Irish have no right to a national homeland? And why do you lie when you represent yourself as speaking for the majority of people in Ireland? All evidence shows that most Irish people, usually over 70% when polled, express opposition to the Mad Mass Inmmigration policy of importing foreigners and making young Irish men and women leave. Why do racists like you support that?

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WoundedKnee | Jul 10, 2012, 01:15 PM EDT

mppm: Knock off the stupid racist slurs if you want to post here. So you claim you're Spanish? Well then don't tell Irish people what to think of the settlement of their country by foreigners. The Spanish already carried out Mass Immigration in Peru, Mexico, Cuba etc. etc., in which millions perished through murder, slavery and disease, so don't bother preaching your racism to me or any other Irish citizen. Check out Madrid or Barcdelona the next time you're in Spain. Those cities have far lower rates of foreign migrants than does Dublin. Gilipollas racista. And don't call me "man" you idiot, I'm not some buddy of yours.

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ciaradexy | Jul 10, 2012, 12:28 PM EDT

Sean, so whats your point? We did indeed get on grand without migrants but then we had a massive boom in jobs and we needed people to do these jobs so the migrants came to Ireland and started working in these jobs. As a friend of mine said when I asked him why wouldnt he take a hotel job instead of moving to Australia, He said, 'I didnt spend 4 years studying engineering to work serving tourists' and hes right. We have 70,000 unemployed migrants on welfare here. They couldnt claim it if they werent working. Asylum is a different issue. Im sure if your family were being murdered and raped and were burnt out of their home or feared for their lives then you too would be glad of asylum. You only have to look at the news to see what people are fleeing so have some compassion.Youre not in Ireland anymore and have spent most of your life in the US, You migrated so you have absolutely no right to criticise people who do the same in coming to Ireland. They do not affect your life in any way. I pay tax here not you so its my money that is used not yours. You are not affected by migration to Ireland and the hyporisy of Irish migrants and their families is sad.

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johnshiel | Jul 10, 2012, 11:19 AM EDT

greater longevity for American men, due to the Irish wool "paddy hats" they wear on their (bald?) pates to stave off the cold(s)...

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MPPM | Jul 10, 2012, 07:36 AM EDT

WoundedKnee, again. You really are a very racist person as some other have commented here. Where are all those nationalities you mention? I walked the other day in Grafton St. and there were a lot of Spaniards (mainly students coming here to give you money) but I was glad (being Spanish myself). It's nice to see people from other countries. Broaden your horizons, man...

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WoundedKnee | Jul 10, 2012, 07:24 AM EDT

"I think they were the greatest gift, otherwise Ireland would be terribly crowded". You obviously haven't been over there for a long time, greyfel. Ireland IS getting very crowded. In fact walk down Dublin's O'Connell Street and you'll be immersed in a sea of humanity. Around you there will be Bulgars, Afghans, Kurds, Kuwaiti, Estonians, Moldovans, Borneans, Burundis --need I go on? You might even see an Irish person if you look hard enough!

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Seanmor | Jul 10, 2012, 01:22 AM EDT

ciara: Ireland, North and South, got along very well without immigrants up to about the mid-90s or so, when foreihners in large numbers, legal and illegal, began to settle there. By 2009 immigrants on welfare were costing the Southern Irish state €400 million a year, and currently asylum seekers are costing that state €100 million a year. Those of us who emigrated from Ireland to the U.S. in the 50s and 60s needed a U.S. citizen to sponsor us, and all males under the age of 26 had to register for the draft. Between the late 50s and mid-60s, I was one of at least 10 from the same parish in Ireland who served in the U.S. military - one of whom would later be awarded the Medal of Valor as an NYC cop.

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Redrowan | Jul 09, 2012, 07:10 PM EDT

Many of you too young to remember the impact that the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem had on the Irish in America in the 60's. But the memories of people are short lived. You could have a list with 100 and still leave some one off that somebody else liked. Opinions: every body's got one. Red

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firehawk | Jul 09, 2012, 05:23 PM EDT

what about Maureen O'Sullivan? and what about the 1916 Easter Rising Centenary Coins from 1916uprising.ie ? Great gifts!

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greyfel | Jul 09, 2012, 04:38 PM EDT

The Irish people who came to America and settled here were my ancestors along with the Scottish people who came here. Anyway, I think they were the greatest gift, otherwise Ireland would be terribly crowded and the USA wouldn't have all of the lovely Irish American citizens. While you were mentioning whiskey, etc. why not give a shout to the amazing Irish horses and ponies?

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