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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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.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'
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.
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.
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!!!
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?
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?
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.
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.
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)...
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...
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!
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.
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
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!
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?
ellisk26 | Jul 09, 2012, 01:20 PM EDT
This is the silliest list I have ever seen. That's the best that Ireland gave to America? How about the thousands of Civil War soldiers that kept the country together. How about all of the Irish Congressional Medal of Honor winners? How about the Irishman who was the architect for The White House? How about the Catholic School system, which today still outperforms any public school system in the country? I could go on and on. Your writers are the first to cringe when the see lists like this around St. Patrick's Day and cry "stereotyping". Well it is lists like this that get the ball rolling on that nonsense. Please put some thought into your articles before you release them, you are starting to embarrass yourselves and the Irish in America in general.
Stiofain | Jul 09, 2012, 01:06 PM EDT
Guinness, Yes!
Scrivner | Jul 09, 2012, 12:46 PM EDT
Political leaders. Know that it's probably not too popular, but from Mayor Richard J. Daley to the Kennedys to Bernardo O'Higgins (look him up, he's quite a hero in some quarters!) the Irish have a knack for inspiring snd leading communities. At least the ones they resettle in, if not the homeland.
ciaradexy | Jul 09, 2012, 12:35 PM EDT
Seanmor, your sentiment to Irish migrants who worked as nurses, secretaries, waitresses etc is really lovely. Its just a pity Americans dont have the same respect for migrants who come to Ireland and do the same jobs here.
WoundedKnee | Jul 09, 2012, 12:35 PM EDT
edmundburke: Your version of the song's "sentiments" represents just one theory. A more common theory--and at this stage we can't know what the lyricist was thinking of, nor indeed does it matter--is that it is a song from an elderly man to his son. Either way, it's a great song. The fact that it was written by an Englishman is of no importance. My late mother--like so many other Irish people--used to love I'll Take You Home Again Kathleen, and that I believe was written by a German.
edmundburke | Jul 09, 2012, 12:10 PM EDT
Where to start? If it's "from Ireland to America", then Chicago-born and raised Michael Flatley doesn't count. However, in homage to the fine points raised by Colleen and Seanmor here, Michael WAS the offspring of sturdy 1950s Irish immigrants to Chicago, so his selection can well be measured as an appreciation to that generation. Danny Boy is also problematic. Although the tune is authentically a 200 old tune from Derry, the song and lyrics were composed by an English lawyer. The song's sentiments, about a woman's lament for a loved ones departure with the military, are not specifically Irish. Waterford Crystal also poses problems as it is now foreign owned and all manufactured off shore. Only a skeleton crew remains at the Waterford factory. My vote is for Skibberean's list.
TheOldPerfessor | Jul 09, 2012, 11:13 AM EDT
Skibberrean - good points alright. Not to mention Shaw.
Skibberrean | Jul 09, 2012, 10:44 AM EDT
ALL OF THESE ARE GREAT, HOWEVER VERY SHALLOW......WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS.....C. DAY LEWIS....JAMES CLARENCE MANGAN...THE BOOK OF KELLS...ST. PATRICK....NEED I GO FURTHER?
Seanmor | Jul 09, 2012, 10:30 AM EDT
Colleen: I agree with you. Ordinary people such as you, me, and coutless thousands others who came to the U.S. in the 50s and 60s (before the door to Irish immigrants was virtually closed) made our own worthwhile contributions to this great nation. Many of the young men of my generation hororably served in the U.S. defense forces whilt our sister immigrants worked as nurses, secretaries, telephone operaters, waitresses etc. We were always, loyal, law-abiding, good living, hard working, tax-paying resedents of our respective communities and almost none of us ever sought subsidized housing, clothing allowance, food stamps, free health care or any other benefits at the expence of U.S. taxpayers, and we scarcely ever received any help from any parish or priest. We were and are givers, not takers. As a former Marine Corpse corporal and current American Legion officer, I say to Colleen and all my fedllow immigrants of the 50s and 60: Go raibh míle maith agaibh go léir as a rinne sibhse ar son na Stát Aontaighthe.
jamieLM | Jul 09, 2012, 10:26 AM EDT
@colleenbawn, I'd put you and others like you, past and present, well ahead of things like, Bono, Danny Boy, Ryan's Daughter, etc. Congratulations to you and your family for making meaningful contributions to America as productive citizens. Some of the things on the list are nice, but I wouldn't call them the "greatest" gifts from Ireland to America.
TisEyerish | Jul 09, 2012, 10:00 AM EDT
You've forgotten the greatest gift of all that Ireland gave to the world...her people, those who emigrated to other countries. The contributions of these people are endless...from doing back-breaking work to creating works of art to entertaining us on stage and in the movies. These people, to me, are the greatest gift that Ireland gave the world...no matter whether they chose to be homemakers or business owners, policemen or construction workers.
TheOldPerfessor | Jul 09, 2012, 09:50 AM EDT
Carollover: Amen. I'll take the Pogues over brown bread any day. Irish Mist would be on my list.
colleenbawn | Jul 09, 2012, 09:48 AM EDT
What about me. I came to the USA back in the sixties with a husband and three kids. My husband and I are now comfortably retired. My children have been very successful...one is an Engineer, one a Pharmacist and one an Oncologist...each of them contributing to our American Society, and raising the future leaders and entrepeneurs of our country.
donal1951 | Jul 09, 2012, 09:34 AM EDT
Until the Catholics make a good whiskey, I'll drink Black Bush if you please.
carollover | Jul 09, 2012, 09:18 AM EDT
Shane MacGowan and the Pogues
WoundedKnee | Jul 09, 2012, 09:06 AM EDT
The claim about Bono is utter nonsense. Could the writer please tell us how he "underscored his Irishness to American audiences"? By writing songs about Martin Luther King and the Joshua Tree? What's Irish about that? A really absurd claim, which ruins the entire article.