Why the Diaspora embraces Ireland and why Ireland should embrace it back

Gavin: A very nice comment all around. The Irish in Ireland can learn from the Irish-Americans, (and the plastic paddies in Britain too!!), and we can learn from the Irish in Ireland. The affection and connection with Ireland is very real for those of us who come from there, but may not live there.

AngryPaddy: Im guessing by your comment your the resident Troll, but if im wrong please reply with a comment of some though and substance and prove me wrong. PS I was working on the wend hence my inability to get around and socialise a little. Looking forward to hearing from you ;-)

John Tynan's view is certainly not representative of Irish-descended Americans, at least not of women! I have several relatives of past generations who graduated Notre Dame, but that university wins little respect at present in Irish America. Notre Dame, particularly its football team, is not a rallying point for us, except maybe for the misty-eyes men who remember Ronald Reagan in his Hollywood days telling the boys to "win one for the gipper." American schmaltz, not Irish! Visit Ireland for a football game? Are you folks out of yer ever-lovin' minds?

The "Ireland" mentioned in the title of the above article is apparenly the Souhern Irish state, many of whose citizens now consider thmselves European first and Irish second -if al all. High ranking Partitionist politicians no doubt welcome the dollars U.S. tourints spent in the Irish state, but they care little or nothing about those of us whose Irishness applies to the whole nation, especially nuair a labhraimid an Ghaeilge, teanga nach bhfuil meas mo mhada ag na poiliteoiri uirthi.

Hi "AngryPaddy" - Thanks you for your kind words about the Irish. You really showed your class and manners there. In case you haven't heard of it, there's a group you should join as they may (or may not) be able to help you. It's called "Shitewriters Anonymous". Éamonn, Dublin, Ireland.

Gavin:The reason you didn't get around to meet any supporters is you could not afford to,as for this imaginary love affair between Notre Dame supporters & Ireland is hogwash,most of the students could not give a hoot about Ireland and yes we do see you as a nation of drunken backward idiots run by a bunch of crooks

I for one was really happy to see everyone over for the game, didn't have much time to get around and meet many of supporters but did wander through temple bar and could see a lot of smiles and there was a pretty nice vibe in the air, can't knock that! From my perspective there is a something of a problem in Ireland that we haven't fully embraced returning members of the diaspora in the past, I think one of the reasons for this was that the Irish perception of what Americans perceived the Irish to be. When I was growing up(im 30 odd now) my view of americans was formed solely and unfortunately only through Irish and the odd bit of American TV, most of which painted us as a bunch of drunken backwards idiots, and Americans as cheesy, violent spendthrifts, at least that was the content I came to see! Kind of made me think we were a bit of a joke to America,thus I would never of been fully comfortable in a conversation with an american traveling here, also to be fair the picture that was painted of Americans was not to complementary. I was fortunate enough to have the chance to travel for many years in my twenties and thankfully met many Americans along the way, all of which enlightened in regard to the American perspective and American culture, a couple of those were Irish Americans who taught me a thing or two about how they view their heritage and how they view the Irish, Changed my view completly!! I guess what im trying to say is the more person to person contact I had with Americans the more I came to like and respect them. sorry for the long post but I felt its something that is pretty relevant to many Irish of my age and is regulary overlooked Peace

Apparently many Irish supporters of Notre Dame on both sides of the Alantic have forgotten tate the graet Catholic University that takes its name from OUR LADY covered up statues of the Blessed Mother and other religious icons lest they offend the non-believing guest from the Whoite House on whom they bestowed an honorary degree.

firehawk are you sure you are not American-profiteering off what your country has seen fit to proclaim a homecoming? I'm coming over between the ND.Navy game and 2013 but don't feel the need for the services you profiled!

This issue is such a double edged sword. Many Irish-Americans, like myself, are dismayed that Ireland is becoming too "Euro-Trashed" because of its concessions to the EU. HOWEVER, is it fair to the Irish to try to live up to a "romantic" version of "The Olde Sod" that hasn't existed in generations?

well will the great Irish Diaspora in America please put its money where its mouth is and support a small Irish company that is promoting the centenary commemorations of the 1916 Easter Rising by issuing gold, silver and bronze coins/medallions in its honour. That's 1916uprising.ie doing the very best in stringent times. So come on Irish Diaspora help this firm out. I'll repeat it, that firm is: 1916uprising.ie

If the government of Ireland had the sense of a church mouse, they would immediately realize that having a loyal base of 80,000,000 people provides some leverage. For years Sinn Fein has capitaized on the Unity dreams of the Diaspora. It's real power, it's there - use it. As for the nail biting over that silly certificate - it won't even get you a discount on petrol!

Ironic that this woman Burne professes to be so concerned about "home". It's just a week or two ago that I saw her being attacked in an Irish newspaper for an article she wrote. Byrne had criticized the fact that many (certainly not all) street signs in Dublin are bilingual, English/Irish. (Usually the Irish language version is spelled wrong). Byrne maintained that the fact that the signs were in English and Irish made it hard for American tourists to follow them. What an utter fool.