Seachtain na Gaeilge is taking place in Ireland this week as part of the annual St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. According to its website, “Seachtain na Gaeilge is a non-profit organisation, which promotes the use of Irish language and culture both at home and abroad within a two-week festival held in March every year”. The literal translation of “Seachtain na Gaeilge” is “Irish Week” but in Ireland the concept of time is quite fluid and arbitrary. This year’s celebration of Irish culture began on the 5th of March and will finish on Paddy’s Day. Now, your definition of what constitutes Irish culture depends upon whether you consider yourself to be Irish or not and also upon where you call home. For example, many people who’ve never been to the Emerald Isle will possess an image of the country that has been constructed by Hollywood and the tourist industry. This Ireland is full of green fields, rolling hills and winding roads. The people that populate it are as untamed as their surroundings and filled with Celtic mysticism and Catholic guilt. The men drink far too much alcohol and this usually leads to drunken brawling. The women are just as feisty but are seen as being more religious than their male counterparts and given to having lots of babies
