Sort Of

I’ve always been uneasy about patriotism. Growing up in Ireland, I resented Irish culture being imposed on me and those who tended to express hatred to anyone who was in any way positive towards British people. They used to call them “West Brits”. And I had no love for anyone who sympathized with republican terrorists. Back in the 1970s and 1980s, hardly a day went by when you wouldn’t hear about some awful atrocity committed in Northern Ireland. Thankfully, things are better there now. But Ireland, North and South feels very different.

Yet, I like different nations and regions having distinctive cultures. For example, if I’m travelling around the UK, I like the fact that Wales, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own character. So, I like the fact that the Republic of Ireland has its own character. But I’m not keen on the hateful sort of patriotism. I lived in the UK back in 1983, when Maggie Thatcher was Prime Minister. It didn’t feel much different to living in Ireland. And if we’d never become independent, I can’t see Ireland having been much different. People would be the same and the look of the cities and countryside would be the same. Ireland would still be Ireland. Sometimes patriotism almost seems like idolatry – Mother Ireland and all that. But you don’t meet as many people who glorify Ireland in that way nowadays.

Three Irish groups that made me feel patriotic back in the 1970s were Thin Lizzy, Horslips, and The Undertones. The Undertones were from Northern Ireland, but they were from Roman Catholic Derry, so we identified with them. I should include Dana too, who won the Eurovision for Ireland in 1970. We were so proud.

And I should mention a few other Irish artists that make me feel patriotic: Gilbert O’Sullivan, The Boomtown Rats, U2, Rory Gallagher, The Corrs, and Ash. We even had an Irish James Bond –Pierce Brosnan. And Richard Harris, who played Dumbledore in Harry Potter, was from Limerick, which is where I currently live. It’s also where The Cranberries came from. But I’m from Cork. I’m probably more of a Corkman than an Irishman, funnily enough.

And some people believe that Ireland played a major role at one time in spreading Christianity across pagan Europe and even in saving civilization. So that should make me feel patriotic, as does Saint Patrick, who ranks as one as the most well known Christian missionaries after the apostle Paul.

So what does patriotism mean to me? Well, very little. I’m pleased that I’m from Cork, and I’m pleased to be Irish, but I’m much happier to be a citizen of heaven. And God loves the whole world. I think that it is nice to have different cultures in different regions, but I’m not a fan of war, except in computer games 😀. My grandfather fought in World War I. If I had to fight in a war, I think I would have liked to have fought against Hitler in World War 2.

But I’m more interested in spreading the gospel and fighting the good fight of faith. Yet, I wonder what kind of a country I’d be living in if Europe and the US hadn’t stood up to the likes of Hitler and other brutal regimes and terrorist organizations. Ireland have benefitted by the sacrifices of others while remaining neutral, although, I suspect that a good number of Irish people have joined the armed forces of surrounding nations. My own father was in the US army for a few years back in the late 1950s. As it happened, that was the period between the Korean and Vietnam War. And my grandfather fought in Gallipoli, as did so many other Irish people.

I do respect those who lay down their lives for others, and I would like to think that I’d be willing to lay down my life for the people of Ireland if we were threatened by truly evil forces. War does raise all sorts of debates. I was once a pacifist, but I soon learned that things are a bit more complicated.

Yet, my focus remains on being a citizen of heaven.

Philippians 3:20
 ²⁰ But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,

Hebrews 11:16
Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

These hymns emphasize unity and the fact that the Christian faith isn’t tied to specific cultures:

And these two have an Irish flavour to them: