Sir, – Every March we read something in The Irish Times (like Donald Clarke’s “Americans, if you want the full Irish, take it”, Opinion, March 3rd) about people in America who make silly or pathetic or, as during the Troubles, dangerous claims to Irishness.
The reality is there are countless degrees and varieties of Irishness both in and out of Ireland. Growing up in Philadelphia, I was entirely at home in my Donegal-born grandmother’s kitchen with Friels and Gallaghers announcing themselves as they entered through the always-unlocked backdoor. As a teenager I visited and fell in love with Ireland itself – and, strangely enough, with some of its people.
Later I studied at Trinity and taught Traveller children in Rathfarnham. My relationship with Ireland grew more tangled. I left but have returned to visit and can’t imagine not returning again. I have spent nearly all my adult life in Canada and have a Canadian-born wife and son.
Am I Canadian? Yes. Am I American? Yes. Am I Irish? Yes and No. Surely, if there is a people who understand that last answer, it’s the Irish. – Yours, etc,