It’s a Small World
I used to love Disney World. This is a nostalgic memory, back when Disney wasn’t such a corporation and still had some goofy charm. One of my favorite things were the animatronic rides.
Yes, they were corny and kind of wonky. The figures were a little stiff and behind the beat, but the rides offered ten to fifteen minutes of complete fantasy, life in another world.
While I loved Pirates of the Caribbean more, It’s a Small World had its charms. It was interesting to see all the cultural tableaus as you drifted along a dark shallow canal in a big flat boat with thirty other people.
The figures sang and danced and gestured their way into global harmony. The world is a small place and we are all one … The song, even thinking about it, begins the earworm which could last for days.
Small Island
For some people, that small world is not a fantasy. It is a reality. Walk the world with an Irishman and you will understand.
I say understand, but I am not sure that I mean it. Because it is completely counterintuitive that an island with a population of five million could manage to have that same small population link to someone everywhere they go. It doesn’t make sense, or does it?
As an example, I was at World Market the other day. Maybe this store is a ringer because it is frequented by folks in search of the comforts of faraway homes. But I saw a gentleman lingering over some Crunchies in the Cadbury aisle.
I couldn’t resist urging him to go on, be a devil and buy a few. He was right back about the “good ones getting you in trouble.”
We ended up talking about Gurteen in Sligo and the only pub there, his connection to it, my people there…I can never understand how this happens all the time.
Irish Heritage Worldwide
The obvious answer in part, is emigration. There are 70 million people in the world who claim to have Irish heritage. The Irish diaspora, beginning with the Famine, flung citizens to every corner of the world. With that kind of movement, it is easy to imagine how a person could meet another one connected to the same area back “home.”
Meeting someone always involves asking about who your people are. There is still a sense of clan as corny as it sounds. You know where all the cousins are and what they are up to.
That means that you have a network to draw upon. Connections between families and neighbors are strong. It is a country that was built on people being able to depend on each other.
That interdependency was essential for a country that was historically more rural than other European countries. You need each other to get things done on a farm.
Ireland looms so large in peoples’ imaginations that many first-time tourists are surprised at how small it actually is. The country is about the size of Indiana. So, while cities like Galway and Dublin seem distinct and far apart to us, they are just three hours away from each other.
That sense of closeness of space is also part of why the world feels smaller. Even if your family isn’t from that specific place, it’s not far away. It’s nice and cozy.
InstaPots
Cozy doesn’t quite explain it all when you talk about the Irish in a room when they get going. They are the InstaPots of human relationships. Irish people are so warm and charming. They make quick connections with strangers.
The charm isn’t a mustache twirling obvious charm, it’s a curiosity about you and attention that is rare in this navel gazing world.
The frequent tease that I hear is that they are running for mayor. They remember your aunt’s name and that she was sick last year, and they think to ask how she is now. But they don’t want anything. It’s just who they are.
To be fair, Ohioans are not a cold group of people either. The small world phenomenon exists among us but maybe not as strong. I’m not sure what our diaspora is about.
Jobs is part of it. The other part has something to do with this area not having a glamorous reputation. It is a place to come from as opposed to a destination. We have met so many people on vacation that lived in Ohio at some point in time it’s not even funny.
Irish Curiosity
If you are reading this closely, you see the active part of how this works. A big part of the small world phenomenon is curiosity.
Irish people often have an infinite curiosity about people and a desire to make connections. They want to meet people and they will try to do it.
The connections are part of the juice, the good stuff. The world is comfortable when we all connect. That’s why that boat fantasy world works, despite the slightly creepy dolls singing and blinking dozily in the dark. Plus, it offers the opportunity for some fun.
The day is better for having a bit of craic about being naughty eating Crunchies. It beats walking around in a daze listening to Muzak. Give it a go, shrink the world a little bit.
PS. To the man at World Market, my people want to know more about your people. Shoot us an email.
