We All Need Craic!

It was a cold and grey morning when I landed in Dublin for the first time in mid-January 1989. In those days, Ireland was in a bleak state: it was one of poorest countries in Western Europe; unemployment rate had remained above 15% for at least half a decade; public debt was at 120% of GNP; there was mass emigration, with 200,000 people (over 5% of the population) leaving the country during the decade. No wonder Ireland was not a very popular destination. There were few tourists, less so in winter, and most were from other European countries. At the time, the Irish population was not diverse at all so everyone knew I was a tourist just by looking at me. But it was not a bad thing: locals would ask me if I needed help going somewhere and would actually take me there at times. Amazingly friendly people.

A lot has changed since then. Though still recovering from the 2008 economic crisis, Ireland is in much better shape today: it is attractive to multinationals, unemployment rate is declining, and the Irish economy was the fastest growing in the European Union last year, with forecasts predicting it will continue to have the highest growth rate in the EU through 2016.

But without a doubt, the biggest change on the island took place in Northern Ireland. From 1968 to 1998, Northern Ireland was plagued by The Troubles, violent conflicts between unionists (mostly Protestants who want to remain part of the United Kingdom) and nationalists (almost exclusively the Catholic minority who want to become part of the Republic of Ireland) that resulted in over 3,600 people dead and more than 50,000 maimed or injured. Peace came in 1998 when the Good Friday Agreement established a power-sharing government that must include both unionist and nationalist parties. But old enmities die hard...in several cities, including the capital Belfast, there still stand several so called Peace Walls, built during The Troubles to separate unionist and nationalist neighborhoods, and minimize violence. There are plans to remove all Peace Walls by 2023 but here's an interesting fact that almost no one hears about: some walls have gates and to this day, they are closed at night! If you take a black taxi tour (which I think is a must), you will see the walls and political murals in both the Protestant and Catholic neighborhoods as well as learn more about Belfast’s recent troubled history.

A place with so much turmoil needs weather to match. Ireland is known as Emerald Isle, almost 100% green when seen in a satellite image. The lushness comes from rain but it is not steady...it is more dramatic than that. There can be a downpour for 15 minutes, followed by sun for 20 minutes, then some hail followed by more rain. You will likely experience all weather conditions in a single day in Ireland. Your outdoor experience will depend a lot on luck as you can get stuck with several cloudy and rainy days in a row (as happened to me in 1989) or you can have hours of sunlight, as we were graced with when visiting the amazing Cliffs of Moher, towering stone faces that plunge vertically into the sea and stand against gale force winds that will sweep you down to sea if you don't have enough rocks in your pockets.

One thing that the Irish talk about, look for and enjoy is craic, a Gaelicization of the word crack. You will have it too and won't need to check into rehab afterwards. In the Irish context, it means fun or good times, usually involving good company (easily found in Ireland) and music, and perhaps that is why live music is frequently found in Irish pubs.

Speaking of music, many may not know it but next year will mark 40 years that 5 punk-inspired lads in their mid-teens formed a band called Feedback (later Hype) in the north side of Dublin (even today people jokingly say that you only go to the north side if you want to get robbed). They chose that name because it was one of the few musical technical terms that they did know. No, they didn't know much...but they learned and less than two years later, five became four and changed their name to U2. The rest is history. And whether you like them or not, one thing you have to realize: an Irish band achieving the level of success that they did in the mid- to late ‘80s was nothing short of extraordinary. I know this because I love rock & roll and, in fact, only learned English because I wanted to understand song lyrics and only started to travel because I wanted to buy CDs that weren’t distributed in Brazil at the time. Silly teenage whims, yes...but that took me places.