Being Irish
About Anthony McFeely
If you want to find Anthony McFeely, look for a stack of books and a cup of coffee. As a father to four, he is kind and loving. Being Irish has shaped his experiences and made him who he is today. Although he lives in Switzerland the Irishness in him has still stayed alive.
What does being Irish mean to you?
“I suppose being Irish means very different things [to different people]. We are a small country on the western side of Europe and even though it’s 3000 miles from Ireland to the US, some people think we are closer to Boston than Berlin in terms of our politics. Being Irish means this sense of being mobile, being agile, being ready to go. This sense of displacement actually is quite important to our identity.”
How has being Irish influenced your decision to live outside Ireland for the last 20 years?
“… yeah we've [him and his wife] lived in three different countries - in the UAE, in Zurich and in the US . Looking at that I suppose it comes a lot from this background again of history and emigration with being Irish for different reasons whether it was famine, politics or poor economy so I think this sense of leaving the country was very built into my generation it’s different now that there's a better economy but being Irish meant if you had an opportunity to move you tended to take it.”
Do you think that being Irish has an affect on how you see the world around you?
“Yeah I think for sure it does, the first thing is that we’re [Ireland] a small country with a Population of just over 5 million so that means already your view of the world is that you’re a little bit smaller, you don't have a population of like the states almost 400 million or even the bigger European countries like maybe 60
- 80 million or even the really big Asian countries . So you kind of form yourself from that select view that you're smaller and in some way you have to find your way and make a mark in the world so I think that’s a big impact.”
Do you think that there are negative parts to being Irish?
“I wouldn’t like to think so but i’m sure if you dig around a little there must be. I think one thing that has probably changed now is I would say growing up we [people living in Ireland in the same generation] had a bit of an inferiority complex in that we kind of viewed more successful economies and country and things like that as being better but that maybe is a positive and it makes you fight more for what you want and what you believe in but no I would not like to think there are too many negative implication of being Irish.”
“I think that this sense of having an anchor in your life is really important and having something that you can mentally consider as home.”
-Anthony McFeely
Is it important that your kids identify with being Irish?
I don't know why, but it is really important to me that all of us remember where we are from and what formed us…I think that this sense of having an anchor in your life is really important and having something that mentally you can consider as home and as something of a base in your life. For me that's also not only about our place, it's about the Irish language, the culture, the history, the music, the poetry, the landscape, the writing, and the sport.
So you would be very proud to be Irish right?
“Yeah I know pride sometimes is seen as a negative thing. I think I feel very fortunate to be Irish and I would hope that I do whatever I can to promote Ireland as a country and yeah to take pride in the things that we have done in our country.
Would you change anything about your Irish identity?
That’s a tough one, maybe if I could, if we were out for a night, maybe to be in bed a little bit earlier !!! that would be the one thing I would change but apart from that no, wouldn't change anything.
“What's done is done and you've laid out your path and go down that road, that's it.”
