Irish identity is not disappearing, it is being carried forward by a new generation
Irish identity is not disappearing, it is being carried forward by a new generation. Across Ireland, a new generation is embracing our language, music, traditions and heritage with confidence. After generations fought to preserve what makes us Irish, it is deeply moving to see our young people carrying that legacy forward.
The Irish cultural revival is here.
For older generations, this resurgence is a powerful source of pride: a reminder that the traditions they fought to preserve are alive and thriving.
My own father fought for Irish freedom. He was only fourteen years old when he became involved, putting his life in danger on a daily basis as he travelled by bicycle carrying messages.
He was just a boy, yet he understood that something greater than himself was at stake.
I often think how proud he would be today if he could see Ireland’s young people carrying our culture forward with such resilience, confidence and strength.
He would see young people learning Irish, taking up traditional instruments, forming bands, singing our songs and immersing themselves in the music, language and traditions handed down by their ancestors.
He would see a generation discovering that their Irish heritage is not something to be left behind, but something to be embraced and carried proudly into the future, young people carrying Ireland forward.
And I believe he would be enormously proud.
I certainly am.
I have also had the privilege of playing and recording music in Ireland, London, New York and across Europe. Wherever I went, I was proud to be Irish, sharing our beautiful music and culture with audiences. For me, it was never simply entertainment, but a connection to home, our people and the generations before us.
That is why seeing young people embrace this tradition today is so powerful. It is not a revival of something lost, Irish culture was never lost. It survived because families and communities continued to pass it on.
It was carried in our homes, in our schools, our GAA clubs, our music sessions.
It was carried in the Irish language, in songs, stories, dances, folklore and literature.
It was carried by parents and grandparents who made sure that something of Ireland was handed to the next generation.
Now that next generation is taking it forward.
Irish culture is becoming cool again
Perhaps one of the most exciting parts of this movement is the enthusiasm of young people.
For a young person today, learning Irish is not necessarily something old-fashioned or embarrassing. Playing the fiddle, tin whistle, flute, accordion, concertina, banjo, or bodhrán is not simply an exercise in preserving the past. These instruments and others have all become part of modern music now.
Riverdance
And lets not forget Irish dancing and brilliant Irish dancers and the amazing influence Riverdance has had on our country.
We also have a thriving Irish Country and Folk music scene.
It is becoming something young people genuinely want to do.
Young musicians are forming bands, playing sessions, performing at festivals and sharing their music across social media.
I played at the Fleadh ceoil in Droheda and the standard of music there was just out of this world. This years Fleadh in Belfast surpassed all expectations.
Irish music and folk culture are finding new audiences. And that matters because culture survives when people live it.
A language survives when people speak it. Young people are learning Gaeilge at school and at home, speaking it with their friends and finding new ways to use the language in modern life.
A musical tradition survives when children pick up the instruments. A song survives when another generation learns the words.
A culture survives when young people decide that it belongs to them. And increasingly, that is exactly what we are seeing.
A connection to something deeper
Irish culture is much more than a collection of traditions. For many Irish people, it is part of our whole being something connected to family, place, memory, history and identity.
Our music carries the sound of generations. Our language carries the memory of a people. Our stories connect us to those who came before us. Our traditions give us a sense of belonging.
This is why seeing young Irish people embrace these things is so significant to older generations.
They are not simply learning an old tune. They are continuing a chain that stretches back through generations. They are taking something that was handed to their grandparents and great-grandparents and carrying it into the future.
And there can be no greater reassurance for those generations who feared that some of these traditions might eventually disappear.
A School Teacher
A school teacher, a man who might reasonably have been expected to teach our young people about the beauty of our people, culture, heritage and values, instead seemed to discover that a blue suit and a little power had elevated him above the rest of us, our forefathers, and everything they stood for.
Apparently, our history, traditions and values were no longer quite important enough. Instead, he chose to lecture, denounce and belittle us over worldly matters that perhaps seemed terribly important to him, even if they meant very little to ordinary Irish people.
The result? Deep hurt, enormous frustration and no shortage of trouble for our nation.
Perhaps he became lost somewhere along the way, somewhere between the blue suit, the power and the illusion of importance.
But there is one small problem with that illusion:
We are still here.
Our people are still here.
Our culture is still here.
Our language is still here.
Our music is still here.
Our traditions are still here.
And our young people are carrying them forward.
So, while some may briefly imagine themselves above the people they are supposed to serve, history has a rather inconvenient habit of carrying on without them.
The blue suit will fade. The power will pass. But Ireland, its people and its heritage will still be here long after the blue suit has been hung back in the wardrobe.
The scale of the celebration is beginning to erupt as we witness the closing chapter of the schoolteacher and the generation he sought to lead. But while his chapter may be coming to an end, the story of Ireland’s people, culture and traditions is only gathering strength.
From traditional music sessions in towns and villages to major festivals attracting enormous crowds, Irish music and culture are highly visible.
Irish culture is also reaching a worldwide audience through social media, connecting young people in Ireland with the enormous Irish diaspora around the globe.
This is not a culture sitting quietly in the past, nor one that can be silenced or beaten down by begrudgers.
This is culture moving forward.
And then came the Rose of Tralee.
This year’s winner, Caoilfhinn Ní Choiligh, the Westmeath Rose, was another wonderful expression of Irishness, warmth, character and true resilience.
A true ambassador for Ireland.
The pride of a generation
For older Irish people, there is something particularly special about watching this happen.
They remember a different Ireland.
They remember the struggles of previous generations. They remember the importance attached to preserving Irish identity, even when circumstances made that difficult.
And now they can look at today’s young people and see that the inheritance has not been abandoned.
It has been picked up. It has been embraced. It has been given new life.
My father, like many others fought for Ireland, and I cannot help thinking that he would be deeply proud to see young Irish people today carrying our traditions forward with such confidence.
He would see that the music is still being played. Our language is still being spoken. Our stories are still being told. Our young people are still proudly saying, in their own modern way:
This is ours.
That is what cultural continuity looks like.
Historic Note:
My father came from Knocklong, County Limerick, a place with a remarkable connection to our history. He told me he was there at the station of Knocklong when my namesake, Seán Treacy, was brought to the station after being shot in Dublin.
This is not just a story from a history book to me it is part of my family’s own living connection to Ireland’s past, passed down through generations.
But it is also part of your history.
