A Primer on Irish Culture

Posted by Kieran Healy

This should be enough to get you through the next couple of days.

posted on Sunday, March 16th, 2008 at 2:29 am
comments

  1. I have to say that the Chef unmistakably evokes the spirit of Tommy Makem.

    Posted by Kieran Healy · March 16th, 2008 at 2:47 am

  2. Beaker has never been so soulful. I love it!

    Posted by Chris · March 16th, 2008 at 2:57 am

  3. I understand all the other tags, but is this what “Irish Politics” are like?

    Posted by Delicious Pundit · March 16th, 2008 at 5:13 am

  4. That is brilliant. As Kermit likes to say: it ain’t easy bein’ green.

    Posted by Dave Maier · March 16th, 2008 at 5:45 am

  5. @3: Irish politics doesn’t make quite this much sense.

    Posted by Tsmoss · March 16th, 2008 at 7:14 am

  6. To which I can only reply with Flanders and Swann (from the Song of Patriotic Prejudice):

    The Irishman now our contempt is beneath / He sleeps in his boots and he lies in his teeth / He blows up policemen, or so I have heard / And blames it on Cromwell and William the Third.

    Posted by magistra · March 16th, 2008 at 8:20 am

  7. What a sad song! I think I’m going to cry.

    :)

    Posted by Scott Hughes · March 16th, 2008 at 9:45 am

  8. [...] via [...]

    Posted by Ministry of Truth » Blog Archive » A little something to get you in the mood… · March 16th, 2008 at 10:20 am

  9. I think it’s arguable that The Muppet Show is the best thing that’s ever been broadcast on television.

    Posted by Chuchundra · March 16th, 2008 at 10:39 am

  10. My god that is wonderful.

    Posted by Guy · March 16th, 2008 at 12:02 pm

  11. Back whenever we watched that the first time, did we ever imagine that the muppets’ cousins would be doing this?

    Posted by P O'Neill · March 16th, 2008 at 12:32 pm

  12. There’s a muppet wiki.

    Beats Wikipedia.

    Posted by Righteous Bubba · March 16th, 2008 at 1:44 pm

  13. They should have had Eric Bogle as a guest on that one:

    Plastic Paddy

    Posted by David W. · March 16th, 2008 at 2:23 pm

  14. What Americans have done with “Irish” as an identity/marketing/pseudoethnic set of images and products should a warning to the rest of the world, sentimentality and made up tripe about horror almost parallel to the Scots ‘tartan’ marketing in Great Britain. Just go to any ‘Irish’ pub in the States, or get a recent immigrant to tell you about their experience.

    And most rock drummers I know are in fact animals..

    Posted by MR. Bill · March 16th, 2008 at 2:25 pm

  15. Beaker also gives the canonical rendering of “Feelings”….
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jt8Q7Fsa_Vs

    Posted by MR. Bill · March 16th, 2008 at 2:29 pm

  16. I’m sure there are lots of intelligent comments I ought to make to some of the other posts (The Economist, open access academic publishing) – somebody even invited me to a FB group promoting the freedom of photographers – but as my brain is completely and thoroughly blitzed right now, all I can say is:

    Mahnamahna!

    Posted by Jacob Christensen · March 16th, 2008 at 3:18 pm

  17. The purple one sounds a lot like Shane MacGowan.

    Posted by mq · March 16th, 2008 at 7:59 pm

  18. #9:I think it’s arguable that The Muppet Show is the best thing that’s ever been broadcast on television.

    I think it’s inarguable.

    Posted by geo · March 17th, 2008 at 2:32 am

  19. [...] or at least not to any objectionable degree, but I just wonder about the way it’s presented here, on an otherwise highly reputable blog. Will the blogger be posting a clip of sombrero-wearing [...]

    Posted by The Journal of Integrity » Racist Muppets · March 17th, 2008 at 4:18 am

  20. [...] tip to crooked timber, via [...]

    Posted by green day concert « collecting tokens · March 17th, 2008 at 4:21 am

  21. Re: Mr. Bill’s moronic comment at #14.

    Just about every Irish pub I frequent in NYC or Brooklyn are owned, run by and staffed with nothing but Paddys. The same effin Paddys who have led the way in “identity/marketing/pseudoethnic set of images and products” of all things Irish. So if you want to blame someone, blame yourself.

    Posted by Tired · March 17th, 2008 at 4:01 pm

  22. Chris (#2),

    Beaker has never been so soulful.

    I’ve always known that Beaker contained huge, untapped reservoirs of emotion within him; he just needed finally get rid of that damn faker Honeydew and let his soul be known. I can’t believe I didn’t remember this bit from years ago. Bravo, Kieran. And yes, Chuchundra and Geo: the Muppet Show is up there with the very best that broadcast television has ever offered.

    For a not nearly as soulful or authentic, but still reasonably adequate, bit of seasonal music appreciation, try here.

    Posted by Russell Arben Fox · March 17th, 2008 at 4:31 pm

  23. This is very funny, but it made me wonder…. Do you think this might have been the inspiration for the running bit on Saturday Night Live running with Tonto, Tarzan, and Frankenstein’s Monster singing holiday songs….?

    Posted by Uncle Ira · March 17th, 2008 at 5:32 pm

  24. [...] has been making the rounds, at Crooked Timber and elsewhere, but is worth posting not just in honour of St. Patrick’s day but because [...]

    Posted by Danny Boy « sans everything · March 17th, 2008 at 10:04 pm

  25. 21 puts it rather strongly, but I have to agree it’s a bit of a two-way street.

    For example, in addition to the green beer and the Hallmark greeting card leprachauns and etc., there’s the Irish PM’s ‘traditional St Patrick’s Day visit’ to D.C.

    Posted by Mary Catherine · March 18th, 2008 at 2:24 am

  26. what about the South Side Irish song?

    Posted by mr. steven crane · March 19th, 2008 at 6:25 am

  27. That is what O’Niell’s pub sounded like 11:45 pm March 17

    Posted by Patrick · March 20th, 2008 at 1:05 pm