20 years ago, there was a classic book How The Irish Saved Civilization, describing how the Catholic Monks preserved all of the classic writings while the Roman Empire was collapsing due to the Barbarians. If you take a trip to Ireland these days, you can get many glimpses of their past contributions, but that is not where their influence ends.
We’ve just returned to our second trip there, and have come up with a handful of ways Ireland has been a major influence on American society.
- Pubs-yes, Dublin is the most famous city for them, but every small town in Ireland has at least 2 or three. They are gathering places for friends, families and musicians, something that is deeply missing in American society.
- Irish music! We went to a pub for music almost every night. Traditional Irish music swings as intensely as anything in jazz, and there is plenty of room for improvisation with guitarists, mandolinists and even bag pipers!
- Belfast! Many people don’t realize that many of the Irish that immigrated to the Southern states came from Ulster. The “fighting Irish” attitude that is manifest in this town via emotional music, assertiveness, loyalty to their country, sports like rugby or hurling, and braggadocio and extroverted behavior is manifest in the American south via the blues in
Memphis, the high rate of American volunteer soldiers from the south, devotion to football and baseball and the Pentecostal church. BTW we also took in a hip jazz joint there called Berts - The Titanic! Forget the latest film! There are two
museums in Ireland: One in Belfast where the ship was built and sent off, and one in Cork where the ill fated trip had it’s last stop before winning second place in playing chicken with an ice berg. (BTW-the 1942 movie “A NIght To Remember is the Best version, but “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” is a hoot!) 
Novels-Ireland is one of the last countries that still has tons of bookstores. Joyce, Yeats, Stoker, Wilde and CS Lewis are just a few of the writers from this island. Why? Gloomy weather, Catholic self-examination and human suffering go a long way, just like the South has given us many writers such as Faulkner, Twain and O’Connor (what a lassy!).
Beer! I know it’s a hipster cliché’, but Guinness DOES taste better in Ireland than anywhere else. It’s low in alcohol, somewhere in the 3s, and the theories for the variant flavor in other countries are as many as there are people discussing the subject.The Catholic Church-The Irish are one of the most devout people in the world. They were really rocked by the disgusting clergy scandal, probably more than any other group of people
- Food! Yes, there are classics like Irish stew (with Guinness, YUM) and potatoes, but Ireland is now one of the cutting edge countries of cuisine. 30% of the population has Celiac disease, so they are very sensitive to ingredients in a meal. Every menu has a list of “allergens” underneath each meal. My “Paleo” wife was in heaven!
- Castles, groves and the “Wee Folk.” All you have to do is take a 2 hour hike along any trail in Ireland, and you’re immediately transported into some fairy tale that you grew up with. The green ferns, moss, clovers and rainbow after a daily rain
(with the obligatory pot of gold, laddie!) will make you feel like you’re walking through some book your parents read to you.
- Gloomy weather! Nothing like dark clouds and storms to make you want to stay inside, read
and compose music. - Irish Balladeers-No one belts it out like an Irishman. We heard Irish folk tunes, The Eagles, Jim Croce and Johnny Cash better delivered with more passion than anything her in the states.
“Danny Boy” Once you hear Ben Webster play this on the tenor, your life feels complete. He was a black Irish, BTW.”How Are Things in Glocca Mora” runs a close second.- Humor-no one has as good an attitude about life as the Irish. The devout ones know that this earth is
not all there is, so don’t worry about the injustices brought on by the English or some other clan? Cheer up, grab a pint, listen to some music, and tell me about the last book you read!
- The Quiet Man-with John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara and the town of Cobh. If you
don’t love this movie, my sincere pity. “Americans! Prohibition!” “Don’t go playing paddy finger in the holy water.” How many more do you want?
George M Cohan-or James Cagney in Yankee Doodle Dandy. “And that’s for the record.”