When the Shillelagh
Meets the Hood

Part Two: I See
Irish People

As I've mentioned elsewhere on this site--man, I hate that word "blog"--lately I've been working on a paper about the influence of black culture on Irish music (and by extension, film). The following are a list of quotes I hope to integrate into the piece. If you know of any good ones you don't see here, please feel free to contact me directly or leave a comment. Also, if you can recommend any good reading materials, please give a shout. I'm just about to get started on Noel Ignatiev's How the Irish Became White.

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“Before our merciful intervention, the Irish nation were a wretched, indolent, half starved tribe of savages, ages before Julius Caesar landed on this isle, and notwithstanding a gradual improvement upon the naked savagery, they have never approached the standard of [the] civilised world.”
-- The London Times (1847)

"No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs."
-- Title of Johnny Rotten's autobiography (1994)

"No Blacks, No Irish, No Dogs."
-- Title of Lord John Taylor's autobiography (2004)

[Taylor is the first black member of the House of Lords.]

"The Irish are the blacks of the UK, and Dubliners are
the blacks of Ireland. So say it once, lads, and say it loud,
I'm black and I'm proud."
-- The Commitments (1991)

[Thanks to Tom Keogh; I think Robert Arkins was the speaker.]



Andy (Tim Robbins): "Red. Why they call you that?"
Red (Morgan Freeman): "Maybe it's because I'm Irish."
-- The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

''I'm not Irish. I'm from the Brick City--Newark, New Jersey--
and don't pinch me on the butt if I'm not wearing green.''
-- Shaquille O' Neal (2003)

"It seems there are Irish people everywhere--
or at least people who want to be."
-- Morgan Freeman, Million Dollar Baby (2004)

[No wonder he won the Oscar!]

"Despite the fact that many people resented the treaty he negotiated [the Anglo-Irish Treaty], the fact that Ireland is
now the wealthiest country in the EU is testimony to his perseverance and belief in his cause... And if there's no
Guinness in Heaven, then I don't see the point in going."
-- Mick Collins on Michael Collins (2005)



Endnote: Image of Collins from the official Dirtbombs site. The piece I mention above is currently on hold. Although I recently added a post to my site about That Petrol Emotion, I haven't had time to write about Thin Lizzy and Sinead O'Connor. As for Lizzy, I think I'm gonna wait till I've absorbed three of the many Lynott bios out there. I have two already, but I'm still looking for an affordable copy of My Boy, Philomena Lynott's book.