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{{wiktionary}} {{wiktionary}}
'''Plastic Paddy''' is a pejorative to describe foreign nationals who harbour a nostalgic claim of 'Irishness' due to some distant relationship in their ancestral tree, to the point of ]. Sometimes used in the same sense as ] and ], especially when referring to someone who knows little of actual ] culture, but aggressively asserts their 'Irish' identity.<ref name="Arrowsmith">{{cite journal| last =Arrowsmith| first =Aidan| authorlink =| coauthors =| title =Plastic Paddy: Negotiating Identity in Second-generation 'Irish-English' Writing| journal =Irish Studies Review| volume =8| issue =1| pages =35-43| publisher =Routledge| date =April 1, 2000| url =| doi =10.1080/09670880050005093| id =| accessdate = }}</ref> Another example is the celebration of ], or the derogatory ']'s Day' which is perceived as an American holiday by many Irish, and criticized for promoting negative stereotypes of the Irish. As author Alex Massie wrote in ]: '''Plastic Paddy''', though the term is extremely rare in Ireland to the point of non-existance, is claimed to be a pejorative to describe foreign nationals who harbour a nostalgic claim of 'Irishness' due to some distant relationship in their ancestral tree, to the point of ]. Sometimes used in the same sense as ] and ], especially when referring to someone who knows little of actual ] culture, but aggressively asserts their 'Irish' identity.<ref name="Arrowsmith">{{cite journal| last =Arrowsmith| first =Aidan| authorlink =| coauthors =| title =Plastic Paddy: Negotiating Identity in Second-generation 'Irish-English' Writing| journal =Irish Studies Review| volume =8| issue =1| pages =35-43| publisher =Routledge| date =April 1, 2000| url =| doi =10.1080/09670880050005093| id =| accessdate = }}</ref> Another example is the celebration of ], or the derogatory ']'s Day' which is perceived as an American holiday by many Irish, and criticized for promoting negative stereotypes of the Irish. As author Alex Massie wrote in ]:


{{cquote|When I was a student in Dublin we scoffed at the American celebration of St. Patrick, finding something preposterous in the green beer, the search for any connection, no matter how tenuous, to Ireland, the misty sentiment of it all that seemed so at odds with the Ireland we knew and actually lived in. Who were these people dressed as Leprechauns and why were they dressed that way? This Hibernian Brigadoon was a sham, a mockery, a Shamrockery of real Ireland and a remarkable exhibition of plastic paddyness. But at least it was confined to the Irish abroad and those foreigners desperate to find some trace of green in their blood. <ref name="Massie"> {{cquote|When I was a student in Dublin we scoffed at the American celebration of St. Patrick, finding something preposterous in the green beer, the search for any connection, no matter how tenuous, to Ireland, the misty sentiment of it all that seemed so at odds with the Ireland we knew and actually lived in. Who were these people dressed as Leprechauns and why were they dressed that way? This Hibernian Brigadoon was a sham, a mockery, a Shamrockery of real Ireland and a remarkable exhibition of plastic paddyness. But at least it was confined to the Irish abroad and those foreigners desperate to find some trace of green in their blood. <ref name="Massie">

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Plastic Paddy, though the term is extremely rare in Ireland to the point of non-existance, is claimed to be a pejorative to describe foreign nationals who harbour a nostalgic claim of 'Irishness' due to some distant relationship in their ancestral tree, to the point of cultural appropriation. Sometimes used in the same sense as poseur and wannabe, especially when referring to someone who knows little of actual Irish culture, but aggressively asserts their 'Irish' identity. Another example is the celebration of Saint Patrick's Day, or the derogatory 'Paddy's Day' which is perceived as an American holiday by many Irish, and criticized for promoting negative stereotypes of the Irish. As author Alex Massie wrote in The National Review:

When I was a student in Dublin we scoffed at the American celebration of St. Patrick, finding something preposterous in the green beer, the search for any connection, no matter how tenuous, to Ireland, the misty sentiment of it all that seemed so at odds with the Ireland we knew and actually lived in. Who were these people dressed as Leprechauns and why were they dressed that way? This Hibernian Brigadoon was a sham, a mockery, a Shamrockery of real Ireland and a remarkable exhibition of plastic paddyness. But at least it was confined to the Irish abroad and those foreigners desperate to find some trace of green in their blood.

The term "Plastic Paddy" is also used to criticise non-Irish born players who play for the Republic of Ireland national football team. Jack Charlton, and subsequent managers have been critcised for recruiting players with distant ancestral links rather than recruiting Irish citizens.

Notes

  1. Arrowsmith, Aidan (April 1, 2000). "Plastic Paddy: Negotiating Identity in Second-generation 'Irish-English' Writing". Irish Studies Review. 8 (1). Routledge: 35–43. doi:10.1080/09670880050005093. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  2. Massie, Alex (2006-03-17). "Erin Go ARGH! - The case against St.Patrick's Day. (And, no, I'm not British.)". The National Review Online. Retrieved 2007-01-07. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  3. McCullough, Ian. "Back of the Net". The Irish Post. Retrieved 2007-01-05.
  4. "Lennon believes McGeady is right to choose Ireland over Scotland". The Scotsman - Scotland's National Newspaper Online. 2006-10-03. Retrieved 2007-01-05.

References

  • Arrowsmith, Aidan (2004). "Plastic Paddies vs. Master Racers: "Soccer" and Irish Identity". The International Journal of Cultural Studies. 7 (4). Staffordshire Univ, England: 460–79. doi:10.1177/1367877904047864. ISSN 1367-8779. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  • Arrowsmith, Aidan (April, 2000). "Plastic Paddy: Negotiating Identity in Second Generation Irish-English Writing". Irish Studies Review. 8 (1). Routledge: 35–44. doi:10.1080/09670880050005093. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  • ""To Fly By Those Nets": Violence and Identity in Tom Murphy's A Whistle in the Dark". Irish University Review. 34 (2 Autumn/Winter 2004): 315–31. 2004. ISSN 0021-1427. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  • "Fantasy Ireland: The Figure of the Returnee in Irish Culture". Moving Worlds: A Journal of Transcultural Writing (Special Edition: Postcolonial Ireland). 3 (1): 101–14. 2003. ISSN 1474-4600. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  • Bery, A. (2000). 'Inside/Out: Literature, Cultural Identity and Irish Migration to England' in Comparing Postcolonial Literatures: Dislocations. London: Macmillan. pp. 59–69. ISBN 0-333-72339-2. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  • Brewster, S (1999). 'M/Otherlands: Literature, Gender, Diasporic Identity' in Ireland in Proximity: History, Gender, Space. London: Routledge. pp. 129–44. ISBN 0-415-18958-6. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  • Chambers, Lilian (2006). 'Genuinely Inauthentic: Martin McDonagh’s Second Generation Irishness’, in The Theatre of Martin McDonagh: A World of Savage Stories. Dublin: Carysfort Press. pp. 236–45. ISBN 1-904505-19-8. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  • Graham, Colin (August, 1999). "Debating Diasporic Identity: Nostalgia, (Post) Nationalism, "Critical Traditionalism"". Irish Studies Review (Special Edition: ‘Irish Studies and Postcolonial Theory’). 7 (2): 173–82. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

See also

External links


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