Irish* Interest
An Irish* webring, by mal
Some people say I look like a teddy bear...
What is this?
An Irish Webring is a webring for websites that are:
- Made by Irish* people, or:
- People based in Ireland, or:
- Predominantly feature content about Ireland or Irish* things.
Don't know what a webring is? Find out!
Interested in joining? Read on.
Irish*?
What is Irishness, anyway? What does being Irish mean? It's a complex topic, like all national identities.
Of the 7 million people who live on the island of Ireland, a substantial minority do not identify as Irish and are citizens of another country. There are also many people who have come to Ireland for work or love or education who do not see themselves as Irish, and many first or second-generation immigrants and residents who do not see themselves as only Irish.
Ireland also has a substantial diaspora - there are more people with Irish ancestry living outside of Ireland than in Ireland. Some identify with their heritage, some don't.
Historically, Ireland was colonized and governed by a neighbouring country - some of Ireland is still governed by that country. This created identity confusion which still goes on today.
The philosopher Benedict Anderson wrote about how national identity is a construct, not an inherent truth, and that even the idea of nationality is newer than we think.
Benedict Anderson described nations as "imagined communities", because you could never know or meet every member of your nation but you still imagined that you had something in common with them.
"Irish" is a nationality, a culture, a political identity, an ethnicity and a geographical location - not something discrete and simple.
My parents are Irish, born and raised, but I have spent much of my life living outside of Ireland. Am I still Irish?
Benedict Anderson was born in China to a Scottish-Irish father and an English mother.
During his life he lived in China, Ireland, Britain, America and Indonesia. Was he Irish?
Irishness does not depend on your passport, your culture, your ethnicity, your race, your geographical location, or whether you like TK Red Lemonade.
If you identify with Irishness, and you are respectful to other Irish people whose Irishness does not look the same as yours, you are welcome to join this webring.
What the hell is up with the asterisk?
The term "trans*" used to be (and in some places still is) regularly used to indicate an inclusive, broad sense of trans identity. I have added an asterisk to Irish* here for similar reasons.
Nobody else I know does this! I just thought it was a simple way to indicate that Irish identity is expansive and nuanced. Even when you're running a webring.
and "Irish content?"
By this I mean a website that is predominantly about something Irish, regardless of who the webmaster is or where they live.
A band from Ireland! A historical Irish figure! Irish megalithic tombs! Learning the Irish language! The possibilities are endless.
This does not include websites that feature only one short page about something Irish, any more than an atlas of Europe would be shelved in the Irish Interest section in a bookshop.
Like any rule there are exceptions to this, which will be decided on a case-by-case basis.
Still interested in joining after all that blather?
Head over to the rules page and find out how to join.
← This site is a member of Irish Interest. →