I spent three weeks in Ireland over the Christmas. It was my first time back there in 15 months. It was an interesting experience. I’ll try to write about it in more detail once I get settled back. Meanwhile here’s a few quick observations.
1. There are a huge amount of young people about. In Spain most people around me are older whereas walking the streets of Ireland most people seemed to be younger. This can partly be explained by demographics. Around 40% of Ireland’s population is under 25. Spain on the other hand has an increasingly aging population. Spain has the longest life expectancy in Europe whereas Ireland has the shortest. However I don’t think this explains everything. I think the climate and culture in Ireland are not very friendly to the elderly and I think that’s why I didn’t see so many of them out and about. I imagine that many old people are confined to their houses. And not just by the weather.
2. Traffic is calmer than when I left. The penalty points system is having an impact. This is really positive. Before, I felt like I was taking my life into my hands every time I drove - frequently getting caught up in convoys doing over 75 mph. It was a pleasure to drive at the speed limit and not feel pressurised by the car behind me.
3. For the first time I witnessed pre-Christmas sales. This was a novelty for me as the country was on a spending binge for two or three years before I left. I guess the economic downturn is starting to hurt. This may be a good thing as people seemed to have lost the run of themselves completely.
4. The twelve hour clock. This is one that crept up on me subconciously. In Spain everything is in the 24 hour clock. In Ireland practically everything is in the 12 hour clock. I especially noticed this when checking cinema times and TV listings. I couldn’t understand how the cinema could be open at 7 in the morning. It took me a while to get used to it.
5. Shop staff seem to have less respect for the customer than they do in Spain. They were normally helpful but I still got the sense that I, as a customer, was an inconvenience or an interruption to their daily routine. In Spain the customer is usually the focus of the staff’s attention.
6. In Spain I notice a lot of people with physical disabilities: blind, wheelchair bound or missing arms or legs. I didn’t notice as many in Ireland (maybe for reasons similar to 1. above) but I did get the sense that there were more psychiatrically ill people about - people suffering from depression or other mental illness. The weather and the high level of casual alcohol abuse probably has something to do with it. Anyway a lot of people seemed to be in great mental pain.
7. The light is very weak and the sky is very low. The weak level of sunlight really affected me. I had less energy and I was sleeping alot more. Even the artificial light in houses seemed low and I sometimes found it difficult to see. The cloud level also seems to be much lower in Ireland than Spain. It feels like you’re inside a big gray dome. It’s a little claustrophobic.
Overall I had a great time but it will be difficult for me to return there to live.
