tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091756463128804432.post6090199737725922327..comments2024-03-27T02:55:10.109-07:00Comments on Irish Papist: Review of Beyond Consolation by John WatersMaolsheachlannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09406722311993627528noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091756463128804432.post-65064647645850723372012-04-17T07:35:44.959-07:002012-04-17T07:35:44.959-07:00I think the phobia about organized religion runs d...I think the phobia about organized religion runs deeper than the phobia about national traditions. Personally I'm sceptical that something as far back as the Flight of the Earls could still feed our national psyche-- somehow I imagine that TV and consumer culture dominate us so much there isn't much room left for historical legacies. I like the idea of a national psyche, I just think we barely have one at this stage.Maolsheachlannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09406722311993627528noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091756463128804432.post-20414855875575688582012-04-17T06:59:44.355-07:002012-04-17T06:59:44.355-07:00Ah I see, I'm sorry. I thought you were expres...Ah I see, I'm sorry. I thought you were expressing disillusionment with his disillusionment. Sort of. Hmmm. Anyway! Before TG4 and certainly before Sharon Ní Bheolain and Gráinne Seoige there was the same sort of embarrassment about Irish. We do seem to have a sort of shyness about our past and about anything that isn't niche or cosmoplitan here. I bet you a tenner if Miss Seoige did an indepth series exploring Love and Responsibility Veritas would sell out and if Brian O' Driscoll told Ryan Tubridy on RTE he loved attending Eucharistic Adoration people would think it respectable. I don't know if it's shame of who we were or insecurity about not following the pack but it's sad. We had a history teacher who told us that she felt the psychological reverberations of The Flight of the Earls left us leaderless forever and we're still groping in the fog for someone to follow. I never forgot that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091756463128804432.post-70150270197859684142012-04-17T01:24:51.724-07:002012-04-17T01:24:51.724-07:00Well, I didn't mean to attack John Waters so m...Well, I didn't mean to attack John Waters so much as to express frustration at a particular, almost universally accepted mindset-- "well, of course traditional Irish Catholicism was embarrassing and squirm-inducing and full of craw-thumping buffoons"-- it almost seems that, in Ireland, you have to preface any support for religious faith or Catholicism with this disclaimer. I think the shortcomings are greatly exaggerated.<br /><br />I do think it's great that John Waters shows such admiration for Pope Benedict, though.Maolsheachlannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09406722311993627528noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091756463128804432.post-73257029224118840192012-04-16T16:36:23.938-07:002012-04-16T16:36:23.938-07:00Everyone's faith ebbs and flows. I know atheis...Everyone's faith ebbs and flows. I know atheists and agnostics who converted with gusto and after being poked by the world once or twice fell back into their old ways. John Waters is probably just over the first flush of love and realising the new wife's snoring isn't that cute and viewing her with a more critical eye. It's to be expected with those who convert or revert, he is just sharing it all. Please God he'll stay committed, he's a great fan of the Pope and if he continues along those lines he'll not go far wrong. It can be disappointing to hear those kinds of inner thoughts but it really isn't surprising, he's a baby in the faith, it'll take time to find his feet.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com