Anyone here from Co. Down??

[Irish_sunshine]

My ancestors were from County Down in Ireland, so I'm just curious, is anyone on here from there?
Also, since Down is in Northern Ireland, in the 1800s and such, did they do dancing and trad music like the people in the Republic?? I'm still trying to figure that out. I hope they did, lol! :D

[*MELANIE*]

Yeah they did, there is loads of Irish history sites that you can check out, I am not from Ireland though, I do go over a lot for feis and dress and things. Mel:o

[Irish_sunshine]

they did?! yay!! I was hoping they weren't like totally english b/c some of them say the northern irish people were like the english.

[Colz]

I think they just mean that northern Ireland is just part of GB! I'd LOVE to think my ansestors were from Co. Down! I know theres two possiblities, either South West England, or Ireland. We've never really looked into it, will one day though!

[seddon69]

to my knwledge northern ireland wasnt formed until 1949, it was definitly not in existant before 1921 cos that was the irish war of independence

[Irish_sunshine]

ohh are u serious!!! wow i didn't even think of that! so it was just one big fun loving dancing country then? lol!! :D i'm so happy bout that cause i thought the ones from Northern Ireland in the 1800s were more refined and didn't get into dancing and all that

[seddon69]

no, ireland was officially part of the uk till sumfin like 1949, there were 6 ulster counties which decided to remain with the uk

[Colz]

I watched a program bout irish music yeaterday, and there were these irish men who said they were fed up of all the traditional irish music in the pubs and what we think is an amazing culture over there isn't actually welcomed that much. I wouldn't mind swapping with them! :p

[Irish_sunshine]

really? that's weird, and yeah i agree, so would i!!

[Colz]

I love the atmosphere over in Ireland. Everyones really friendly (most of the are drunk :p) but seriously it make you just so happy to be there

[Irish_sunshine]

they are a bunch of drunks.. that's the only part about ireland i don't like. they drink so much!

[Colz]

They were saying about this on the show i was watching. Everybody says they all drink alot, and they have an accociation with drink, but really it's only because when they first showed folk singers etc they'd have a guinness or something with them. TV made them famous for drinking! Alot of them are quite sober!

[Irish_sunshine]

really? i didn't know that. that's good! lol. Hey, i was researching, cause my irish ancestors (2 families actually) came from Down in the 1700s. and i noticed that there was another famine, tho a lot of people don't know about it, in 1739-1741. i wonder if that was whhy they immigrated here? how interesting is that? lol :D

[seddon69]

thts why people tend to emigrate, due to some famine or disaster, its a pity really but i supose its gus in tht wev all been able to enjoy the culture of ireland

[Irish_sunshine]

yeah, exactly. it's interesting to find out about ur culture

[Colz]

It'd be awesome if my family was from Co. Down. My name is in the song 'Star of the county down!' It's be cool if i could actually be 'the sweet Colleen' :D

[seddon69]

the sweet seddon would be better lol

[dancingdoll]

I would like to point out that it is a bit of a stereo typing to say all irish people are drunks, of course there are some, you americans would'nt like us to think that you are all thick just because your president is. if you want to look up more about nothern irish history and to understand the difference between north and south i would suggest you look up the battle of the boyne and the ulster plantation. sorry if i sound a bit anoyed i'm not normaly.:)

[Reeeljiggy]

Well, said, Dancingdoll! ;)

I don't think it's ever a good idea to lump all folks together no matter what group you're talking about. We're all individual and every country has some of all different types of folks, good and bad. But you can't label a whole country by one group! :D :D

[AnnaLeigh]

I'm from Belfast...which is sorta on the border between co. antrim and co. down...though I live nearer the co. down side...

[Irish_sunshine]

I would like to point out that it is a bit of a stereo typing to say all irish people are drunks, of course there are some, you americans would'nt like us to think that you are all thick just because your president is. if you want to look up more about nothern irish history and to understand the difference between north and south i would suggest you look up the battle of the boyne and the ulster plantation. sorry if i sound a bit anoyed i'm not normaly.:)
what does thick mean? i don't think u should bash out president either. nobody should. i didn't say ALL irish people were drunks, but a lot of them do drink a lot.

[Colz]

I think she meant think as in stupid. I agree that you shouldn't stereotype at all, which is why I brought up the point that it's TV that labeled the Irish Community like that.ON the other hand I don't think you should critisise a countries president, I think that was a bit harsh.

[Irish_sunshine]

yeah i know all irish ppl don't drink, obviously. and a lot of them aren't "drunks". u shouldn't say our president is stupid, that's not right even for an american and u don't even live here.

[Colz]

Ok guys lets not argue! That's not what we're here for! Shall we just forget about all this?

[Irish_sunshine]

yeah let's just forget it, cause when someone starts an argument i can't help but finish it, lol! :D

[Eire _ girl]

OH pleaseeeeee let's not even get into american politics! Lol! My fmily isn't from Co.Down most are near Kilarney,though yes People in Down did dance,Ireland wasn't seperated tell like the 140's - correct me if I'm wrong!) Though I'm not in Ireland,though Most of the family is . I'm in the US).I agree drinking is an Irish stereotype, I was at a pub in NY a couple weeks ago and the watress said "now no Guinnes for you!" lol! Though my Grandma did let my try a SIP of wine, cause i'd never had it. It was awfull!)):eek:

[Eire _ girl]

I often wonder why Ireland is the stereotypical drinking country,shouldn't France,they have little kids drinking wine! Atleast that's what I've heard,is it true??:rolleyes: We can't even drink tell we're 21 here!

[Irish_sunshine]

reli? kids drink in france?? that's not good

[Irish_sunshine]

well anyway, thanks for all of ur help, cause i wondered if ppl in Down danced or not, since the ppl in the north were mostly scots/irish, and protestants. but hopefully my ancestors danced! lol :D
how could u be irish and not luv to DANCE? :D;)

[seddon69]

reli? kids drink in france?? that's not good

yer, its much less frowned apon, its more relaxed, but it does mean there is less alchoholism and binge drinking

[Irish_sunshine]

lol that's a bit like curing the disease by killing the patient, ya?

[seddon69]

lol so long as its in moderation its ok, i mean you wanna get kids drunk to death lol

[BABS]

Im from Ballyclare which is just outside Belfast in Co. Antrim. A lot of people think the Irish are always drunk because all the cds you buy are all Irish Pub Songs but not all Irish people drink. A lot of the people I know go out and have a good time but dont just go out to get drunk all the time. It can also be the media showing people in Dublin sitting in pubs drinking Guiness all day but look at the size of Dublin and the thousands of people who visit it each week. Dont belive what the media tell you - experience the Irish culture yourself and make your own mind up:) :) :)

[seddon69]

i will make tht my mission for this year as well as strting to dance lol

[meggie_mac]

Ok, so it is a stereotype that irish people drink, but stereotypes discriminate. The irish are some of the best scholars in the world - look at all those writers like wb yeats, oscar wilde, george bernard shaw, brendan behan. And this stereotype hardly applies to the modern day world, does it? Nowadays, it's other nations who are getting the reputation for drinking themselves stupid and binge drinking. it's wrong to stereotype and whoever even uttered that damned stupid and offensive comment should think before they open their mouth next time - especially seeing that this site is about irish dancing and CULTURE. if you're going to be part of it, don't be so ignorant - people will judge you rather than what you are commenting about.

[Colz]

We weren't trying to be horrible, plus I explained that Ireland isn't a big drinking country, I said that it had been TV that had made it look this way! Besides if you go to Dublin and to the gift shop most of the merchandise has stuff about getting drunk in Ireland! So it's not just other countries who are labeling Ireland!

[Irish_sunshine]

Ok, so it is a stereotype that irish people drink, but stereotypes discriminate. The irish are some of the best scholars in the world - look at all those writers like wb yeats, oscar wilde, george bernard shaw, brendan behan. And this stereotype hardly applies to the modern day world, does it? Nowadays, it's other nations who are getting the reputation for drinking themselves stupid and binge drinking. it's wrong to stereotype and whoever even uttered that damned stupid and offensive comment should think before they open their mouth next time - especially seeing that this site is about irish dancing and CULTURE. if you're going to be part of it, don't be so ignorant - people will judge you rather than what you are commenting about.

HEY, WOULD U COOL IT?? don't curse on here either. I'm not bashing Ireland, I LOVE IRELAND!! don't we all? i'm not saying all irish are drunks. and colz is right, the irish are stereotyping themselves sometimes.

[meggie_mac]

they are a bunch of drunks.. that's the only part about ireland i don't like. they drink so much!

I'm sorry if i got angry, but i have every right to take personal offence and as it was irish sunshine who instigated this, i think this is the last person who should be telling me to "cool it" - especially unreasonable seeing as the argument was not without justification. I agree, it may be due to the actions of the media and the tourism industry that people have this perception of ireland, but can you not rise above such superficial judgement? And i did not swear - i can control my anger, thankyou.

[Irish_sunshine]

you did swear, and i quote: *whoever even uttered that d**** stupid and offensive comment should think before they open their mouth*
those were your exact words.. and i'm not going to argue, b/c i don't think we should on here. i love ireland as much if not more than anyone on here, but it is a known stereotype that they do drink a lot, tho a lot of them MAY NOT, and i stated that before u even commented. this comment was not intended to offend anyone. and if i'm wrong about them drinking that much, i'm sorry. but it is brought across that way over here. again, i don't want to argue, and my comments are not intended to offend anyone.

[Colz]

I agree, no one was trying to offend. We meerly stated something that is assumed by everyone, and then said that it was assumed and not necessarily true! We certainly didn't say that the Irish are any worse than any other country, if anything we were trying to say how much we'd love to be part of the irish culture! I hope we can forget about this!

[Reeeljiggy]

Maybe this can be another topic we agree to not post on so it'll go to the bottom and not keep getting started again! :D :) ;) :p

[Irish_sunshine]

lol yeah, mayb so. there's no need for ppl 2 get so mad neway.. :)

[Colz]

There we go then! We'll do that, This is my last post!

[seddon69]

:( aw wel, bye bye thread