Plastic Paddy

__NOTOC__Plastic Paddy is an often pejorative term to describe non-Irish people who harbour a nostalgic claim of Irishness due to having some degree of Irish heritage. The term is also applied to Irish-themed pubs in countries outside of Ireland — especially if those pubs feature the most stereotypical characteristics of Irish culture, and do not accurately resemble actual pubs in Ireland.

The term usually concerns perceived cultural appropriation of Irish customs and identity by members of the Irish diaspora or even those with no ancestral connection to Ireland. A 'Plastic Paddy' allegedly knows little of actual Irish culture, but asserts their identity, claiming it to be Irish.Nagle, John (2004) " [http://www.qub.ac.uk/iis/projects/stpatricks/Nagle-report.pdf Is 'Everybody Irish on St. Paddy's'? Ambivalence and Conflict on St. Patrick's] - A Research Report into People’s Attitudes into St. Patrick’s Day 2004". Institute of Irish Studies, Queen's University Belfast] 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 | doi =10.1080/09670880050005093| id =| accessdate = ] Another example is the celebration of Saint Patrick's Day, or 'Paddy's Day', which is sometimes viewed as being a vehicle for promoting stereotypes of Irish culture. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/7247272.stm BBC News Northern Ireland. "Stout call for St Pat's holiday in US"] ] As author Alex Massie wrote in "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.cite news | last =Massie| first =Alex| coauthors =| title =Erin Go ARGH! - The case against St. Patrick's Day. (And, no, I'm not British.)| work =| pages =| language =| publisher = National Review Online| date =2006-03-17| url =http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/massie200603170817.asp| accessdate =2007-01-07]

The term 'Plastic Paddy' has been used to criticise non-Irish born players who play for the Republic of Ireland national football team such as Glasgow Celtic's Aiden McGeady who is from Glasgow, Scotland. Jack Charlton, and subsequent managers, have been criticised by some for recruiting some of the Ireland players on the basis of having an Irish antecedent (including two generations or further back), though this is within the FIFA rules. [http://www.irishabroad.com/news/irishpost/news/scottishtalentirishallegiance.asp Scottish talent with an Irish allegiance] in the "Irish Post" (2003) at Irish Abroad Online.] [ [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2093-2472060.html Teenager under fire] (November 26, 2006) Times (UK)] cite news | first = Ian | last = McCullough | title = Back of the Net
url =http://www.irishabroad.com/news/irishpost/sport/Backofnet.asp | publisher = The Irish Post |date = | accessdate = 2007-01-05] While usually used to refer to perceived cultural appropriation, in other instances some individuals of Irish heritage have charged that the use of the term 'Plastic Paddy', and the criticism of non-Irish born football players, is itself a form of bigotry. In these cases they are asserting that all people of any Irish ancestry are in effect 'Irish' and therefore can claim 'Irish' identity even if they are not Irish (or Northern Irish) citizens.Buckley, Will (Sunday October 5, 2003) " [http://football.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,4767565-3057,00.html Empty minds of the brain-dead writers' society] " in "The Guardian Online".] [" [http://www.irishpost.co.uk/news/story.asp?j=4153 A proud celebration of our new Irish identity] " in "The Irish Post" (Wednesday, May 10, 2006).] People who were not born in Ireland, and who did not grow up in Ireland, but nonetheless possess Irish citizenship and an Irish passport are often dismissed as 'Plastic Paddies'. [cite book
last =Fallon
first =Steve
authorlink =
coauthors =
title =Home with Alice: A Journey in Gaelic Ireland
publisher =Lonely Planet
date =2002
location =Melbourne
pages =30-32
url =
doi =
id =]
Scottish-Australian songwriter Eric Bogle wrote and recorded a song titled 'Plastic Paddy', which has also been recorded by Irish musician Christy Moore. [ [http://www.triskelle.eu/lyrics/plasticpaddy.php?index=080.010.060.030 Lyrics to 'Plastic Paddy'] by Eric Bogle]

According to one "Spiked" writer, some of those guilty of Plastic Paddyisms (or, in the words of the writer, "Dermot-itis") are former US President Bill Clinton, Daniel Day Lewis, and Shane MacGowan. [ [http://www.spiked-online.com/Printable/000000005523.htm We're all Irish now] from "Spiked" online magazine] .

See also

* Irish American
* More Irish than the Irish themselves
* Mockney
* Plastic shaman
* Saint Patrick's Day outside Ireland
* Wannabe

Notes

References

* cite journal
last =Arrowsmith
first =Aidan
authorlink =
coauthors =
title =Plastic Paddies vs. Master Racers: “Soccer” and Irish Identity
journal =The International Journal of Cultural Studies
volume =7
pages =460–79
publisher =Staffordshire Univ, England
date =2004
url =
doi =10.1177/1367877904047864
id =ISSN|1367-8779
accessdate =
issue =
* 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 =35–44
publisher =Routledge
date =April, 2000
url =
doi =10.1080/09670880050005093
id =
accessdate =
* cite journal
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title =“To Fly By Those Nets”: Violence and Identity in Tom Murphy’s A Whistle in the Dark
journal =Irish University Review
volume =34
issue =2 Autumn/Winter 2004
pages =315–31
publisher =
date =2004
url =
doi =
id =ISSN|0021-1427
accessdate =
* cite journal
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title =Fantasy Ireland: The Figure of the Returnee in Irish Culture
journal =Moving Worlds: A Journal of Transcultural Writing (Special Edition: Postcolonial Ireland)
volume =3
issue =1
pages =101–14
publisher =
date =2003
url =
doi =
id =ISSN|1474-4600
accessdate =
* cite book
last =Bery
first =A.
authorlink =
coauthors =P. Murray
title ='Inside/Out: Literature, Cultural Identity and Irish Migration to England' in Comparing Postcolonial Literatures: Dislocations
publisher =Macmillan
date =2000
location =London
pages =59-69
url =
doi =
id =ISBN 0-333-72339-2
* cite book
last =Brewster
first =S
authorlink =
coauthors = V. Crossman, F. Becket & D. Alderson (eds)
title ='M/Otherlands: Literature, Gender, Diasporic Identity' in Ireland in Proximity: History, Gender, Space
publisher =Routledge
date =1999
location =London
pages =129-44
url =
doi =
id =ISBN 0-415-18958-6
* cite book
last =Chambers
first =Lilian
authorlink =
coauthors =Jordan, Eamonn
title ='Genuinely Inauthentic: Martin McDonagh’s Second Generation Irishness’, in The Theatre of Martin McDonagh: A World of Savage Stories
publisher =Carysfort Press
date =2006
location =Dublin
pages =236-45
url =http://www.eri.mmu.ac.uk/staff/profile.php?id=52
doi =
id =ISBN 1-904505-19-8
* cite journal
last =Graham
first =Colin
authorlink =
coauthors =Malley, Willy
title =Debating Diasporic Identity: Nostalgia, (Post) Nationalism, “Critical Traditionalism”
journal = Irish Studies Review (Special Edition: ‘Irish Studies and Postcolonial Theory’)
volume =7
issue =2
pages =173–82
publisher =
date =August, 1999
url =
doi =
id =
accessdate =

External links

* [http://sport.guardian.co.uk/rugbyunion/comment/0,,635842,00.html Meet young Declan, England's Plastic Paddy]
* [http://www.spiked-online.com/Printable/000000005523.htm Spiked Online: We are all Irish now]
* [http://www.breakingnews.ie/2006/03/14/story249310.html UK suffers from Plastic Paddy syndrome]
* [http://www.theonion.com/content/node/27838 Man Who's 1/16th Irish Proud Of His Irish Heritage (satirical article from The Onion)]