Slugger O'Toole: A Big Con?

Slugger O'Toole Notes on Northern Ireland politics and culture

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September 15, 2004

A Big Con?
A little later than intended but still a useful antidote to the party politics (possibly), a characteristically spiky interview with The Guardian has Roddy Doyle following on from his 'blasphemous' view that Joyce "needed a good editor" and kicking hard against the stereotyping, and self-mythologizing, of the Irish people.

After all, who, if we’re being honest, isn’t flattered at the notion that we spring from, and into, a culture rich in musical and literary heritage and never mind how many truly great musicians from Ireland you can name, or that Joyce, Wilde and Shaw all left the suffocating Ireland they lived in.

Although Doyle acknowledges the vitality of the spoken word, and his awareness of that obviously contributes to his own writing, he also questions the motives of those behind the “selling ourselves as the land of the writing, singing, little people” and rails at conservative Ireland (of the present and his own past), the agonizing over increasing materialism and “whether the country has lost its way”. The real question, as he sees it, is "Why are there still children living in poverty? We now have money but it's not filtering down."

Is it all part of what is, as he says about “the myth of Dublin as a sexy place”, “a big con job”? And, if it is, are we just conning ourselves?

pete baker @ 15 September 2004 11:14 AM

Comments (7)

Alan Stanford countered his article in the Irish Independent.

Dear ol' dirty Dublin hasn't lost any heart

Doyle did raise an interesting point about musicians.

Posted by: Davros at September 15, 2004 01:01 PM

'countered' Davros?

According to Stanford, Dublin, as well as being in a 'picturesque' setting, "is growing faster and with more sympathy for its citizens than ever before".

He contradicts, in parts, Roddy Doyle but doesn't counter him.

Posted by: peteb at September 15, 2004 01:22 PM

I'm probably in aminority of one on the site, but I really enjoyed " A Star called Henry"
Anyone who rattles the cages of the Irish "self- mythologizers" is alright by me!
BTW this typekey thingy takes a bit of getting used to

Posted by: Panda at September 15, 2004 02:37 PM

Haven't read it yet Panda... in fact haven;t read anything other than Ha, Ha, Ha.

It's sequel- Oh, Play That thing- got shredded in the Sunday Times and a less than enthusiastic review by Terry Eagleton in the Guardian.

Posted by: Davros at September 15, 2004 03:16 PM

pete: I was using the intro from the I.I.

"Dear ol' dirty Dublin hasn't lost any heart
Alan Stanford counters Roddy Doyle's criticism of his native city"

Posted by: Davros at September 15, 2004 03:17 PM

Well, Davros, they're hardly going to say "Stanford waffles on and avoids the issues raised by Roddy Doyle" ;o)

Posted by: peteb at September 15, 2004 03:20 PM

That's true :)

But fair play to you , I should have used the intro properly in quotes.

Posted by: Davros at September 15, 2004 03:30 PM


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