Export Exploitation of Erin Go Bragh!

Slate has a short article on the cookie-cutter replication of "authentic" Irish pubs worldwide, as generated by IPCo. Just like the invention, or re-invention of Scottish plaid clan patterns and other national insignia in the early nineteenth century when Sir Walter Scott and Bobbie Burns took Culloden and the spirit of Bonnie Prince Charlie and turned them into hazy memorabilia, the Irish have begun to exploit their distinctive music and drinking culture worldwide.

The government of Eire began to realize the potential of St. Patrick's Day on a 24/7/365 basis in the nineties, as the economy burgeoned with its entry into the EU. Not only did Guinness begin building "authentic" pubs in Ireland itself, but began to finance and replicate Irish pub replicas abroad. Since the Irish diaspora has succeeded not only in the US [over 50 million self-described Irish in the 1990 census] and Australia, but across the British Commonwealth and further to far-flung precincts like Patagonia [where they cohabit with Welsh sheepherders] and, of course, Pitcairn's Island. As Slate author Austin Kelley comments:

Whether you are in Kazakhstan or the Canary Islands, you can now hear the lilt of an Irish brogue over the sound of the Pogues as you wait for your Guinness to settle.

When Guinness put its heft behind the Irish Pub Company, a veritable population explosion of generic pubs ensued:

In the last 15 years, Dublin-based IPCo and its competitors have fabricated and installed more than 1,800 watering holes in more than 50 countries.

The marketing of the cookie-cutter Irish pubs comes in five different versions and the recommendation that employees of Irish descent be employed, to give the sort of happy-go-lucky ambience [Whitey Bulger types excluded] that the Irish exude.

"Why is authenticity important?" the concept states that "Sales per square foot in current authentic pubs are exceeding the U.S. average by a factor of two."

Actually, with the exception of my home state of Wisconsin, which has more bars per capita than almost anywhere, that seems to be true, although the authenticity of the half-dozen Irish water-holes in Boca I am aware of varies from shamrock-green to not so green at all.In 1995, the Irish government saw potential in international "Irish" revelry. They reinvented the holiday at home to kick-start the tourist season. Now thousands of partiers head to Ireland for the "St. Patrick's Day Season" as Guinness has called this time of year. (It used to be called "March" or, for Irish Catholics, "Lent.") In Dublin, the festival lasts for five days and adds about 60 million euros* to the economy.

Guinness describes the irrepressible spirit of Irishness with the Gaelic word for communal fun, "Craic" (pronounced crack), and recommends "importing Craic from Ireland." It seems that the Irish had exported Craic, only to get it back again. The Irish are reveling in the Irishness business. After all, as IPCo puts it, "Ireland and things Irish are very attractive to consumers." Ireland now has a lot of native consumers. After the parade, they can stop by an authentic pub for a Guinness. It'll be just like Dubai.