In the political industry in Ireland, being successful can be defined in many different ways and simply depends on what specific field you are in and what your goals are. For example, for a representative to be successful, they must raise issues concerning the population that they are representing and make changes for the better of the people that they are representing.
However, not all political jobs are representative, as seen in minister positions, where specific individuals are appointed. Although they still have a role to represent the population that elected them, that is not necessarily their intention. For people in these positions to be successful they essecitnaly have to be great spokesperson for their respective position for jobs like ministers, and the higher up positions like Taoiseach and Tánaiste where they are the top two leaders within the Irish government and their careers range from spokepeople for all of ireland, to government action, and being at the top of their respective party. To be a successful minister, Taoiseach, or Tánaiste, is not the same as being a successful TD or senator (representative). The actions and behaviors of a successful individual in the political field in Ireland are much different from those of a successful politician in the United States. The actions and behaviors in Ireland for politicians (in my experience) seem to be a lot more locally focused, with politicians constantly raising local issues and speaking up for the people of their respective constituencies. This is different than in the United States, where there is more of a focus on national issues (probably due to population). Still, the actions and behaviors of politicians in Ireland compared to the United States seem like night and day sometimes, with differences in concerns for the government and the way the system is structured.
For my last whole weekend in Dublin, I booked out the schedule and got the opportunity to do a lot. On Saturday, I met up with some of my cousins and family friends at a bar in Dublin named the Celt to get ready to go to the Tyrone vs. Kerry All-Ireland Gaelic Football Semi-final. At the Celt, I got to reconnect with people that I had not seen in a long time, along with getting to meet a lot of new people from Tyrone. After about 3 hours at the Celt, we made our way toward Croke Park, which was about 15 minutes away from the bar. Having heard a lot about Croke Park, I was excited and thrilled about the opportunity to get to go to a game there. As we made our way towards the stadium, you get a feel for the sheer size of the stadium and how much it stands out relative to the area. I eventually made my way to the seat, and the game started. I don’t recall who scored first, but I do remember that halfway through the first half, Tyrone was leading by multiple points. However, Kerry’s goal upset me, along with many other Tyrone fans. After that point, it did not seem like Tyrone was ever able to pick it up again and stayed behind for Kerry. At halftime, I met with my cousin and sat with him, and then the game resumed. To be frank, it just seemed like Kerry had the upper hand the whole game and stayed on top of Tyrone and began to beat them into the ground in the second half. We decided to leave near the end of the second half and make our way back to the Celt. It seems like win or lose, everyone from both teams goes back to the pubs to get some more drinks. After staying at the Celt for two more hours, I said bye to my family and family friends and made my way back to UCD, where I settled for the night.
On Sunday, my roommates and I decided that we would have a little beach trip, and we decided to go to Bray Beach, which is south of Dublin. After about an hour, we finally got to Bray and made our way to the beach, and due to the sunny weather, even though the water was cold, we decided to go in for a dip. We swam for about half an hour, then chilled on the beach for another hour. After that, we pretended to stop at a place to eat. After a long discussion and a struggle to find a place, we decided to eat at one of the strangest McDonald’s, probably in the world. It used to be the town hall of Bray but was converted into a McDonald’s. After we ate, we decided to make our way back to our apartment and ended the week by playing some cards.
