Artists from the island continue to dominate.
Online, theyve gained a rep as the good Europeans.
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As withTaylor Lautnerin the secondTwilightmovie, our affable friend across the pond turned out to be hiding eight-pack abs.
Lanigan first noticed a change around the timeNormal Peopledebuted on TV and made a star ofPaul Mescal.
Americans and English people were introduced to a new vision of Ireland: rose-tinted and beautiful, she says.
On the whole, it seems to be, Theyre hot and sad.
The Pluck of the Irish
Accurate or not, Americans liked what they saw.
This past summers craze for hot rodent boyfriends spotlighted several Irish actors.
An Instagram account that does nothing but post photos of Mescal has over 160,000 followers.
Among young, online, lefty Americans, the Irish are considered the good Europeans.
It hasnt always been like this.
(Few people finish readingDublinerswishing they were a Dubliner.)
To OReilly, Ireland benefits from being everyones second-favorite country.
Theres a nonthreatening feeling to Ireland.
Weve never invaded anyone; weve never colonized anyone.
Whats not to like about that?
Still, he finds it funny that Irishness is now cool.
According to OReilly, Irish people are cool in a completely different way than things usually get called cool.
When I think of the things I like about Irish culture, its the interpersonal things.
Its based on humor.
Its extremely friendly theres a neighborliness.
Culturally, you shouldnt make a show of yourself.
The current crop of Irish talent exemplifies these qualities, OReilly says.
You see Paul Mescal,Saoirse Ronan, Colin Farrell, orBrendan Gleesonbeing so down-to-earth when they talk.
It seems like a superpower that theyre normal people.
(Pun not intended.)
These Irish stars havent yet been hit by the homegrown backlash someone like Bono attracts.
Its nice that we like our brand ambassadors, OReilly says.
History too is responsible for Irelands current progressive image.
On Twitter, a video of Irish soccer fans chanting Lizzys in a box received over 133,000 likes.
That week, I was struck by how many of my friends all of a sudden became stalwart anti-Royalists.
When I mention this to Lanigan, she demurs.
I dont think you have to be Irish to be anti-Royalist, she says.
You just have to be sensible.
This reputation for plainspoken wisdom and anti-imperialist cred explains much of Irishnesss contemporary appeal.
I suppose Ireland is the natural underdog, in many ways.
And were very good at telling the truth.
Rooney used the launch of her bookIntermezzoto speak out against the unfolding genocide.
Barely a day goes by without an Irish-memes account reposting an old photo of Farrell in a keffiyeh.
But, he told the crowd, theres a worse occupation happening right now in Palestine.
Theyre bombing Palestinians from the sky.
A man once considered too dangerous to be heard on television participates in a gag about drug-induced hallucinations.
That neatly sums up the journey taken by Northern Ireland in the 26 years since the Good Friday Agreement.
While the Republic still dominates Irelands international image, projects likeDerry Girlshave helped the North catch up.
The movieKneecaptakes the piss out of this trope, as it does basically everything else about the Troubles.
We should not forget that the new Irish fantasy leaves out just as much as the old one did.
Just as modern Ireland is not a romantic backwater, so too is it far from a socialist paradise.
Since the Good Friday Agreement, Northern Irelands devolved legislature has spent much of its history unable to function.
The Republic is ruled by the nigh-indistinguishable centrist parties Fine Gael and Fianna Fail.
And Ireland is not immune from the maladies that have afflicted the U.S. and Britain.
Like many Irish before her, Lanigan emigrated for better opportunities in England.
But the nature of modern immigration means that people are now coming to Ireland.
I dont think theres a cultural reckoning with what that means.
Theres an awful lot of racism around What does it mean to be Irish?
Can you be Irish if youre not white?
Yet he cant help but take solace in examples of the Irish pushing back on nativist myths.
Before the potato famine, she notes, Ireland had 8 million people millions more than it does now.
Theres more than enough room.
Any time an identity becomes a trend, there is an inevitable sense of dislocation.
That seemed to change in the past couple of years.
You had articles about the Year of the Irish, and it was boxing-in in a different way.
Irishness is currently having a moment.
Maybe its just in vogue, OReilly says.
In three years time, everyone will be going for whatever Venezuelas prevailing social mores are.
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