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Getting Smart in Ireland
Just because you speak the language doesn’t mean you’re culturally fluent.
Doing business successfully in Europe takes cultural knowledge. There’s a lot you need to know, and it’s not limited to the exchange rate for euros. Test yourself with this quiz about Ireland and see how you do.
Q: You, your husband, and children have just moved to Dublin and have already started to make friends with many neighbors and coworkers. Beginning to feel comfortable and settled in, you ask about finding a good church nearby. When you ask your neighbor Fiona about Protestant churches in the area, she automatically becomes cold and distant. What made her mood change?
A: When moving to a new area it is imperative that you understand the political climate and its history. For one thing, Ireland is divided into Northern Ireland which is part of the United Kingdom, more Protestant and English-influenced, whereas the Republic of Ireland is Catholic and Roman influenced. Because these two areas were partitioned in a long and difficult civil war, many Irish do not like to discuss it as the effects of the partition still exist today. Dublin is in the majority-Catholic Republic of Ireland…
