Irish Daily Life
A brief overview of the historic food, clothing, housing, and lifestyles of Ireland.
Traditional Lifestyles of Ireland
For nearly 6,500 years, the main occupation of Ireland has been farming. Before the growth of major cities, agriculture sat at the heart of each community. While local lords demanded a portion of their subjects’ produce, many farmers were free landowners. At this time, a person’s family determined his or her place in life. Those born into a noble family, for example, could become warriors, rulers, or prosperous farmers. A child of a slave, on the other hand, had fewer options. It was possible for commoners to improve their social rank through the acquisition of wealth, measured in the number of milk cows they owned.
The Gaelic social order deteriorated over time, weakened by successive invasions and laws banning their customs. Self-sufficient farmers began working for wages on land they didn’t own or in factories. This transition was marked by a declining quality of life among native Irish Catholics, including periods of intense famine. Within the last century, however, the island has seen increased prosperity and opportunity following its independence and partition.
Irish Cuisine
Modern Irish cuisine is famous for its liberal use of potatoes, but the crop is a relatively new arrival to the island. The root is a New World crop, and it was only adopted as a staple in the 16th or 17th century. Before this, the average Irish diet was heavy in dairy products and grains like oats, rye, wheat, and barley. Families drank milk or processed it into cheese, butter, buttermilk, curds, and a drink similar to sour cream. Grains, meanwhile, were baked into breads and porridges. Farmers also grew vegetables like onion, garlic, carrots, and cabbage. Milk cows were too valuable to be eaten often. Instead, the staple meat was pork cured into bacon. Seafoods, especially salmon and shellfish, were caught along coasts and rivers.
The potato grew widespread for its versatility and efficient growth. It is a central ingredient in many favorite Irish dishes today. Perhaps most popular of these is Irish stew, made with mutton (or lamb), onions, potatoes, and other ingredients to taste. Mashed potatoes can be combined with cabbage, butter, and green onions to produce colcannon. A mix of mashed and raw potatoes are cooked together to make potato pancakes, known as boxty. Ireland is also famous for its native alcohol industry, including beers and whiskeys.
In the Americas, corned beef and cabbage are commonly prepared to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. This meal is for the most part an American adaptation of an Irish dish using bacon. When immigrants came to cities like New York, they bought most of their meat from Jewish delis. As a result, corned beef became their new meat of choice.
Traditional Irish Houses
The standard home of ancient Ireland was the roundhouse, a wattle-and-daub structure. Woven branches, or wickerwork, formed the walls of the home before being covered with mud, clay, or plaster. These walls supported a thatched, conical roof; smoke from the hearth escaped through a hole at its center. Among well-to-do farmers, these houses could reach about 27 feet in diameter. Farm compounds might contain several of these buildings, encircled by a wicker fence or hedge. In other cases, families built their homes on artificial islands in lakes, known as crannogs.
Rectangular architecture grew more popular through the medieval era. Early Irish churches were often rectangular, though many monasteries were built within round walls. By the Tudor era, when Irish culture was being actively suppressed, English-style cottages grew more common. The traditional Irish cottage features a thatched roof and white plaster walls. In the cities, apartment complexes and urban townhouses became the norm.
Historic Clothing of Ireland
The traditional outfit of Gaelic Ireland is the léine and brat, worn by both genders. The léine is a type of long tunic, typically with long, wide sleeves. These tunics were primarily made from linen and dyed saffron yellow. By law, the colors a person could wear were determined by his or her social status. A léine could be worn with or without trousers. Over this, a brat mantle or long cloak was secured with an ornamental brooch. Because the leine could restrict movement, farmers and laborers sometimes wore a more simple shirt, jacket, and pants instead. Women’s tunics tended to be longer and more layered than those of the men, similar to a dress.
In the early modern period, visible elements of Irish culture were banned. In 1537, King Henry VIII forbade both the léine and saffron dyes. He also outlawed traditional Irish hairstyles, which included long hair on men and a full beard and mustache. The people of Ireland were thus forced to adopt English fashions.
Modern Lifestyles of Ireland
Today, Irish people lead lives similar to those of most other European nations. Agriculture remains a major industry, but most citizens of the Republic of Ireland now live in cities. Folk arts, music, and storytelling are a vital part of Irish culture. Pubs continue to act as centers of public life. According to the Mercer quality of living survey, Dublin ranked highest among the cities of the UK and Ireland in both 2017 and 2018.
References
Hegarty, Neil. The Story of Ireland: A History of the Irish People. Macmillan. 2012.
Hollis, Daniel Webster. The History of Ireland. Greenwood Publishing Group. 2011.
Joyce, Patrick Weston. A Smaller Social History of Ancient Ireland. Longmans, Green, and Co. 1908.
Ranelagh, John O'Beirne. A Short History of Ireland. Cambridge University Press. 2012.
Reddan, Fiona. “Dublin Is 'Best City to Live in' across Ireland and UK.” The Irish Times, The Irish Times, 20 Mar. 2018, www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/dublin-is-best-city-to-live-in-across-ireland-and-uk-1.3432881.
Scanlan, Margaret. Culture and Customs of Ireland. Greenwood Publishing. 2006.
“The World Factbook: Ireland.” Central Intelligence Agency, Central Intelligence Agency, 24 Oct. 2018, www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ei.html.
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