GIVE ME A BREAK:MICHELLE OBAMA'S arms are so amazing that they should be reproduced in chocolate for tourists visiting DC and served with fresh succulent strawberries. Have I got your attention, salon.com and jezebel.com? Good. Because your influence is far greater than mine and we need your bloggers and readers to turn their attention to something that means a lot more to me, as a person who married Ireland 25 years ago and is still in love with it. I've figured out that the way to get mentioned on US websites such as yours is to use the Michelle-arms controversy.
Please visit Ireland this year. We need you because the Irish economy has gone way beyond south. We have so much to offer: historic hotels, gorgeous spas, fabulous people, beautiful walks through countryside where there’s no Walmart or strip-mall in sight, plus horseriding, fishing, golf, arts, theatre, incredible food. On St Patrick’s Day 2009, don’t just wear green. Spend your greenbacks with us.
We’re offering everything at cut-price. We used to be considered an expensive destination, but this year, darn it, we’ve mended our ways. Rip-off Ireland has become good-value Ireland, so take advantage of it. Aer Lingus is giving flights away.
Message delivered. I now turn my attention to my fellow Irish women and men of Ireland Sink, formerly Ireland Inc. The 5 per cent of fat cats are getting their comeuppance, but the other 95 per cent of us are left to judge ourselves and our own roles in keeping this economy going.
What in this dysfunctional Irish land of ours is worth keeping? And are we willing to spend money on it? I’m not just talking about the inevitable higher tax rates, but about personal spending. Are we willing, for example, to spend on what’s left of our unique village atmosphere? Our exceptional restaurants? If you still have a job and want institutions that you care about to stay, then you have to spend some of your money on them. By all means go buy your washing powder, cereals, apples and processed foods in Northern Ireland, Aldi and Lidl. But if you’re fortunate enough to live in a place with a village, then spend your money in the village if you want the village to remain.
This weekend in my village I bought half-price cod, perfectly ripe Camembert at half-price, good beef cheaper than in Tesco and fruit better than I’ve ever bought in chain stores, all in my local area. Because I walked, I spent no money on petrol and parking. I’m aware that this is a privilege, to buy such good food within walking distance of my house. I still buy my basics in the cheapest place possible, but if I want my village to survive, I have to spend money there, just as those who live abroad and want Ireland to last as an experience, not just a destination, have to spend some cash here.
This may sound daft, but spending money to get good value means that sometimes you spend money on something that appears to be a luxury in today’s economic climate. Patrick Guilbaud, for example. I have eaten in this world-class restaurant four or five times in my life and every time has been amazing, and I got good value. I have long held the view that there are only two good-value restaurants in Ireland that will not disappoint you: McDonald’s and Guilbaud’s. But how Guilbaud’s manages to serve a three-course €38.50 lunch for one – complete with linen, impeccable service and incredible food – at about the same price as a half-dozen Big Mac meals is beyond me.
I was treated to lunch there last week and the place was packed. “What recession?” I was tempted to say, until I realised that these weren’t business people on expenses occupying the tables, but birthday groups of women, family parties and so on. The downturn was reflected in the people at the tables, who were wisely spending their money on a special-occasion restaurant at lunchtime, rather than dinner.
I want to see this genuine tradition of the best food continue. Likewise, I want my local butcher, fish shop and fruit-and-veg shop to continue, despite the perception that they are dearer, which they’re not. Yet even if I’m paying more for a mango or an apple or a pound of mince, I know that I’m buying good quality. These shops are the underpinnings of my village and, without them, it would not exist, so a couple of cent more (usually a few cent less) is worthwhile.
If you care about a shop, a restaurant, a fruit-and-veg emporium or a fishmonger, not just for the quality of product it sells, but also for its community involvement (whether it’s supporting the local GAA or a cultural event), then keep a portion of your budget aside to spend there. Shop Irish, shop local. Because if you don’t, Ireland Inc, turned Ireland Sink, will become Ireland Walmart. Not Walmart precisely, but a European version where the identities of our towns and villages are stripped away and replaced with boarded-up shopfronts.
We will be left with a place we don’t recognise, with plenty of McDonald’s, but few places of the quality of Patrick Guilbaud’s.
