Is Ireland still very racist?

Question

Hi, I am planning on going to Ireland with a couple of friends. They are all white except me, I am half korean and black. I am a little hesitant on going because I have heard of racial issues going on. We went to France and Germany last year and I was always staried at. But my friend's dad and old neighbors still lived there and they told us where to not visit..... all because of my race and there were cities that had a lot of n***s. Can someone enlighten me on the issues going on in Ireland?

What parts of Ireland is okay to travel to, North or South? We want to stay in the city and travel to the country side to take pictures and look at the scenery. What are the best cities to stay in and visit? What is the best way to travel around the country?

Thanks.

Answer 1

Listen honey, you will be fine if you come to Ireland, of course there are always going to be ignorant and narrow minded people anywhere you go in the world, but in general here in Ireland we are very friendly and accept anyone who wants to visit. So please dont worry about a thing. Just come over with your friends and enjoy yourself. If you do get any stupid comments just ignore them, because they will only be coming from the mouths of idiotic morons.

So come on over and have a ball, you really wont regret it.You could visit the beautiful west of Ireland, or Kerry with its beautiful lakes, or visit here in Dublin and party to your hearts content. If your really have anymore worries you are welcome to send me a private message. I will put your mind at rest.

Answer 2

class-struggle are inextricably linked.

Racism and Irish travellers

Irish travellers are an ethnic minority who are culturally separate to the rest of Irish society. Because they are white and most of the are Irish, people reject the idea that the concept of racism applies to them. However an examination of policies and practises operated by the state and by non-state bodies clearly shows that it is racism that defines these policies and practises.

Answer 3

i have lived in ireland all my life, the north that is, and although there arent many colored people here, there are some.

we treat eachother really equally like for example in my high school out of 1000 there were about 50 coloured people but there has never been any issues about it. wereas in other countries that would have been a problem.

ireland is such a magic place -theres nowhere else like it in the world please please please dont let people put you off coming with invalid information, you will really miss out

i would say to you go ahead there are more coloured people in dublin than anywhere else so go there if you want to, but everyones so friendly i doubt you will even have a problem!!

thanks for taking an interest in ireland =)

Answer 4

I've heard Northern Ireland is still very antagonistic toward the Chinese

Answer 5

I am a white person who has visited Ireland. I overheard a few comments, but the truth is that most of the people who made them didn't even live near a city and might not have ever seen a black person in real life.

Ireland is very safe. Everyone is friendly and more helpful to someone that is lost, especially compared to some American cities. Don't be afraid to visit Northern Ireland at all, but be prepared to have your passports ready and for any British border patrol to give you a hard time, even if you are American.

Europeans in general are more blunt than American men. I find that a lot of Irish men consider exotic looking women and/or foreign women to be attractive, so in short, you should be prepared to get hit on a lot! You'll probably be offered a lot of free drinks. You will probably also get a lot of questions at the airports that you might not be used to. I was asked repeatedly if I 'associated' with any young men while I was there, but that may have been because there were peace talks going on at the time and they were particularly concerned.

Rent a car and get a detailed map. Have plenty of money for gas and be sure to eat all the chocolate and dairy you can while you're there (it all tastes WAY better). I'd recommend staying in Dublin. I have not been to Belfast, but I know it is a bit less expensive. I would also recommend staying or at least visiting the Galway Bay area--it's absolutely beautiful.

If you go to the far north (even the northwest part, which is in the republic), you will probably get weird looks and may be treated rudely. Some folks in Donegal did not seem very open to us as American tourists. In Dublin, no one looked at us more than once and we were even asked by other tourists where to go when they mistook us for native Irish. I'm still very glad we went to each place though, as each part of Ireland has its own local flavor.

All that said, I still miss Ireland. I felt more at home there in many ways than I do in America. If you have the opportunity to go, please do!

Answer 6

come on over! I'll admit there are a few ignorant idiots around still but most people treat you the way you treat them. in smaller towns where everybody knows everybody you might get stared at but really only because they recognise every stranger. I'm Irish and if we go to a very small town we'll get stared at as well so dont worry too much about that! northern ireland is part of Britain and its a bit different from the south. if you want to visit 'ireland' come to the republic. if you're going with your friends you'll probably enjoy dublin cus they have the most clubs/pubs and best nightlife. loads of great restaurants as well and plenty of shopping and people. if you're staying for a few weeks it might be worth spending one week in dublin, a week in the west-like galway and maybe a week in Cork or Waterford. try go as many places as you can-the train is probably the best way to travel. have a great stay :D

Answer 7

Dublin is a dump and most of the racist scum live there.

So stay out of there and you'll be fine. ;-)

The best place to go is Galway, it is a university town in wonderful surroundings, and the natives are used to different looking people, AND there is loads of nightlife and other interesting things.

Cork is another lovely place, but you need an interpreter to understand the locals.

But being stared at could just mean that you are pretty, Irish guys have no inhibitions that way, and if you are in the countryside you'll be stared at anyway because you are a stranger, they believe in having a good look at everybody who's not local.

But seriously, every part of Ireland is fine for visitors, even Dublin and Belfast. You get scum all over the world, and Ireland is rather better than other places.

Public transport is a sore point in the Republic. In many rural areas it's non-existant. A hired car is the best in my view, and if there are several of you you should be easily able to afford it.

The only places where you can get around by public transport are actually Dublin and Belfast, and I would prefer Belfast, but that's because I hate Dublin with all my heart.

Anyway, I hope I was of some help, and that you'll have a wonderful time.

Answer 8

Maybe you should watch that new horror movie coming out called "Turistas : Go Home" ....

Answer 9

you betcha ,you will be the only one of your kind there

Answer 10

Listen the simple answer is come over. Ireland has now got a huge multinational mix of people so nobody really cares what color ya are. Have to admit though the Polish mite get a bit of stick, just cause there is so many of them coming over, daft really.

I'm from Sligo myself and its really beautiful around Sligo but my personal favorite would be Galway. Great city with something always going on. The pubs are great and you'll get real good feel of Ireland here. There would be alot tours going on so you will get a good chance to travel around the countryside for your pictures. The scenery on the west coast beats anything in the world.

So just book the trip and come on over.

Slan.

Answer 11

Multi-culturalism in Ireland is growing with open European Immigration.

There is a variety of different ethnicities in the cities and you can even find all of the ethnic foods we love in North America.

I lived in Ireland and did find RACISM a problem, but locals do with a problem with the many tourists invading their country. In the major cities, Galway, Dublin, Belfast, even Cork, you will be fine.

Like any place, you will find the odd person who looks at you funny but likely you will be discriminated against for your North American accent, not your skin colour.

Answer 12

If I was replying this question ten years ago, my answer would have been yes, but a lot has changed in that time.

I had a good friend who was half Napalese, he used to get a lot of stick from narrow-minded idiots, but that was because it was very rare seeing a non-white around these parts.

There has been a great influx of nationalities & races into Ireland in general over the last decade or so. In Belfast alone, you'll find Chinese, Nepalese, Koreans, Indians, Pakistanis, Africans, Portugese, Polish, Russian etc. You won't find a lot of French or Germans here ;-)

What I'm trying to say is... No, Ireland is no longer racist place for the most part.

I love seeing tourists visit Ireland, and you'll find that almost everyone you come across will be more than friendly & helpful.

If I were you, I would rent a car out. It can be expensive, but the public transport is rubbish here. I would start my journey in Dublin, go across to Galway, drive up the West coast all the way to Londonderry (Derry for short) and come around the Antrim coast to Belfast. You won't be disappointed!

I hope you decide to come and see us! :D

Answer 13

according to a very recent european study, ireland is less racist then it used to be.....but it wasnt massively racist in the first place.....except to the british in some places

Answer 14

A black friend of mine from New York, was a little shocked at how few black people there were here outside Dublin. But-she has been here one year now and loves it.

Try not to let other peoples ignorance keep you ignorant about other cultures.

Answer 15

OMG i live in Dublin and its not racist at all!!! We have people from so many different culture groups living here at the moment!! Especially polish people!! You'll be grand I wouldn't even have thought other countries thought we were racist-we're the same as every other country if that helps? =)

Answer 16

What issues, honestly? It's pretty mellow, compared to the rest of Europe. There are no skinhead nationalists and so on.

Ireland is very welcoming to foreigners esp. tourists.

In the unlikely event you get any hassle from people, just tell them you're American (or whatever your nationality is).

At most you will encounter unintentional ignorance or simple curiosity, although this is pretty much non-existent - the racial diversity has increased hugely in the last ten years.

My Chinese-American friend visited this year and she had a great time.

>What parts of Ireland is okay to travel to, North or South?

It's all ok and peaceful, since 1995 (if you mean the peace agreement in the North. Even before then the North was still much safer than walking around most large US cities at night).

Dublin, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Kilkenny, Waterford, Belfast, coast of Antrim, Derry, Donegal, Mayo, Galway, Rock of Cashel in Tipperary are all worth it. You will probably find it makes most sense to go in one direction around the coast, starting from either Shannon, Dublin or Belfast depending on where you fly into/out of. Nightlife in Dublin, Cork and Galway is great.

(PS: there are no "British border patrols" since ~1996)

> We want to stay in the city and travel to the country side to take pictures and look at the scenery. What are the best cities to stay in and visit? What is the best way to travel around the country?

Hmm, five questions for the price of one eh?

Depends entirely on how much time and money you have (7 days? 30 days?).

Renting a car in Ireland costs a ridiculous amount (the insurance costs as much as the rental itself, unless you have a platinum credit-card); train, bus and hitch-hiking work much better.

If you go by train, Eurail is great value. The train network kind of radiates outwards from Dublin so to go where you want to go, you may have to connect through e.g Athlone or Portlaoise.

If you are sporting you could cycle, although only recommended in the summer.

Where to stay: B&Bs, youth hostels or hotels depending on budget. Most European hotels charge per-person not per-room as in the US; I think Jury's Hotels are one of the few exceptions.

If you are flying from the US, shamrock.ie is offering a fantastic deal with flight + 7 days B&B vouchers. This also give you flexibility in planning.

I think you owe me like 50 points now :) Enjoy your trip and stop worrying.