3 ms·

I think the [Provisional] IRA is well known in America. Every other American seems to think they are 'part Irish' and I think the average American's awareness

I think the [Provisional] IRA is well known in America. Every other American seems to think they are 'part Irish' and I think the average American's awareness of The Troubles is high, at least compared to other foreign conflicts (at least for Americans old enough to remember the 90s at least anyway.) Furthermore 'Irish car bombs' are a tactless but popular bar drink in America, which indicates an awareness of the conflict.

zinekeller 6y ago
> Furthermore 'Irish car bombs' are a tactless but popular bar drink in America, which indicates an awareness of the conflict. In the Atlantic parts, sure. But someone saying that others knows the history of Ireland because they knew a drink is a stretch at this point.
- stretchcat 6y ago
  Occasionally I've met people who wondered where the drink name came from, but everybody else in the room was always quick to explain it. Americans may not know all the nuance and details, but the basics ('there was a violent conflict between the British and Irish, particularly regarding Northern Ireland") really are widely known in my experience.
JackFr 6y ago
If you think giving a drink a tasteless name is bad, the reality is a lot worse. https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/02/AR2005080201943.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/0... Through the 70’s and 80’s much of the money and many of the guns came directly from the US. Thatcher, Reagan and to some extent Tom Clancy ended that.
- stretchcat 6y ago
  My father has a story about being in Irish bars in New Jersey in the 70s and 80s when Irish men would occasionally come into bars and announce they were collecting the 'Irish tax'. People would chip in a dollar or two, with the understanding that the money would be used to support the IRA in some way.

3 ms·

I think the [Provisional] IRA is well known in America. Every other American seems to think they are 'part Irish' and I think the average American's awareness

by stretchcat 6y ago

zinekeller 6y ago
> Furthermore 'Irish car bombs' are a tactless but popular bar drink in America, which indicates an awareness of the conflict. In the Atlantic parts, sure. But someone saying that others knows the history of Ireland because they knew a drink is a stretch at this point.
- stretchcat 6y ago
  Occasionally I've met people who wondered where the drink name came from, but everybody else in the room was always quick to explain it. Americans may not know all the nuance and details, but the basics ('there was a violent conflict between the British and Irish, particularly regarding Northern Ireland") really are widely known in my experience.
JackFr 6y ago
If you think giving a drink a tasteless name is bad, the reality is a lot worse. https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/02/AR2005080201943.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/0... Through the 70’s and 80’s much of the money and many of the guns came directly from the US. Thatcher, Reagan and to some extent Tom Clancy ended that.
- stretchcat 6y ago
  My father has a story about being in Irish bars in New Jersey in the 70s and 80s when Irish men would occasionally come into bars and announce they were collecting the 'Irish tax'. People would chip in a dollar or two, with the understanding that the money would be used to support the IRA in some way.