Official Ireland

"Official Ireland" (Irish: Éire Oifigiúil^[1][2][3]) is a term widely used in the Republic of Ireland to denote The Establishment. It refers to the most powerful figures in the media, the Catholic Church, and the political parties, who control the national debate.

It generally denotes support for constitutional Irish republicanism, private property, the Catholic Church, libertarianism in economics, Gaelicisation and Irish language revival, and rural life.^{[4][5][6][7][8][9]}

History

The term was first used by footballer and journalist Eamon Dunphy.^{[10][11][12][13]}

Dr. Elaine Byrne has said "Official Ireland is predominantly male, over 50 and earners over €100,000. For the most part, it includes the speakers at this MacGill summer school and those that attend it. Official Ireland is characterised by the sameness of people in positions of power which means a uniformity of decision-making. This closed-minded conformism dismisses and belittles anyone who opposes the group consensus."^[14]

David McWilliams has repeatedly criticised "Official Ireland"'s response to the Great Recession.^[15]

Jonathan Sugarman used the term in 2017.^[16][17]

References

1. "An tUachtarán le hómós a léiriú don Bhreitheamh Hardiman ag Comhdháil na gCoimisinéirí Teanga anocht". 7 March 2016.
2. "Ag Déileáil le FrithGhaelachas - Colm Ó Broin - 2010". 12 March 2013.
3. "Index of /Docs" (PDF).
4. Tovey, Hilary; Share, Perry (1 January 2003). A Sociology of Ireland. Gill & Macmillan Ltd. ISBN 9780717135011 – via Google Books.
5. Wyndham, Andrew Higgins (1 January 2006). Re-imagining Ireland. University of Virginia Press. ISBN 9780813925448 – via Google Books.
6. Miller, David (25 September 2014). Rethinking Northern Ireland: Culture, Ideology and Colonialism. Routledge. ISBN 9781317884781 – via Google Books.
7. Killeen, Richard (19 September 2012). Ireland in Brick and Stone: The Island's History in Its Buildings. Gill & Macmillan Ltd. ISBN 9780717153626 – via Google Books.
8. Fanning, Bryan; Garvin, Tom (3 March 2014). The Books That Define Ireland. Merrion Press. ISBN 9781908928672 – via Google Books.
9. Pierse, M. (30 April 2016). Writing Ireland's Working Class: Dublin After O'Casey. Springer. ISBN 9780230299351 – via Google Books.
10. "When John Waters met Eamon Dunphy". The Irish Times.
11. "Dunphy baby, you've clearly jumped the fence". The Irish Times.
12. "The Rocky Road : Eamon Dunphy : Autobiography : Book Review". www.soccer-ireland.com. 5 January 2023.
13. "Controversial Selection dunphy's Starting Eleven - Independent.ie". 16 January 2010.
14. "OFFICIAL IRELAND - MacGill Summer School". www.macgillsummerschool.com. 15 April 2014.
15. "David McWilliams: Official Ireland got this horribly wrong, there is no Plan B - Independent.ie". 25 June 2016.
16. "► VIDEO: 'Official Ireland has absolutely and completely destroyed the lives of every single whistleblower'". www.irishtimes.com.
17. Hosford, Paul (13 April 2017). "'Official Ireland has destroyed the lives of every person who's come forward' - Banking whistleblower testifies to Oireachtas".