For Ireland’s progressive government, transgenderism and other “LGBTQ+” talking points have become central elements within modern St Patrick’s day celebrations.
“Romantic Ireland’s dead and gone. It’s with O’Leary in the grave.” So says, William Butler Yeats, one of the greatest artistic minds my country has ever produced. The line comes from a poem titled “September 1913”, a work that mourns the degradation of Ireland as the island slowly but surely became wealthier. At a time when many living on the island were finally starting to see some sense of financial prosperity, Yeats felt that they were becoming less and less like the heroic souls who came before them, and perhaps more and more like their then-fellow subjects living in Britain.
If Yeats found the Irish of the early 20th century of questionable character, he would surely find those of the early 21st completely unrecognisable. Though Ireland is now an independent nation-state, its politicians have largely lost interest in the national question.
The political class of the legendary poet’s period largely occupied itself with the independence of Ireland, fighting tooth and nail in order to establish a sovereign republic with complete control of every corner of the island.
