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[ireland2022-blog]

[ireland2022-blog]

INTRODUCTION

Ireland remains one of the most globalised countries in the world today with high levels of trade with other countries with many people having family ties to Ireland. In recent years Ireland has been able to shed its larrikin, beer loving stereotype with its development into the modern country it is today. Through its changing and developing views and laws regarding issues such as the treatment of women, gender wage gap, work conditions, stereotyping and culture Ireland has become a high functioning modern society. These developments are what makes Ireland a perfect fit for the 2022 FIFA world cup aligning with modern global values and ethics. In recent years Ireland has played host to many events where the country has proved that it can provide a world class hosting experience for competitors and spectators alike. Such events including the Ryder cup in 2006 where the event attracted 260, 000 spectators in 3 days, the Heineken cup semi final in 2009 where over 80, 000 spectators attended the match and the Volvo Ocean Race in 2012 where a remarkable 742, 000 visitors came to the country for the event (Ireland2023, 2017). With a rich history and culture Ireland shows itself to be a front runner for the 2022 FIFA world cup.

[ireland2022-blog]

IRELAND’S RELATIONSHIP WITH FOOTBALL

Despite being in and out of world cups in recent years Ireland has maintained a very strong relationship with football. Currently it remains the most played team sport in the country and the third ranked spectator sport behind the national icons of hurling and Gaelic football (O’brien, 2014). With the country featuring 2 international teams football is played throughout the country at amateur level featuring strong clubs in the major towns and cities. Having made several finals appearances in 1990, 1994 and 2002 the republic of Ireland has proven itself a powerful force of international football. Irish soccer fans are renowned worldwide for the undying support of their national football teams, again it’s this passion and commitment to the game which proves Ireland can host a great world cup (Ireland2023, 2017).

[ireland2022-blog]

INFRASTRUCTURE

The republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland between them maintain and control 5 major international airports and 6 docks which international visitors arrive at every year (Contiuum, 2018). While in the past there have been major events which the countries infrastructure had not been able to handle, improvements to public transport and international transport have enabled Ireland to successfully host major events (Contiuum, 2018). With Ireland’s popular spectator sports of rugby, football, gaelic football and hurling Ireland possesses many major stadiums which cater to the requirements of the FIFA world cup. Croke park, in Dublin is the largest stadium in Ireland and the third largest in Europe. 

This makes it a supreme choice for the FIFA world cup final as well as other major finals. The countries facilities are world class and the country has more than 20 stadiums throughout the country which can hold 20k plus spectators comfortably. Just as for the countries rugby world cup bid, an agreed price charter with the Irish hotel industry will be able to be guaranteed for over 2.4 million hotel beds guaranteed (Ireland2023, 2017). On top of this the country possesses 12.4 million available hotel bed nights. Ireland offers various domestic flight options, quality bus routes, train routes and hire car companies. This makes getting from city to city extremely accessible as well as accessible in city transport as shown in our infographics.

[ireland2022-blog]

POSITION & TREATMEANT OF WOMEN

The republic of Ireland has traditionally been a heavily Catholic nation, and as a result heavily influenced by them. As a religious country, the Irish in the past have stuck with the typical role of a mother for women. However in recent years, this trend is changing. Gender stereotypes, views on marriage and abortion are quickly disappearing. There is currently a referendum in Ireland in an attempt to change the laws of abortion, and a National strategy  has been put in place in “which the Government will pursue actions to advance the rights of women and girls”(Genderequality, ie 2014).

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EQUALITY IN THE WORKFORCE

In this day and age we believe that the host nation of the world cup should have equal opportunities for both men and women. This is an issue that Ireland has improved on over recent years. As can be seen in the graph below, Ireland boasts a lower hourly wage gap based on gender than the rest of Europe and a lower annual pay gap. We do acknowledge that in the past in Ireland, women have been underrepresented in the workplace, receiving lower salaries and being less likely to receive a critical first promotion to manager than men. Meaning there were bias’, where men and women would behave the same, but women were treated differently (Turban et.al 2017) however, this is all improving. Even though there are some gender-based bias’ in Ireland, it is still common for both genders to work and earn an income, meaning there is still somewhat equality in the workforce. It has been improving over the past few years and is still progressing towards equality. Over the past 30 years participation of females in the workplace aged 25 to 64 has risen from 20% to almost 50% by 1996 (Sweeny, 2017) with majority of that increase happening in the late 80′s and early 90′s. There has been continued growth of well educated workers in Ireland and so with women in Ireland often being better educated than men equality in the Irish workforce has continued to rise (Sweeny, 2017)

[ireland2022-blog]

STEREOTYPING AND CULTURE

The culture in Ireland is very similar to those of a Western Country; the art, music and film industries are a few examples. However, a very common stereotype of Ireland is that they’re all drunks which is extremely misleading. “There is no uncertainty that many people in Ireland enjoy appreciate the occasional pint of Guinness, or a trip to the local pub” (Cooke 2018). Even though there is a recognised issue of over-consumption of alcohol in Ireland, pub culture is about more than just drinking. Therefore, enjoying the occasional drink at the pub doesn’t make every person in Ireland an alcoholic, it’s just a part of their culture. Similar to Australia, a trip to the local pub isn’t for the purpose of getting drunk, it’s known as a the place for social gatherings with friends and/or family. Meeting people at a bar or pub isn’t always for the purpose of drinking, it’s more for socialising, making Ireland an appropriate host for the world cup, as there are many places for people to socialise when the soccer isn’t in action. Ireland are also huge in the sporting world, specifically to the Gaelic world, and have unlimited reach to marketing such events as the World Cup, making it a perfect host for any future World Cups.

[ireland2022-blog]

ATITIUDE TO ADVERTISING TO CHILDREN

Ireland defines children as those who are under 18, there are numerous codes and regulations which protect and monitor the advertising and marketing towards children. The Irish government introduces these codes as they believe that children lack the experience and maturity of judgement hence advertisers should be conscious of how they operate as children may perceive and react differently to their advertising (Asai 2018). Codes such as 5.5 are in regards to the portrayal of children in advertising and marketing, ensuring that children are not shown engaging in negative, dangerous, or anti-social behaviours as children watching might try imitate these behaviours (Asai 2018). Codes such as 5.6 ensure that children are not exploited as they are considered more vulnerable due to lack of experience and poorer judgement skills. Codes 5.7 refer to appropriate product advertisements for children as well as misleading advertisements whether it be from the choice of wording or exaggerated size and performance of said product (Asai 2018). Code 5.9 protects children from unhealthy lifestyle and unhealthy eating advertisements and include not advertising snack foods as substitutes for meals and misleading children with false benefits from consuming the product (Asai 2018). Ultimately Ireland has shown that it is very conscious of advertising towards children with heavy regulation and codes in place in order to stop the exploitation of children.

[ireland2022-blog]

IMMIGRANTS AND FOREIGN RESIDENCE

More than 70 million people worldwide belong to the passionate Irish diaspora. Many of these people live in America and millions have close relation to Irish heritage. More than 33 million Americans state Irish as their ethnic identity and more than 4 million Americans have direct heritage tied to Ireland (Ireland2023, 2017). 

This has made Irish culture a very widespread and well known one. With nearly one in eight people living in Ireland coming from overseas the country is increasingly multicultural (McGarry, 2016). When the Irish economy improved greatly in the 90′s many people started to immigrate to Ireland. This trend also saw many people that had left Ireland return to once again make the country their home. 

[ireland2022-blog]

ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE LGBT COMMUNITY

Although Ireland is a predominantly Christian and heavily influenced by the Roman Catholic Church, the country has legalized same sex marriage since May 22nd 2015 (Baran 2015) and has shown a growing acceptance towards alternative families (LGBT couples without children). The Irish government has also launched multiple tourism campaigns in order to promote same sex marriage, aiming to promote LGBT and aid in their tourism growth, offering a range of services such as locations to get married or recommendations on honeymoon locales. These advertising campaigns utilized social media platforms such as Facebook were targeted towards the US, Britain, Canada, Scandinavia, Australia, France, Spain, Italy, and Germany (Baran 2015). Ireland has shown a massive growth in acceptance over the past few decades, starting from only a single gay bar in the 1980’s, now has grown to dozens with popular locations including The Front Lounge, Pantibar, Wilde, and The George. Ireland is also plays hosts to multiple LGBT events such as the International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival, GAZE, Out4Tennis, Bear Féile, and pride parades boasting crowds of up to 35,000 (Ireland.com 2018).

That being said by all means Ireland is not perfect in terms of LGBT support, research was done into mental health services in Ireland in relation to LGBT needs, although it was found that 63% of respondents felt comfortable coming out to mental health professionals and talking about their issues, 64% of respondents felt that mental health professionals lacked knowledge on LGBT issues and 43% of respondents felt that mental health professionals were unresponsive to their needs (McCann & Sharek 2013). Ireland indeed has room to grow in the mental health sector but with growing acceptance and community, the mental health sector should also grow in response to their needs over time.

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CONCLUSION

Ireland is a forward thinking and multicultural society that has shown time and time again that the country welcomes tourists with open arms. Available resources and wealth enables Ireland to be the perfect candidate for the FIFA world cup in 2022. The nation as a whole epitomises a patriotic people, with a passionate love for live sport and of the World game. With the necessary infrastructures and hospitable people Ireland is well equipped to hold the FIFA world cup. Their past of being heavily influenced by the Catholic church and following with gender stereotypes has progressed in modern times and Ireland has steadily become a progressive nation. 

[ireland2022-blog]

[ireland2022-blog]

References

Asai 2018, "ASAI – Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland » Children", Asai.ie, viewed 27 May, 2018, <http://www.asai.ie/asai-code/children/>.

Baran, M 2015, "Ireland seeks LGBT tourism with new international campaign: Travel Weekly", Travelweekly.com, viewed 8 May, 2018, <http://www.travelweekly.com/Europe-Travel/Ireland-seeks-LGBT-tourism-with-new-international-campaign>.

Continuum, 2018, “invest in Ireland”, IDAIreland, viewed 1st May 2018, <https://www.idaireland.com/invest-in-ireland/ireland-infrastructure>

Cooke, S 2018, ‘6 Stereotypes About Ireland You Should Rethink’, Stint Ireland, March 11-17, viewed 27/05/18 < https://www.stintireland.com/6-stereotypes-ireland-rethink/ >

Ireland.com, 2018, "Gay Ireland", Ireland.com, viewed 27 May, 2018, <https://www.ireland.com/en-gb/ireland-stories/contemporary-culture/articles/gay-ireland/>.

Ireland2023, 2017, “A tournament like no other”, Irish Rugby, viewed 1st May, <http://www.irishrugby.ie/ireland2023/en/>

Genderequality.ie. (2014). Gender Equality: Home. [online] Available at: http://www.genderequality.ie/ [Accessed 24 May 2018].

McCann, E & Sharek, D 2013, "Survey of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's experiences of mental health services in Ireland", International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 118-127.

McGarry, P. (2015). Almost one in eight living in Ireland hail from abroad. [online] The Irish Times. Available at: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/religion-and-beliefs/almost-one-in-eight-living-in-ireland-hail-from-abroad-1.2471339 [Accessed 27 May 2018].

Pestova, N. (2016). Differential treatment of refugees in Ireland | Forced Migration Review. [online] Fmreview.org. Available at: http://www.fmreview.org/resettlement/pestova.html [Accessed 27 May 2018].

Sweeny, P 2017, “Women at work in Ireland”, Progressive economy, viewed 1st May 2018, <https://www.tasc.ie/blog/2017/01/03/women-at-work-in-ireland/>

Turban, S Freeman, L, Waber B 2017, ‘Gender inequality in the workplace is down to bias, study finds’, The Irish Times, 27th October, viewed 15/5/18 <https://www.irishtimes.com/business/work/gender-inequality-in-the-workplace-is-down-to-bias-study-finds-1.3268490 >

O’brien, B 2014, “rugby closes in on GAA as soccer still most popular sport”, Irish examiner, viewed 20th May 2018, <https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/rugby/rugby-closes-on-gaa-as-soccer-still-most-popular-sport-302892.html>

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