Although hemispheres apart on the globe, Ireland and South Africa are closer in spirit than one might expect, as Katrin Schmidt discovers
Ireland and South Africa might be separated by 5,000 miles, but these two cultures – on the face of it very different – are closer together than one might think.
One thing that both countries share is a deep passion for rugby. And this was none more evident than in the British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa earlier this summer, with the cream of Irish rugby taking on the Springboks’ finest in Durban, Pretoria and Johan-nesburg.
“The 2009 Lions have thrown themselves into the spirit of the tour, have interacted with the people of South Africa and shown themselves to be great ambassadors for northern hemisphere rugby,” said head coach Ian McGeechan during the test match tour.
Closer to home, rugby fans of both nationalities found a home at The Woolshed, a popular pub on Dublin’s Parnell Street that caters especially for ex-pats from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
During the Lions Tour, the pub was transformed into a ‘Bok Bar’, adorned with South African flags and serving traditional braaivleis (roasted meat) such as spit-roasted pig, while all the games were shown live on a big screen.
Colette Lenehan, manager of The Woolshed, lived for a time in Durban 20 years ago, and was particularly delighted to see many people from South Africa in the pub. “Especially during the rugby games, our pub brings both Irish and South African people together. They enjoy the spectacle.”
During her time in South Africa, the apartheid era was coming to an end but black and white cultures were nowhere near being integrated. “During African music concerts, sometimes I was the only white person,” she remembers.
Nevertheless, the people around her “treated everybody equally, and didn’t view others in terms of their skin colour.”
Lenehan advises everybody to visit South Africa sometime. “It really broadens your horizon in terms of culture,” she says.
While South African pubs may be a novelty in Ireland as of yet, Irish pubs have taken South Africa by storm.
Irishman Dave McCarthy has owned a pub called The Dubliner in Cape Town for the past three years, and it has become a very popular spot, especially on St Patrick’s Day.
“It’s a very busy day since people from all over the world come to my pub – a diverse crowd,” he says. “People here know how to celebrate.”
McCarthy has noticed that South Africans are a bit more laid back than the Irish today. “Ireland has become a very hectic place over the last couple of years,” he says. “South African people enjoy themselves more than we do.”
Sifiso Dlamini has noticed similar differences. The South African has been living in Ireland for four years now, and has fit in well in the ‘land of a thousand welcomes’, but some things he’d had to get used to. “South Africa more consists of separate communities which don’t intermingle as much as in Ireland,” he explains.
But it is the development of deep friendships that he misses most about the ‘rainbow nation’.
“Irish people are very friendly and outgoing,” he says, “but it’s hard to really become closer to them. So I miss the trust and the ability to get to know people better.
“If you meet someone here, it’s often more in a colleague sort of way, and when you part ways the friendship doesn’t really remain.”
But in spite of some cultural clashes, Ireland and South Africa are on the same page when it comes to business.
The Ireland South Africa Business Association (ISABA) was established as a non-profit organization in 1993 to promote trade and commerce between the two countries.
“The council at ISABA comprises a cross-section of Irish and South African business people, both young and old, who are all united in a common goal to see business links between our two countries continue to develop and strengthen for the good of both nations and peoples,” says the association’s chairman Peter O’Dwyer.
Last year the ISABA hosted a special event called ‘South Africa: A Celebration’. “This event was focused on promoting South African business and tourism, featuring South African wine, tourism companies and anything that makes people to travel to South Africa,” explains ISABA secretary Tony Angelosante. “The celebration was a great success, with over 600 people attending.”
Next year the ISABA is planning a similar event to coincide with the World Cup taking place in South Africa.
