A closer look
People of Irish descent living in the United States currently outnumber the actual population of Ireland by roughly six to one. Over thirty million Americans proudly claim Irish heritage, usually making this loud declaration immediately after consuming a single pint of artificially green beer on St. Patrick's Day. Meanwhile, the actual island of Ireland only has about five million residents who are perpetually exhausted by obnoxious tourists wandering into rural pubs and claiming they are essentially locals because their great-great-grandfather supposedly owned a sheep in County Cork. It is a masterclass in cultural hijacking, where an entire demographic of people base their entire personality on a mythical version of a country they have only ever experienced through aggressive marketing campaigns and incredibly inaccurate historical fiction
