Enoughness, accent and light communities: Essays on contemporary identities

 

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characters from Irish literature such as Molly Bloom. And words such as ‘Irish’ 

and ‘Celtic’ can also be used to flag the Irishness of the pub. 

2. There would be a preference for a particular kind of Celtic lettering in shop 

signs and advertisement boards; this can be done ‘completely’ or by 

approximation. In Figure 4 we see a rather amateurish attempt in ‘Zottegem’, 

where especially the ‘e’, the ‘g’ and the ‘m’ have a Celtic twist.  

3. Some stock symbols of Ireland would be present. The official website 

http://www.of-ireland.info/symbol.html

 lists the following canon of five 

‘symbols of Ireland’: the flag, the shamrock, the harp, the Celtic cross and the ring 

of Claddagh. The three-leaf clover, shamrock would be present in almost every 

case – see Figure 4. The Irish harp would also be quite frequently used, certainly 

when Guinness beer is advertised; less used are the Irish flag and the Celtic cross. 

We have not found instances of the use of the ring of Claddagh. Also quite 

widespread as a symbol of elementary Irishness is the color green – see again 

Figure 4 above, where green dominates the coaster as well as the clothes of the 

figures depicted in it. 

4. Irish pubs would almost always advertise music as part of their character and 

attractiveness. Evening shows with live bands, often performing folk music, are 

quite a widespread feature of Irish pubs, and one Belgian Irish pub is called after 

the legendary folk band ‘The Dubliners’. Other Irish stars such as Van Morrison 

and U2 would be mentioned, and theme nights would be organized around their 

music.  

5. Finally, some products are omnipresent. Guinness beer is undoubtedly the 

indispensible commodity on offer in any Irish pub. Jameson whiskey is another 

very frequent item on offer, and both would often be visibly advertised from the 

outside of the pub. Other ‘typical’ products would be Kilkenny’s beer and Irish 

cider; when food is offered, Irish lamb stew and Irish steak would very often be 

found on the menu. 

These five elements dominate the Irish pubs in Belgium; no doubt, they will be 

found elsewhere around the world as well.

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 They combine in a rustic, dark wood 

and brass interior to form a kind of cosiness welcomed by customers. The 

Zottegem Paddy’s Pub summarizes its character as follows: 

“The Paddy’s pub is an Irish pub where everyone feels at home and makes 

oneselfs comfortable (sic). It’s got everything you can find in an Irish pub, 

nice music, Irish whiskeys, Guinness, Kilkenny, Adam’s Apple, Irish food 

combined with European dishes, in a word, a part of Ireland in Zottegem 

Belgium.” 

                                                        

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 A possible sixth feature could be this. Almost all pubs would organize a St Patrick’s Day event. 

Customers are requested to dress in green colors that day, and substantial drinking at discount 

prices would be the backbone of the event; live bands would perform as well. 

 

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Note the Belgian accent in Paddy’s English, and observe the statement “Irish food 

combined with European dishes” – which summarizes what we intended to 

demonstrate. Irish pubs blend a small dose of emblematic globalized Irishness 

with a whole lot of local and other features. Guinness and cider are flanked by 

solidly Belgian beers such as Jupiler and Leffe on tap. So too with food: apart 

from the Irish lamb stew and the Irish Angus beef, Irish pubs in Belgium offer the 

same snacks and meals as those offered by non-Irish pubs in many places around 

the world. O’Reilly’s in Brussels, for instance, offers some iconic Irish food along 

with buffalo wings, beef and veggie nachos, hamburgers (with Irish beef), as well 

as the very English fish and chips and Sunday roast 

(

http://oreillys.nl/brussels/menu/7-food-menu.html

). And in many pubs, a 

choice of Irish whiskies would be complemented by a rich variety of original 

Scotch malts. Irishness can be extended, as we can see, into a broader realm of 

Anglo-saxon-ness. Needless to say, nevertheless, that almost every Irish pub 

advertises itself as authentically Irish. 

Is there a critical limit to the amount of emblematicity that a place ought to 

display in order to be a recognizably ‘Irish’ pub in Belgium? When is a pub ‘Irish 

enough’ to pass credibly as such? From our observations, we see that at least 

some of the features listed above are mandatory. One feature is not enough: a 

pub called ‘Sean O’Reilly’s’ but not serving Guinness or other Irish products 

would not easily be recognized as ‘Irish’ (“what! You don’t have Guinness?!”); in 

the opposite case, it is not enough to serve Guinness to qualify as an Irish pub. 

Irish pubs need to look and feel Irish, and they achieve that by means of a bundle 

of emblematic features: a name, a choice of products, displays of the shamrock or 

the harp, the color green, and so forth. The bundle, however, should not be too 

big. A pub which is so Irish that customers are required to speak English in order 

to get their orders passed, for instance, would not be too long in business in a 

town such as Zottegem. The same would apply to pubs that would only welcome 

Irish customers.

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 Irish pubs are globalized in a familiar way: a small but highly 

relevant bundle of globalized emblematic features is blended with a high dose of 

firmly local features. Customers can feel at home in Zottegem while they are, 

simultaneously, savoring an ‘authentically Irish’ pub ambiance. By entering an 

Irish pub, the local customers do not become Irish; nor would they have to, and 

that is the whole point: one merely enters a niche of Irishness. 

 

Enough is enough 

In the two illustrations we gave, we have seen how authenticity is manufactured 

by blending a variety of features, some of which – the defining ones – are 

sufficient to produce the particular targeted authentic identity. In the case of the 

chav, one single feature was enough to define almost any other object as ‘chav’; 

in the case of Irish pubs, the bundle was larger and more complex, but still 

essentially quite limited: a small dose of ‘active substance’ that turned pubs into 

Irish pubs in so many places in the world. In many ways, this process reminds us 

                                                        

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 A very small number of exceptions exist, mostly in larger cities such as Antwerp and Brussels, 

targeting English-speaking expatriates. 

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