Is there such a thing as an Irish National style?

Just be as stylish as you can Catherine

surely you would have to define Irish first….

is is irish before the vikings, after the vikings and before the normans etc etc….

I’m afraid Katherine the simple answer is
“no” and nor should there be.Styless is
the preferred option nowadays.
Contemporary style

I think any building built in Ireland is inherently Irish

With ref to e.carr – its interesting that the Irish free state decided that round towers/early christian stuff was the Irish national style – Finland had a similar question and decided that international modernism would be the direction their new-born state would take – it could have been us….

in fairness thats not all the picture…. the tds and ministers of the free state used to attend AAI meetings – unheard of now… and although we didnt adopt modernism as a national style (hate that phrase), at least we were building in a more modern style than the similarly young state of Northern Ireland… compare Department of Commerce Trade and Industry on Kildare Street to Stormount Castle….

I would think the Dept of Trade + Industry is the exception rather than the rule. Other areas of design had strong early christian refs – garda insignia etc. The early Christian reference also pops up again and again in representing Ireland through architecture – for the first monument to Irish WW1 dead built 2 yrs ago at Messines Ridge in Belgium a round tower was built – I think this was a non-govt project

Is there really such a thing as a distinct national style, especially when you examine architecture history in general…..is’nt everything copied or borrowed from a commom source. Maybe one could say that there are distinct styles to geographical regions etc….When you get into the business of claiming a distinct national style there is usually a hidden agenda of the facist sort.I mean we here in Ireland have a varied architectural history (although bitty when compared to other countries) and it’s all a product of successive immigration of different peoples throughout the centuries, now is’nt it.

…..To add passage graves and burial sites of the pre Celtic/Celtic sort like that of Newgrange can be found elsewhere in Britain and Europe……it is just that we make a song and dance about it that we tend to think that we are unique…..but maybe it is just as well because with our ignorance and stupidity we would probably have had it bulldozed years ago.

[This message has been edited by GregF (edited 13 December 2000).]

Given that the concept of a nation is meaningless in this day and age, a national style is equally meaningless. We should be aiming for the best quality style in our environment, built or otherwise.

My nationality means something to me – I am absolutley certain that I’m not Romanian.

Well good for some but most folks who claim to be of the ‘auld sod’ are really a mixture of Celt, Dane, Norman,and Brit; collectively known today as Irish and not having either a word of the auld ancient tongue itself….. begorrah!
People should’nt believe the myths, like religion they are the cause of wars.

Well good for some but most folks who claim to be of the ‘auld sod’ are really a mixture of Celt, Dane, Norman,and Brit; collectively known today as Irish and not having either a word of the auld ancient tongue itself….. begorrah!
People should’nt believe the myths, like religion they are the cause of wars.

I still able to say that I’m Irish.

Although I haven’t started any wars.

Bhueil eireannach ata ionaim comh maith ach nil mid ag caint faoi naisuineachas ta muid ag caint faoi altiireacht.

[This message has been edited by GregF (edited 15 December 2000).]

You may say your Irish but what exactly does that mean? (and how does all this relate to architecture?)

I don’t know about us building in an Irish style, but the sheer bloddy minded disregard for all sense of aesthetics and history that we deploy when pulling things down most certainly set us apart. Or does it?!!!

What conclusions did you reach?