In this episode, we talk about our trip to Dublin, Ireland last week to celebrate David’s 60th birthday, and reconnecting with our cultural heritage as Irish Americans. We spent most of our time south of the River Liffey in the city center, where many of the major cultural attractions are located (including the seat of the city and national governments, the National Concert Hall, the National Library, Dublin Castle, Trinity College, the National Art Gallery, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the National Museum of Archeology, St. Stephen’s Green, and Grafton Street).
What was most striking, though, was witnessing firsthand the way Ireland’s cultural identity survived through centuries of oppression and intense efforts to erase it. While it’s moving to us as Irish Americans to see the culture thrive, we could not help but think about people around the world who do not have the luxury of reconnecting with their culture and history the way we do, including the modern ancestors of enslaved Africans, the indigenous people whose languages, cultures, and traditions were nearly eradicated by colonialism and imperialism, and the victims of the Holocaust.
It was an exceptionally moving experience, and we recognize how lucky we are to have had it.
So, please listen to this week’s episode, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments, and, as always, support the rights of LGBTQ+ people everywhere! And if you’re new here, you can also follow our Twitter account, @itsotetPodcast.
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