I’ve been listening to ‘Euro Country’ by CMAT on repeat constantly since it came out a few days ago. I’m obsessed with every part of it: the Irish at the start, the key change at the bridge, the political message. The intro as Gaeilge has me so delighted every time I hear it. Each listen is like a little reminder that the Irish language revival has been successfully linked with left-leaning politics to the point that I doubt these new ‘Ireland is full’ racists would be able to appropriate it. I know myself that it makes no sense to separate Irish language revival and decolonisation, but I’m glad that view has gone mainstream now. As much as I like to complain about how allergic the Irish are to change, it’s actually very nice how aware the general public is on the lingering effects of colonialism. We’re probably well ahead of the rest in that regard, if not in the western world, then certainly in the English speaking part.
The song has also got me thinking about our dreary future. Last year’s general election was the first one that I was able to vote in and by God was it a disappointment. Obviously I was spending too much time in my college campus bubble, because I had actually been feeling a bit hopeful that this might be the end of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael’s century of farting. Now I can see no future here. I can’t see any future at all to be honest; I wonder what the people who voted FF/FG see.
