57% of Irish People Know Their Neighbours - 81% Don't Want to Know Them

[C. Flower]

Hilarious I think. It's a Macra survey, so perhaps rural only. It cuts across a lot of conceptions of Irish society.

My experience of Ireland is that in general people are less likely to invite neighbours and strangers into their homes than in other countries, but perhaps more likely to mix in pubs and in sports and other community organisations.

Is an Irish person's home their castle ?

Any thoughts ?

A new survey reveals that 81% of people do not want to know their neighbours.

The poll - which launched Macra’s “Know Your Neighbour Weekend” programme - found that only 57% of people actually know their neighbours well and regularly interact with them.

The survey of more than 1,000 people aged over 16 across the State also found younger people had less contact with neighbours compared to older people.

Read more: http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/8...#ixzz1OCyZfOlV

[antiestablishmentarian]

Since the advent of TV, yes. From what i've heard, not being of an age to remember it myself, in the past visiting, storytelling and cards were common into the 60's and 70's and really only declined when TV came to the villages. There may also be the 'blow-in' factor at work here. During the boom, alot of rural areas in the bigger counties with large urban conglomerations experienced migration of young professionals and families from the cities because of cheaper house prices in the country. Many of these have not assimilated into the community and there is a divide between the 'old' inhabitants and the blow-ins, who don't send their kids to the local school or make any effort to know their neighbours.

[Lapsedmethodist]

Where I live now the houses are lucky in that they have large gardens - usually not a feature of Irish planning - but we're really suprised that no-one either gardens or even uses the garden in the summertime, and the houses were built in 1948 and many of the families have been there since.

[Ah Well]

Depends on where you live still to an extent

Personally I know a lot of the locals and saluting one another is commonplace. People do tend to do their own thing to a large extent however. But in times of necessity, such as if there were a death or indeed community get togethers to do things, people are quick to offer to help.

There has been considerable influx of new people into the area and considerable numbers of them are active in the community, which is great. There are others who do not participate and indeed there are locals of long standing who don't either but all in all community spirit is good enough, but could always of course increase.

You're always considered a blow in tho if not born in the place - can't do anything about that

[Baron von Biffo]

Perhaps it's a symptom of all the big tiger estates that infected small towns and villages around the country. Locals resentful of those living in the blight developments and blow-ins pissed off because they don't really want to live there but couldn't afford to buy elsewhere. Not a great formula for social success.

[Christy Walsh]

81% don't like their neighbours --now let me figure which 8 out of ten neighbours around me don't like me? --come to think of it I don't know 3/4 of them and 3/4 of them don't know me. However we are all fortunate enough not to have any problem neighbours so none of us would like to see that balance upset --I expect that reflects most other neighbourhoods --with few execeptions.

[Holly]

"Walls make good neighbors."

[truth.ie]

Back in the 70's, we were the first house in the street, to have a phone installed.
There were 32 houses in the street, and every night there would be a stream of neighbours with their 10p's looking to make a call.
Some were pretty emotive calls (couldn't help over-hearing)and were made immediately after a "domestic" or such.
In the summer the parents of the street would've organised bus runs and day trips for the children and all the families and neighbours would trundle off to the beach like one mega family. Then, all of a sudden, every family seemed to own their own car or two, and the bus runs ended
I've noticed a lot of the newbies in the street are very reticient about striking up conversation, compared to the past. You may get a nod or a Hello...if you say hello first.
Definately changing.

[Christy Walsh]

"Walls make good neighbors."

The Walls use to live not far from us --what I heard about them used to make me glad several streets insulated us from them.

[Fraxinus]

That is sad to hear.

I live in a rural area and people are still very neighbourly fortunately enough. I dunno how things work in the Dublin Cactus but people just visit houses, invites aren't the norm and never were. If ya want to ramble to someones house you just go to it and most times you'll be made very welcome. Now I have noticed when new people move into the area they are invited the first time but after that it's up to the person themselves.
Televsion has definitely made people less likely to visit neighbours in the evening. The pub has sort of killed of the music houses of long ago. Also house wakes are few and far between now when once they were a major social event in people's houses, same with the stations.

It's great to get people saluting on the road now....seems to be dying out in a lot of places as well.