Abdon M. Pallasch ponders the truth of a provocative line from the movie The Departed.
“What Freud said about the Irish is: We’re the only people who are impervious to psychoanalysis,” declares Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) in Martin Scorsese’s film The Departed. So what exactly did the father of modern psychiatry, Sigmund Freud, mean by that, anyway? Are we Irish all crazy? Or just experts at hiding our true thoughts?
Have centuries of oppression by the British, repression by the church, suppression of our sexual urges and a thirst for the drink made us into a race of people who can have lively, jovial arguments about the weather, sports and politics without ever divulging the real issues burning in our souls, if we even admit to ourselves what they are?
(Pregnant, awkward silence.) At best, Freud generalized.
Or maybe we’re just a well-grounded people who would rather solve our problems on our own than pay $200 an hour for help.
Maybe Freud’s observation is such a great laugh line in the movie because the Irish – or those who hang out with us – can read their favorite stereotype about the Irish into it.
Just one problem: Freud never said it.
William Monahan, who won an Oscar for his engrossing screenplay about Irish-American cops and crooks in Boston, admits that he just paraphrased a line, always attributed to Freud, that has popped up on the Internet and in newspaper articles going back 10 years:
“The line in The Departed,” Monahan told me in an e-mail, “is a paraphrase of: ‘This is one race of people for whom psychoanalysis is of no use whatsoever.’”
That line – the “whatsoever” version – is routinely used in profiles of Irish people. But never is there any source, any context, any citation to any text or speech by Sigmund Freud.
“I had heard it once before, and when I saw the movie I tried again to source it – and there is no source for it,” said Dr. Barry O’Donnell, chairman of the Association of Psychoanalysts and Psychotherapists in Ireland.
Incidentally, the patients of the 140 members of this Dublin-based professional association do find some use for psychoanalysis.
“I couldn’t find that there was any letter or source from a meeting where Freud actually said that,” O’Donnell said. “His biographer, Ernest Jones, a Welshman, would have been very attuned to it and wouldn’t have let it slip from his three-volume biography. But it’s not in that.”
For the last two weeks, prompted by questions from the Chicago Sun-Times, the 3,400 members of the American Psychoanalytic Association have been batting this about on their message boards and querying public libraries and the Library of Congress, but have found no evidence that Freud uttered the quote.
“I’m Irish and I’m a Freud scholar and I don’t think Freud ever said anything like that,” said Chicago psychoanalyst John Maguire.
“If he said it, he probably had an Irish patient that didn’t work out and he generalized,” said Dr. Prudence Gourguechon, president-elect of the American Psychoanalytic Association. “I personally think it’s made up.”
A quote like that from Freud would “make no sense” because the Irish are a “soulful, poetic people … with strong family relationships,” Gourguechon said. “That’s what psychoanalysis is all about. Repression would be very amenable to psychoanalysis. Changing the subject when you get into painful issues is a psychoanalytic issue. [The Irish] don’t grow up being told they can’t have individual feelings outside the clan. You couldn’t have poets. You couldn’t have drunks, for that matter.”
The notion of the Irish being able to conceal their true feelings well enough to fool psychoanalysts is so appealing that Irish moviegoers themselves love the line.
After seeing the movie, U2 rock legend Bono told the New York Daily News: “In a movie that’s all about lies, that is not one of them.”
Monahan, the screenwriter, never suspected the widely used quote was an Internet legend.
“I have never thought that there was controversy about attribution,” he told me. “If Freud didn’t say it, he should have. If Freud didn’t say it, I am enormously sorry for him, because it is the only statement of truth to which his name has ever been connected.”
Do Irish tolerate the bad?
Monahan, by the way, got off another good one-liner about the Irish in The Departed.
Damon’s character tells his psychoanalyst girlfriend that if their relationship is to end, she has to be the one to break it off because, being Irish, he never will. “I’m not capable,” he says. “I’m f- – – – – – Irish. I’ll deal with something being wrong for the rest of my life.”
Now is that a fair generalization to tar our whole people?
“You could find evidence to support this,” admitted Dr. Brendan Kelly, a professor of psychiatry at University College Dublin. “We have an unrivaled history of failed revolutions, which are now interpreted as covert victories of one sort or another. This legacy is very evident with our soccer team. At the World Cup a few years ago, we got to compete with Brazil. We always regard a draw as a victory. This comes from generations of putting the best possible spin on generations of defeats.”
Both lines from the movie brought me back to Cassidy’s Roost in Maynooth, Ireland, where my classmates and I spent too many nights during college, pints in hand, smoke in the air, engaged in animated conversations about the weather, sports, politics and who fancied whom. But substantive questions that broke below the surface, such as, “How can you be shifting [flirting with] all these women when you’re studying for the priesthood?” would be met with a swift change of subject.
A people who can hide their true feelings would make great paramilitary plants for the Irish Republican Army, or excellent infiltrators of law enforcement of the Irish mob in Boston, which is why Freud’s thesis about the Irish — whether he said it or not — is so apt for The Departed.
“The Irish caricature is one in which they can be outgoing, but when it comes to serious emotions that aren’t a ballad or a joke or a story, they tried to deflect attention to themselves out of fear of being ashamed of what would be seen,” said Dr. Paul Lynch, a Boston psychoanalyst on the faculty at Harvard Medical School. “It clearly is a part of the culture, the shame and embarrassment about sexuality, the role of the church and being dominated by the English for so long.”
But the caricature does not fit all members, and as the Irish standard of living races past the British, it is changing.
“I think it will be very interesting to see how it changes as the Irish become more participants on the world stage and the island culture changes.”
And every psychoanalyst interviewed for this article endorsed the movie, whether or not they liked the line attributed to Freud.
“I had never heard the quote until I saw the movie. I was very shocked by it,” said Dr. Lynne Moritz, president of the American Psychoanalytic Association. “But I’ll tell you, trying to track this down has been the most fun I’ve had in weeks.”
There is no record of Freud commenting thus. He appointed Ernest Jones a Celt, to bring psychoanalysis to Ireland- a Celtic land. Its movie talk rather than academic.
There was some literature about a student of Freud who referenced this about the Irish who emigrated to Australia in the late 1800s/early 1900s. So being a disciple of Freud of it got attributed to him.
wait a minute, being a redhead myself, I know for a fact that I intentionally am best described as an overly honest person, for the simple fact that it is IMPOSSIBLE to hide my true emotions. I am pretty much literally transparent in the sense that I am extremely pale, so the various fluctuations in my heart rate or adrenaline will be immediately recognized in the form of blushing. It’s honestly something of a horrifying condition to not be able to control such things… also, frued was a dick. who cares what he thinks about anything at this point? #americanfeminist
What has red hair got to do with the article?
Red-headed. Typically followed by the word “Irishman.” One thing we know about you, Emma, is that you are a concrete thinker! Top o’ the mornin’ to ya.
I am convinced he said this about us Indian Hindus.
Very Good ~ thanks for the laugh.
Pity redhair is more of a Scottish trait then.
The frequency of red hair and of genetic carriers is actually higher in Ireland than Scotland.
No it’s actually higher in Scotland. Believe it or not, the highest frequency of redheads is found in southern Russia.
Because many Irish people are redheads, but not all.
My mother was Irish and a redhead as is my brother. My youngest brother is Irish but has brown hair, but my sister has dark brown hair. My hair is medium brown with red highlights. Go figure.
Im black haired Irish, dad and sis red and brown red mix, well my dad a bit of salt and Cheyenne Pepper (red)Mother, native Indian & european
Then you must be Gemini Irish!
Capricorn, actually.
Oppressed by the British?
The British were oppressed by the Irish LONG before the troubles.
Check your history, the Irish caught escaped British slaves and handed them back to Romans in Britain per their agreement to remain free themselves.
Why else do you think the British and the English detest the Irish so much?
Essentially the Irish bought their freedom by helping to enslave their neighbours.
Never asked yourselves why Rome never invaded Ireland?
Well, now you know.
point in fact, the Romans never invaded Ireland because they were unable to. If you knew the slightest bit about Irish History you would know that the Romans tried several times but were beaten off the irish shores multiple times. up until Henry’s split with the Catholic church there was actually shared kinship with Irish,English, and Scottish. You should do some research before you spread hatred
I believe that Freudian theory is highly questionable for people of ALL ethnic stripes and nationalities. Not just the Irish and/or people of Irish ancestry.
I know I’m critical of Freud primarily for his views of woman and for basing such sweeping claims about humanity on such small sample sizes of Victorians using questionable science.
Freud gave an opinion even if it wasn’t directed at or toward the Irish race. An opinion is like an asshole, everyones got one. I am Irish born. The people in the movie “The Departed” played fictional characters based on an assemble of Bostonians with Irish ancestry who worked as gangsters and cops. These people are American born and so are most of there parents. There life experiences are very different than the average Irish born person. Comparing the two is like comparing a black guy from Harlem to a Jamaican or a Kenyan. This notion that we are all the same is right up there with Irish people from Ireland eating corn beef and cabbage or Italians from Italy eating Meatballs and spaghetti.
I know my history and heritage. Don’t think that a generation OFF the island can erase 3000 years of culture,history and tradition. From one of the 75,000,000 IRISH descendents of those forced from from thier ancestral home who continue to keen over 700 years of oppresion and degradation under the attempted rule of the “ANGLISH”. Just one question. Why do you think they ate corned beef and cabbage? It was the cheapest shit food they could afford. Or did you not know we weren’t treated any better than in Ireland. We could fight and earn here what we could not in Ireland. Have clue about your history before making such empty comparisons.
Speeking of food. Keep in mind Trevellyn, look him up’ was a Welshman. The shame of it is overwhelming. What a fellow Celt did to his bretheren.
KEVIN JOSEPH PADRAIG FLYNN.
Hi Kevin,
The Irish didn’t eat corned beef and cabbage,
Beef was too expensive. They ate x and cabbage.
Corned beef and cabbage is an American-Irish thing.
And it was originally kurned(Gaelic for the salt used to preserve), not corned.
Actually corned beef and cabbage is a traditional, read, poor, Irish dish. In Dublin anyway, survived up to the 90’s still see it the odd time.
Workin’ class culture probably shares more in common with people like yourself Kevin. That history does shape cultural responses something the church manipulated to a horrible T.
I grew up in Ireland and the only corned beef I ever saws in a can. The Irish in Ireland ate bacon with cabbage but when they went to America they found that pork was expensive (while being cheap in Ireland) so the substituted with corned beef which was relatively cheap. Corned beef and cabbage is an Irish American dish.
People familiar with cultures, travel and diasporas know that cultures located in original countries, see many differences in those who have relocated – or have been forced to relocate- in other countries. That does not eliminate old cultural patterns being transferred, along with the circumstantial adaptations required for survival and participation in new locations. My Irish Canadian family carried the legacy of protecting and supporting the autonomy of males, while having few life lessons for females – and the nuns running schools also expected no secular training for women, as Nuala O’Faolain’s work highlights so well. I did elder care in people’s homes in Massachusetts – and the organization and decor often preserved old cultural values. Yes differences, but those need to be part of the conversation, not brushed away with the automatic dismissal that I grew up (at personal cost) assuming to be male privilege.
Just watched this again for the first time since its release. I missed the lines the first time. Maybe it’s because my life has become more tragic, but I about fell out of my chair laughing. So true. I AM fucking Irish.
Ray,
You can take the Irishman out of Ireland, but you can never take the Irish out of the man!
Tá muid ar an mhuintir ár sinsear – ní cailleadh nó listless; searchers agus taiscéalaithe!
You can take the Irishman out of the shanty, but you can’t keep the poteen out of the Irishman!?????☘️????
Oh, for fuck sake !
Frank,
Pure Poetry!! Keith………get a real mind! Aren’t you bored with the severe limitations of an uncultured mind? Your reply to Frank isn’t worth the electrical energy that your computer used to process your words. If you read some Irish folklore, you’ll realise that your brain is now dominated by an enraged 3 year old toddler. YUCK! Do you really love the smell of baby poop?
Freud. Thank you. Our ego/superego (the Irish) has exploded. We fell different, are different, and to be selected as “Freud’s failure” justs suits us fine.
Hope this ends it all.
p/s I dont have red hair
Freud believed at that time that the Irish could not be analysed because we were too deeply indoctrinated by the Roman Catholic Church.
If you were not born in Ireland, if you don’t live in the land, breath the air, eat the food, experience the culture, suffer the weather, drink yourself silly… You are NOT Irish. This ridiculous culture of adopting the nationality wherever your ancesters are from.
James,
True I have not lived in or worked in Ireland. I am born and raised American, but my family is very proud of our Irish heritage and why shouldn’t we be? Just because our grandparents made their way here, where is it written, that we have to disregard our heritage. Traditions and history are what binds families together; how does this occur when apparently we are to shake off all we’ve known and learned in the opinion of people who think like yourself? We hold to traditions and celebrations that we’ve been taught because we need that connection. Nana and Pop were incredibly strong and proud and we all believe that strength and pride came from the Irish blood pumping in their veins and heart. Why shouldn’t we be proud to say we’ve inherited those traits and want to keep that connection alive?
I am a proud fifth generation Irish Catholic woman living in Virginia City, Nevada. I am very proud of my heritage. My grandpa O’Gara taught me everything about Ireland on his knee with a hug and a kiss. All of my girlfriends of 50+ years are Irish (and some A bit Basque). I turned 60 this year. I am a caregiver for all the Seniors in Storey County. 69% of my clients are Irish. How AWESOME is that. I smile & laugh with my brethren each time I get to bring them lunch or a basket of food. That’s what Irish girls do. . We don’t care about what Frued said. Not really. It’s better to have a few laughs We just keep helping & loving our Seniors. AND we have fun to. Virginia City is fun for Irish girls after hours. They love us. Because we are genuine. We have a favorite bar to. Oh my we do have to drink, laugh, and, sing. THE bar is the MARK TWAIN. AND then we sing at the PONDO. I would love it if any of my Irish brethren came to Virginia City NV. We have the absolutely most beautiful church.St Mary’s of the Mountain’s . My phone #775-690-3693. Ok I have tried everything to get you here to visit a beautiful place and a Irish girl.
APRIL
James,
I remember even in the 1960’s my parents and family sending money to their cousins in Ireland. I know there were many. Maybe they should not have sent money and let their no longer cousins be as they should be.
Nonsense. Irish is an ethnicity in addition to being a nationality. Jews in the US are both American and Irish at the same time.
You do know there are more Irish in the U.S. than in actual Ireland?
I was taught history from my elders. I was taught family values, and family history ad well. I will carry it and teach 8th no matter the sand beneath my feet. How dare you try and take anyone’s heritage and spot on it. Considering how big my family is kinship, well you are must be what I was taught of the shanty Irish. You bring shame upon your house. Or is it that your house. Or is that the problem you have ostracized from your family and feel the need to shit on someone else’s family. I am proud of my family and their struggle. I am also proud that they had the courage to venture off and see the world. I am also proud of my family that is still on that Island who still fight the good fight. May whatever God you pray too keep close, you seem to need your moral compass checked.
As a 100% Irish Man and Celt i do not dwell on such matters. If i do not like someone i hit them till they fall,if i do not like the food i do not eat. i only have faith in the ones i love or trust , a trust hard earned not given easily, i am first to fight first to laugh first stand up for what i think is right…..last to cry, unless it is to do with a child….weee ones have a way of sticking their finger into your soul.What i do is what i do how i live is how i live “no regrets” say la vie and to quote another annalist id do not want anyone sticking their mits into “the dark corners of my soul” if you can make sense of with i said , maybe this is with he ment if not dito….cherrio
May your days be many and your troubles be few. May all God’s blessings descend upon you. May peace be within you may your heart be strong. May you find what you’re seeking wherever you roam.
with* “what” shame on me
Freud was too concerned with “below the belt” matters. The Irish are much more Jungian (cerebral, spiritual even mystical).
My god that DNA cowboy chap is some gobshite isn’t he!!! Did he ever actually read a history book or just hear that muck he is spreading from another gobshite
I am second generation Irish American and very proud of my heritage . My grandparents came over to this country with hardly anything and made the most of it. I think the Irish are strong minded, hard working , beautiful people . Yes we are a tough egg to crack and we love and take care of our own but that comes from century’s of despair, poverty and oppression by the English . All we know is resilience . That’s why the Irish race is one of the highest population in the United states . I would never see a shrink .. For what?? We already know right from wrong Thank you ..
It was not Freud who alluded to this as is misquoted in the film, but the post-Freudian Jacques Lacan in November 1978 in his seminar series Le Sinthome when he suggested theat Catholics were un-analysable in reference to James Joyce’s novel Finnegans Wake.
As an American of Irish decent, I have had firsthand knowledge of what we sound like telling the world we are Irish; I was stationed in Germany, playing billiards with two Irishmen, when I said that I was Irish as well they asked from which part I was born, where was I from. I then realized my mistake and was compelled to correct myself. Many Americans of Irish decent pride ourselves on the qualities past down from generations that are considered to be Irish traits; faith, family, honesty, and no fear of hard labor. These are not intended to disrespect, but stay connected to our heritage. As far as classifying a people by a mindset or state of mind no one is capable of doing so in my opinion. Thought process is a matter of environment and circumstance; unless there is medical proof, this sounds to me like a moot concept.
It is now scientifically proven that our DNA carries within it a degree of hereditary traits . It remembers as muscle remembers it’s previous form when a sportsman has trained many years then stops training and starts again from scratch . The muscle remembers it’s previous form and is rapid to find its way back to its previous stronger healthier form .
DNA we are told has a similar memory in it .
Thus previous strains on the mentality of the people who were subjected to many hundreds of years of suppression and famine and lack of freedom will be embedded in the not only psych but also In the physical DNA of the people.
This is not only with the Irish but with any suppressed battle hardened people,that have suffered emotional hardships and physical hardship
This may be seen also in many island countries that have been over run and subjected to hardships . Sicily , corse etc etc.
From this history traits and mentalities are formed . A underlying anger exists that can come out as either a fighting spirit never to give up and to endure and also unfortunately in a a underlying violence that can be tuned into when needed or as gangsters or warriors do when wanted .
Traditions go hand in hand in keeping these traits strong as in honour and as in tough sturdy behaviour that is expected of the children who I turn become strong tough grown ups and pass this DNA trait and mental strength on to their children . Faith and belief that this is the way that this is the honour will continue hand in hand with the traits that have been physically and psychologically established over centuries .
We call this culture sometimes but it is much more detailed than just culture that can change over years even decades .
As certain dogs have their traits that are different and often appearance means little as for the gutsy and fierce little jack Russell and the relatively calm and gentle St. Bernard .
It is the DNA the habits imbedded in the DNA in these dogs that are different . They live different exist differently in nature and it is this that is passed on generation after generation . Irrespective of the environment it inhabits . Thus environment plays apart yes of course but. It is not and can not be the heaviest influence on any animal or human .it can take generations of environmental change and traditional change ,schooling ,home life , home etiquette , love ,a easy and protected life etc etc to remould a human or indeed a dog .
But put it back in its basic instinct needs and the DNA will be there to try to save this animal and human . Fight , flee . Basic nature . Very much worth reading. Jack london s white fang about this .he looks at the mentality of a dog and a Wolfe and at the same time shows delves into the human who we need all to remember is a evolved animal .
Personally I believe if a line of thought , a faith as it were a belief in ourselves and our type our strengths enables us to fight our way through the difficulties of life that everyone has in some way then it is a tool that our creator gave to us . The deer we look we can understand the genius within our DNA our minds and body that enables us to survive enabled us to have survived since the beginning of time as we know it .and this is all races all creeds all culture . Remember countries are made up by governments continuously changing and being chopped up bought and sold divided and joined .
It is life experience of past and present the smaller community it’s traditions it’s ways habits beliefs that form us mentally to a point . We are all humans but we are different breeds of the same animal .
you may want to research your thesis more diligently; personality traits are not heritable
I’m sure someone else mentioned this but Billy Costigan said this not Matt Damon’s character. I can’t take any of this seriously with this complete and utter FAQ up.
It’s the outwardly honest new detective, not the fake criminal ex-cop mole, who says it to the woman shrink. I’m watching The Departed on Google Play and I just heard the line 10 minutes ago.
Q
Silly rabbits, if you stereotype anyone or anything, it’s a foolish mistake. History? Wow, if anyone can prove they have a Masters In history from Cambridge, or Psychology, then don’t STEREOTYPE. But Europe is and has been a big WARING bunch for centuries. Nobody is better than the other Irish, English, GERMANIA, ROME, Oh lets not forget about the Vikings. Most of Northern Europeans are of Viking decent and once were all the same VIKINGS at some point. Rome had lots of mixing with the peoples of Africa, and Middle East. The Romans spread themselves to thin and there were merely outposts. If Romans had been closer they surely would have changed up everything. Their were two Roman Legions that disappeared in the forests around Germania, and all over say maybe Ireland Tribes, English, tribe’s, and so on. The reason the two Legions have disappeared Scientist’s believe is because they were dismembered and EATEN. This was common practice by the tribes because they were all decendents of Vikings, and they were brutal warriors. They didn’t have Christianity so they were Pagans. So if you say the Irish are crazy or impervious to psycho analysis, then your talking about all Northern Europeans.
Just subscribed fromUK!. Proud to say born in Ireland, grew up in Uk of Irish parents going back…………..
If you feel Irish then you are Irish! You can play it up or downyour still Irish.Be proud to be who you are! GOD BLESS EVERYONE!
“The past isnt dead, in fact it isn’t even the past yet,” Faulkner,
So true,
Chips on the shoulder last generations it seems.
Irish American is not the same as Irish.
An Irishman walks past a bar.
It means Irish are very stubborn and resist help.
Sigmund Freud never said it. Americans and yer romanticized past of how yer great great great great Granda came from Ireland therefore you’re Irish…Pathetic, you’re no different from the supposed Africans or Italians that constantly bleet on about your ancestors. You’re just ashamed of having no history, apart from 200 plus years, in which you managed to invade nearly every country whose culture you didn’t understand, in the same breath you estole the virtues of being the great melting pot of the world. Give us a break! By the way at least seven out of yer founding fathers were English. The rest including Washington descended from the English. Your past is your past and yours is one you can’t rub out no matter how much BS sugar frosting you put on it. Grow up for fuck’s sake!
What’s Gaelic for “go fuck yourself.”?
Quite the simple minded post exposing your very limited world perspective and blatant lack of rudimentary American history. Americans have an overwhelming and often overtly arrogant sense pride in our own country, first and foremost. Unfortunately, you fail to realize that my country was founded due to the migration of mostly oppressed yet fearless,ambitious and forward-thinking intellectuals from Western Europe. The massive influence that Irish-American soldiers had on the two wars that shaped this country despite the overwhelming odds is a testament to the values the Irish culture embraces and identifies with the most. It’s the inherent obligation to never back down from something you believe in or what you know is right. Do some research on genealogy and realize that having an interest and understanding on where you came from does not mean you are trying to hold onto a false identity. I do not classify as Irish or German, nor would I want to because there is a reason I am here in America. The fact that you try to shame people that would harmlessly try to self-identify in relation to their ancestors while now in a country built by immigrants is a bigger issue in itself. I am a red-blooded American with a heritage I cannot change and am proud of what my family overcame in order to get here. I would say I am sorry that yours missed the ship but it is ignorant people like you that hold way too much value in your race, creed or belief in a segregated existence or labeled society. I would like to suggest you keep your baseless arguments and opinions to yourself because your country overall has been good about doing that for some time. The best overall solution is that you continue to remain neutral on your peninsula over there and try to understand that no one here that still claims to be Irish would rather be living there. I do not hate you my brother or the Country my blood descended from; I only suggest using your efforts towards something more constructive than your pretentious pride and exclusionary beliefs. Cheers, lad
Live and move. I think the best of us simply want to live our lives. We don’t need to make excuses, nor do we care for long-winded debates as to why we do the things we do.
My, but you people really do have the gift of blarney!
…the real test of irishness is ones ability to drink about 8 or 9 pints of stout without falling over….
I just discovered this intersting thread after looking up the Freud ‘quote’. Very interesting…..but it’s also nteresting while people recognise the psychological etc damage the catholic church did to us and others, not enough people (imo) question the validity of the teaching about ‘god’.
I’ll rest my case with this, until the proof is pointed out to me, I’ll remain an athiest and try make earth my heaven.
I just saw the movie for the first time on Netflix, paused it at that remark, went straight to the Internet, and found your piece, Mr.Pallasch, and then had a joyous reflection on the swirling continuity of human identity and story. Scorcese seems very interested in the Irish, if not obsessed. He and Monahan are good storytellers. I guess their are no oscars for a nimble, and gleaming rivulet of commentary such as yours. You have a light touch.
I think this line was taken out of context;
Damon’s character tells his psychoanalyst girlfriend that if their relationship is to end, she has to be the one to break it off because, being Irish, he never will. “I’m not capable,” he says. “I’m f- – – – – – Irish. I’ll deal with something being wrong for the rest of my life.”
What he is saying doesn’t compare in meaning to the Irish looking at a draw in soccer as a victory.
He’s saying that Irish will often go on with their life as though everything is fine, rather than address the issue that may be troubling them.
Kind of like, keep a stiff upper lip and keep going.
Or, just act like everything is ok and it will be.
I’m Irish on both my mom’s and dad’s side. The other line from the movie, “I’m f- – – – – – Irish. I’ll deal with something being wrong for the rest of my life.” That really hit home. That is exactly me.