Austin Kelley explains the faux Irish pub revolution in Ireland’s “Crack” Habit:
In the last 15 years, Dublin-based IPCo and its competitors have fabricated and installed more than 1,800 watering holes in more than 50 countries. Guinness threw its weight (and that of its global parent Diageo) behind the movement, and an industry was built around the reproduction of “Irishness” on every continent — and even in Ireland itself. IPCo has built 40 ersatz pubs on the Emerald Isle, opening them beside the long-standing establishments on which they were based.IPCo’s designers claim to have “developed ways of re-creating Irish pubs which would be successful, culturally and commercially, anywhere in the world.” To wit, they offer five basic styles: The “Country Cottage,” with its timber beams and stone floors, is supposed to resemble a rural house that gradually became a commercial establishment. The “Gaelic” design features rough-hewn doors and murals based on Irish folklore. You might, instead, choose the “Traditional Pub Shop,” which includes a fake store (like an apothecary), or the “Brewery” style, which includes empty casks and other brewery detritus, or “Victorian Dublin,” an upscale stained-glass joint. IPCo will assemble your chosen pub in Ireland. Then they’ll bring the whole thing to your space and set it up. All you have to do is some basic prep, and voilà! Ireland arrives in Dubai. (IPCo has built several pubs and a mock village there.)
St. Patrick’s Day has been tranformed too:
Where there is celebrated excess, there is a market to exploit. In 1995, the Irish government saw potential in international “Irish” revelry. They reinvented the holiday at home to kick-start the tourist season. Now thousands of partiers head to Ireland for the “St. Patrick’s Day Season” as Guinness has called this time of year. (It used to be called “March” or, for Irish Catholics, “Lent.”) In Dublin, the festival lasts for five days and adds about £60 million to the economy.Guinness describes the irrepressible spirit of Irishness with the Gaelic word for communal fun, “Craic” (pronounced crack), and recommends “importing Craic from Ireland.” It seems that the Irish had exported Craic, only to get it back again. The Irish are reveling in the Irishness business. After all, as IPCo puts it, “Ireland and things Irish are very attractive to consumers.” Ireland now has a lot of native consumers. After the parade, they can stop by an authentic pub for a Guinness. It’ll be just like Dubai.