31 Mar Serbs and the Irish: Branko Rosić’s Column from Nedeljnik
We are republishing a column by Branko Rosić, originally published in Nedeljnik, exploring the connections between Serbs and Irish.
In just a few years, the Belgrade Irish Festival has turned from a small event into one of the most important festivals in Belgrade. This was shown by this year’s edition, which I have no idea which edition it was… There is this bond and love between Serbs and Ireland. Even in the depressed nineties, there were St. Patrick’s celebrations in Belgrade. Maybe it started in that decade?
In isolated, depressed Serbia, the Orthodox Celts (band) performed Irish folk music and played to people who fantasized about an Ireland you may never see. Some evenings, I even watched ‘characters’ and girls Irish dancing in Belgrade caffes.
To be honest, I’ve never taken to that kind of music, so even in Dublin I dodged offers from pubs with that kind of music. I’m more into the Irish rock’n’roll heritage, and went to Rock Museum in Dublin, seeing U2’s equipment room, a poster of Rory Gallagher and asking about Northern bands, that are also in the museum’s lineup – Stiff Little Fingers, the Undertones and the legendary Van Morrison. And I loved the ‘Irish stew’ – some kind of goulash, a Guinness-soaked one. Phenomenal, even if you don’t like beer or goulash.
But back to the Serbs and the Irish. Serbs mythologize the Irish and give them a ‘green light’ welcome, as green as Ireland itself. Kalemegdan, the Celts and common origins. In fact, the entire geopolitical outlook of the Serbs can be as flat the perception created by Karl May’s Indians. That they have never seen the country, but that doesn’t stop them from adoring it and describing it beautifully. And an Irishman who lives in Belgrade told me, a taxi driver also told him how much the Serbs love the Irish.
The Belgrade Irish Festival thus fell on the right foundations, on a land that had the prerequisites for love. And fantastic guests, this year, with the arrival of the great (movie) director Neil Jordan. In a period when there is not much going on in culture and many festivals are canceled, BIF offered a program, from film, to stand-up comedy-artists, to DJs, and even a mural painting. I know several Belgradians who dream about traveling to Ireland, but one will not go.
I just came back from the funeral of Boža Koprivica, who told me that he would like to see Ireland and asked me how it was going there. Yes, there is everything, the monument to Phil Lynott, Joyce’s door, memorials to Oscar Wilde, rugby balls and shamrocks in Guinness… But you really need to look at Ireland. How the country kept its traditions after joining the EU and reached the ranks of one of the most developed countries in Europe, faster than saying Guinness; “We will all end up on a Ryanair plane to Dublin anyway, a popular saying goes. If we normalize and move towards the EU, put tradition in the way of our ancestors and really start to look like the Irish.
You can read the original version in Serbian here.