Certain aspects of Irish history are remembered through restoring old monuments such as churches and documenting historic events. Throughout my time in Ireland, I have noticed that most of its history is through restoring old castles such as Trim and Kilkenny. What shocks me the most is that the locals in Trim and Kilkenny did not put too much focus on the castles until the last two decades. I got the impression that the locals did not put too much attention into the old castle and churches because there was a disconnect between the new Irish generation and its history. I know some of the locals take pride in restoring the old castles and churches, but I noticed right away that the sense of pride of remembering the history is slowly disappearing. When I visited one of the old churches in Kilkenny, I asked the cashier why the church was turned into a museum they replied with that the sole purpose of restoring the church was to attract tourists. The whole point of attracting tourists is to boost the town’s economy. After hearing this it became clear to me that tourism is one of the main factors in preserving Irish history because the more the locals invest in restoring old churches and castles the more tourism will increase. The younger Irish generation does not want to associate themselves much with their history as a believed. I say this because, on my plane flight back home, I sat next to a man who was an Irish citizen. After talking for a while he told me that he just wants to leave Ireland because there is nothing to do there as well nothing interesting. This confused me because Ireland has a history that dates back to the 12th century which to me fascinates me. This led me to believe that there seems to be a larger influence from foreigners to preserve the history because I have met so many from the U.S that are currently working on their masters or finished it in Irish history or Irish literature. The idea that the new generation of Irish citizens not associating themselves with the older Irish generation is becoming more prevalent to me now. While in visiting Northern Ireland, I visited a town called Derry or Londonderry depending on who you talk to. In Derry, I decided to visit the town’s museum that depicted the tragic events that occurred on “Bloody Sunday”. What I found interesting was that the tour guide for the museum was related to one of the victims. What shocked me the most was how objective and calm he was during the entire tour despite his personal tie. It was apparent that he was trying to seek justice for the rest of the lives lost on that fateful day. The town of Derry documented everything that happened in addition to keeping the clothes and propaganda. The town still remembers the events of Bloody Sunday by making paintings of the event on buildings in addition to murals of the victims.
