2020 will be a year no one will forget, but here are five things Covid has taught Irish people.
There’s no doubt that 2020 is a year that will go down in history, a year that no one expected, and a year that taught everyone around the world, including the Irish, many things.
Irish people are well known for being a social bunch, and 2020 has been a tough year for that with social distancing measures in place and restrictions on visiting pubs or family members, so it’s no wonder that Irish people are finding this new way of life challenging.
Every other year Irish people put in their days going to work, catching up in the pub on the weekends, going to concerts to see their favourite acts, and heading out into nature to explore the country on days off.
However, 2020 has taught Irish people many things – including not to take any of this for granted. Let’s take a look at five things Covid has taught Irish people.
5. Don’t take travelling for granted – we’d do anything for a holiday
With the pandemic, many holidays were cancelled, and non-essential travel was forbidden.
More people started to take staycations in Ireland but longed for the day they could take their next flight without stress and worry.
When the world is back to normal and Irish people can travel freely together, they will be more than happy.
4. To take care of each other – community spirit
During the Covid pandemic, it has been essential to make sure you are not spreading the virus amongst others, especially the vulnerable.
For this reason, more and more people realised how important it was to take care of and protect each other.
It was a common occurrence for people to run errands for elderly neighbours and do what they could to help, especially wearing masks and sanitising their hands when in public. The nation became a tight-knit community, learning to care for each other.
3. To slow down and live in the moment – escaping from the rat race
With the stress of Covid-19, and people learning to live a new way by working from home, it wasn’t always easy to slow down and live in the moment, especially for people with a busy lifestyle.
During lockdown, Irish people learned to slow down by taking online classes, taking up hobbies, and all in all, living in the moment – something they will undoubtedly continue to do when the new normal returns.
2. Don’t take the pub for granted – the things we’d do for a pint
Well, of course, this had to be in the top five things Covid has taught Irish people.
If someone said that all Irish pubs would close indefinitely in 2020, no one would have believed it, and people would genuinely wonder how they would survive.
Not only because Irish people love to drink but because they do love to socialise, and pubs are the place to do that.
Pubs are a place for an after-work pint, a Sunday Carvery, to watch sports, and to catch up on the week’s news with friends. However, when pubs closed in Ireland, Irish people had to learn to adapt to a new way of life.
Some people even built their own small pubs in their gardens, and some pubs started to do take out pints, which kept people going. Never again will Irish people take the pub for granted.
1. To always appreciated family time – family first
Of course, family is a huge priority for many Irish people. Still, it wasn’t until Covid-19 struck, and restrictions were put in place, that people really understood the value of family.
Considering elderly people were among the most vulnerable, it meant that many families couldn’t visit their grandparents and elderly family friends.
In turn, it also meant that the elderly could not have visitors or go out to socialise, which was a hard change in Irish life.
In Ireland, family is very important. Families get together often, especially on long weekends and holidays, but this was no longer to be the norm when Covid hit.
There is no doubt that Irish people will not take family time for granted again and will appreciate the time they got to spend with their loved ones at home during the lockdown.
There are probably many more things we have learned during the year of Covid, but these top five are among some of the ones that stand out.
2020 has been a stressful year. However, it has been a year for reflection, gratefulness, and living in the moment, so let’s hope we can continue to adapt these to our new normal way of life.
