The time period was coined to disparage Eire’s solidarity with Palestine however has been adopted as a badge of honour that now adorns T-shirts, hoodies, pins and social media bios: welcome to Paddystine, house of the Paddystinians.
Irish activists have embraced the neologism as a galvanising time period to marketing campaign in opposition to Israel’s battle in Gaza and to stress the Irish authorities to do extra to finish the battle.
The assumption that it was initially meant as an insult by Israel supporters has fuelled its unfold on TikTok and different platforms the place Irish folks proclaim themselves “Paddystinians” and likewise, in a repurposing of the old style feminine identify Biddy, “Biddystinians”.
“It was being used as a negative,” Ross McGann, who has practically 40,000 followers on TikTok, mentioned this week. “Once I heard that I thought: ‘Nah, we can flip this around.’ It’s a very Irish thing to do – you take an insult and you flip it back.”
The 35-year-old content material creator, who lives on a farm in County Offaly, integrated Paddystinian into his TikTok bio and into his movies, which have been extensively shared. “The word paddy has been used in a derogatory sense towards Irish people but in my family we have lots of Patricks, so to us paddy is a positive word. Given what’s happening in Gaza I thought it’s only fair that we own it.”
The proliferation of the time period has added one other strand to Irish activism on Gaza amid controversy over outspoken statements by the rap group Kneecap. With considered one of its members dealing with a terror cost, there’s a query mark over the group’s invitation to carry out at Glastonbury subsequent month.
The origin of the time period Paddystinian is unclear however many first heard of it in December after Israel closed its embassy in Dublin to protest what it mentioned was Irish authorities antisemitism and excessive hostility. Professional-Israeli voices on-line mixed Paddy with Palestinian to underscore the accusation that Eire, by recognising Palestinian statehood and lobbying the EU for a harder line on Israel, was rewarding terrorism by Hamas.
Ben Cohen, a columnist for the Jewish Information Syndicate, wrote that he initially regretted making a quip about Paddystinians as a result of Paddy was an ageing pejorative about drunkenness and different Irish stereotypes.
“As it turns out, I needn’t have worried,” he wrote. “I discovered that the hashtag #Paddystinian was being eagerly adopted on social media by Irish supporters of Hamas. The accompanying posts were variously obnoxious or downright stupid, with many of those mocking the assertion that their country is antisemitic.”
Zoë Lawlor, the chair of the Eire Palestine Solidarity Marketing campaign, welcomed the adoption of the time period. “It was being used as an insult. People here thought that was hilarious so we really embraced it and turned it on its head. We started having fun with it at chants. Lots of people changed their Twitter names and social media handles to reflect that.”
Clothes, badges, pins and different equipment emblazoned with “Paddystinian” have grow to be well-liked merchandise. Some producers, such because the progressive marketing campaign group Uplift, donate the proceeds to help for Gaza.
Izzeddeen Alkarajeh, a Palestinian who serves Palestinian delicacies at Izz Cafe in Cork, sells Paddystinian pins. “It quickly became one of our top-selling items. It’s a beautiful example of how a term meant to mock can be reclaimed and redefined by the community,” he mentioned through e-mail.
The time period amplifies consciousness about Palestine amongst younger Irish folks, as do the Kneecap trio, who visited the cafe in February, mentioned Alkarajeh. “Ireland has consistently shown solidarity with the oppressed, and this is especially evident now in the face of the ongoing crisis in Gaza.”
Jilan Wahba Abdalmajid, the Palestinian ambassador to Eire, lauded Irish solidarity. “Any link between the Irish people and the Palestinian people is a positive one. I hope the Irish people feel the same. We share the same history of colonisation and know too well how important freedom, justice, and human rights are.”
Activists say their objective is to leverage on-line solidarity to stress the Irish state to match robust statements on Israel with actions, comparable to an enacting a invoice to ban commerce with unlawful Israeli settlements on the West Financial institution, ending the Irish central financial institution’s authorisation of Israeli state bond gross sales in Europe and curbing using Irish airspace for flights suspected of carrying battle materials to Israel.
“Our pressure point is the Irish government,” mentioned Lawlor. “The rhetoric is very strong but they have to back it up with actions. If they do that we can start a snowball effect within the EU.”
