Ireland - maybe we haven't lost our sense of community, after all

An interesting poll by Gallup (which I came across in Foreign Policy) has aked people all over the world about their social network and where they go for help. Comfortingly, in these times of recessionary misery, it turns out Ireland does pretty well. Best, in fact.

Q. If you were in trouble, do you have relatives or friends you can count on to help you whenever you need them?

98% of Irish respondents answered yes.

That beats 48% in Pakistan, 54% in Afghanistan, 62% in Cambodia, 62% in Iran, 80% in China and 95% in the US. Not bad going.

So maybe our fabulous quality of life during the Celtic Tiger years was not down to Jimmy Choo and Brown Thomas, but to Auntie Mary down the road?