What is a "Blow-In" anyway?

Recently I overheard a rather uncharitable remark about blow-ins and foreigners in Dromahair. I won't go into detail about the conversation but the words made me think: I'm sure we all know what a foreigner is, but how exactly is a blow-in defined?

The accepted wisdom seems to suggest that a blow-in is someone who was not born in the locality. This however requires further analysis. If a man is 67 years old and has been living in the area since he was 2 years old, is he a blow-in? If he is Dromahair born, leaves at 7 and returns at 67, has he become a blow-in in the meantime? Are children born in the village of non-Dromahair parents blow-ins? How is the locality defined? Where are the borders? Does the distance "blown" have any relevance? Is a person from Ballintogher more or less a blow-in than a person from Ballydehob? Are they both out-ranked in the blow-in stakes by a Belgian? Is the spouse or partner of a Dromahair native exempted from the blow-in test? Once a blow-in, is it possible ever to achieve true non-blow-in status? What are the time limits? 40 years? 50? 60? It's all terribly confusing and frankly, sounds a little childish (I was here first!) and silly.

So is the term blow-in offensive?

I've been called a blow-in for most of my life. I was born in London, raised in Luton and Kildare, and lived in Dublin and Galway on my way to Dromahair, where my husband's people have lived for hundreds of years. I have blown in and out of lots of places. I also have a hide like a rhinocerous and am completely unperturbed by anything I might be called. Others however are of a more sensitive disposition and can be offended and hurt by what they perceive as unkind remarks. So, is blow-in a derogatory term? Isn't it just amusing banter? The answer, as it is so often, would appear to be that context is all-important. If the speaker uses the term in a derogatory manner, then the term is offensive.

A more important question might be: Why are these words used so often in a pejorative sense?

A foreigner is quite obviously someone who comes from another country. Simple. Or is it? When used as a derogatory term, I believe the word foreigner quite simply means "someone who is different to me". Quite often people see "outsiders" as different and therefore slightly frightening. I can understand their fears - they may feel that their way of doing things will be undermined by new people, with new ideas, seeing them as faintly threatening. Of course later on this seems ridiculous, as the vast majority of people, whatever their origins, are friendly and warm, wanting the same things - and to live their lives in peaceful co-existence with their neighbours. When we get to know each other a little better we soon find out that there was nothing to be frightened of in the first place, that we are not so different after all, that new ways of looking at things, fresh ways of doing things can often mingle well with the old ways, and bring an enriched quality of life for all.

So maybe it's time to worry less about where we all come from, as we all blew in from somewhere at some time, and pay more attention to the wonderful village we live in, to our fantastic colourful neighbours, to our beautiful children and to our shared future.

It's also worth remembering that Dromahair's most famous resident was a blow-in, and also a foreigner.

His name was Patrick.