Come Back to Erin
Topographically, Ireland was conjured up in the American imagination by rural landscapes of green enclosed fields, ruined castles, round towers, and scenic mountain or coastal vistas. Tourism thrived on the promotion of these natural and historical assets, translating Ireland into exactly the kind of country visitors expected to find. Certain pristine landmarks like the Lakes of Killarney, Ross and Blarney Castles, Ben Bulben in Yeats Country - along with the jaunting car - expanded the range of mental pictures associated with "Irish." Sentimentality was lucrative but it was often at odds with Ireland's simultaneous need to been seen as a modernizing European nation. Dublin did its best to dislodge notions of a pastoral country frozen in time.