The market is a depiction of Ireland's engagement with the globalized world during a time of great migration from both inside and outside the European Union. The experiences of and interactions between Irish and Non-Irish individuals represent the effects of globalization on the localized expression and perception of changing cultural identities. This isolated market depicts the local implementation of Irish patrons’ concerns and fears of the "deceitful migrant” as they become restrictions on the expression of the migrant's identity.
The presentation of this market is that it is neither solely unique nor mundane, but a nuance of the local, the national, and the global. The Silicon Docks market is ordinary, a routine for those who function within it. Irish patrons have come to expect the presence of “exotic” food around them and express this through their demands for variety in the market. The availability and variety of different foods is approved by the proprietor, Robin, however, Irish patrons expect such a variability in their Wednesday lunch choices. Irish patrons use this demand along with the others to maintain their dominance over the Non-Irish, which must be met by Non-Irish vendors and employees or they face financial and social failure in the market. The food produced and consumed is neither strictly representative of its origin nor strictly Irish, but rather, it represents the hybridity of the market that acts as a bridge between Irish culture and others. The market, however, is not simply a platform for the Irish to lord their culture over those who are different from themselves.
Instead, it creates an opportunity for Non-Irish vendors and employees to expose the Irish to different cultures and it acts as a place for Non-Irish to make money from the Irish desire to eat different cuisines. The interactions between Irish and Non-Irish creates an opportunity for cultural exchange and mutual understanding through the exchange of foods. Irish patrons consume exotic foods, while Non-Irish vendors and employees address stereotypes and gain monetarily. The market is tucked away and gated, isolated from Dublin’s inner city and from those who do not work in the market or in the business park and limits who can be and interact in the market itself. The individuals in the market create a unique, artificially constructed community that would not be assembled if not for Ireland’s interactions with the rest of the world. The composition of the market is constantly shifting, but is representative of a hybrid community that would not necessarily frequently gather together. This market represents the creation of a community in which Irish individuals express their anxiety surrounding immigration through their actions, but how immigrants subvert these limitations to be successful in Ireland.
The importance and analysis of this data goes beyond the market and adds to the scholarship of immigration and the use of foodways during globalization to express changing identities and cultures. Such analysis of immigration, especially during the centennial of the 1916 Easter Uprisings, exhibits how a younger country deals with both economic recovery and increased interaction in the global marketplace. The interactions between Irish and Non-Irish individuals illustrates the necessity for identity re-negotiation in an increasingly multicultural context. How Non-Irish individuals present food in the market demonstrates the parameters created by the Irish expectation of the cultural "other." Migrants, however, exemplify their agency by opening a stall and capitalizing on their perceived authenticity. This study adds to the fields of anthropology, sociology, the study of foodways, as well as others due to the analysis of how local spaces and the
exchange of food and capital act as a mediator between migrants and those of the host country. The Silicon Docks Market demonstrates the complex tensions and contradictions of globalization through the presentation and consumption of the "exotic other" within a localized microcosm.
6.4. LIMITATIONS
The limitations of this thesis and data collection span from the lack of time in the field to the small sample size of data collected. During the summer of 2016, Ireland was experiencing a surge of nationalism due to the celebration of the centennial of the 1916 Easter Uprising against the English as well as heightened awareness of immigration due to the Brexit. This, in turn, will skew the results for both Irish and Non-Irish as the Irish are expressing an increase in national pride and the Non-Irish feel the pressure from both events. The use of snowball sampling has additionally skewed the data for both groups. Many Irish patrons, in particular, knew each other and were co-workers, meaning that they most likely shared views and were close in age. Due to the market’s brevity of occurrence, data collection and build rapport with all informants in the field was limited. Particularly, I did not embed myself with the patrons, as I did with the vendors and employees. My positionality as a researcher in the market influenced the amount and kind of information the informants gave to me. Therefore, such data is limited by my interactions with those interviewed.
The data additionally were skewed by interviewing each informant one time and not periodically to reaffirm answers throughout series of events during the market, such as the Brexit. Not all Non-Irish owned stalls or nationalities that were present in the market were interviewed. To expand, one stall refused an interview due to a lack of communication and rapport building with the vendors and employees of the stall. Additionally, the interview from
another Non-Irish owned stall did not have sufficient recorded data and could not be used in the interviews used in this data analysis. Lastly, data were collected at one site, which does not express a broader pattern across Ireland or Dublin, however this and other such limitation of the collected data can be addressed and rectified in further research.