--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The problem with Ireland is that it's a…" description: "\"The problem with Ireland is that it's a country full of genius, but with absolutely no talent.\" — Hugh Leonard" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3d/hugh-leonard-22472_country_the-problem-with-ireland-is-that-it-s-a_2068293.png" --- # The problem with Ireland is that it's a country full of… ![“The problem with Ireland is that it's a country full of genius, but with absolutely no talent.” quote by Hugh Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3d/hugh-leonard-22472_country_the-problem-with-ireland-is-that-it-s-a_2068293.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3d/hugh-leonard-22472_country_the-problem-with-ireland-is-that-it-s-a_2068293.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3d/hugh-leonard-22472_country_the-problem-with-ireland-is-that-it-s-a_2068293.png) > “The problem with Ireland is that it's a country full of genius, but with absolutely no talent.” [Hugh Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-leonard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ireland has many brilliant minds but lacks the infrastructure or opportunities to develop talent fully. **In simple terms:** Genius without talent development. Key Takeaway Build systems to nurture talent. Themes education talent development national potential policy culture Mood hopeful critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - schools - arts funding - innovation programs - career mentorship Key Concepts human capital social economics Questions to Reflect On - How can societies better support gifted individuals? - What policies foster talent? A Different Perspective Talent may emerge despite systemic barriers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Genius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius/) [Ireland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ireland/) [Irish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irish/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Sarcastic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sarcastic/) [Talent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talent/) ## Related quotes > [I've always given 110% for Northern Ireland, for my country. I'll never throw in the towel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-lafferty/i-ve-always-given-110-for-northern-ireland-for-my-country-i-ll-never/) [Kyle Lafferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-lafferty/) > [The problem is that in Ireland everybody thinks you have to have a 'take' on something. But if you have a 'take' on something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-dunbar/the-problem-is-that-in-ireland-everybody-thinks-you-have-to-have-a/) [Adrian Dunbar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-dunbar/) > [“...genius knows no country, genius sprouts anywhere, genius is like light, air. the patrimony of everybody, cosmopolitan like space, like life, like God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-rizal/genius-knows-no-country-genius-sprouts-anywhere-genius-is-like-light/) [José Rizal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-rizal/) > [Around the world, people look to Ireland as a country where it doesn't matter where you come from but where you want to go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-varadkar/around-the-world-people-look-to-ireland-as-a-country-where-it-doesn-t/) [Leo Varadkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-varadkar/) > [“We were in Ireland. Was there ever a country so damp? I had to wring out my mind to think clearly. I was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/we-were-in-ireland-was-there-ever-a-country-so-damp-i-had-to-wring/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [ \[Ireland is a\] country peopled by peasants, priests and pixies. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kilroy-silk/ireland-is-a-country-peopled-by-peasants-priests-and-pixies/) [Robert Kilroy-Silk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kilroy-silk/) > [This is one race of people for whom psychoanalysis is of no use whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/this-is-one-race-of-people-for-whom-psychoanalysis-is-of-no-use/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [I love our shared island, our shared Ireland and its core decency. I love it for its imagination and its celebration of the endless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-d-higgins/i-love-our-shared-island-our-shared-ireland-and-its-core-decency-i/) [Michael D. Higgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-d-higgins/) > [“It is an ancient land, honoured in the archives of civilisation. Every great European race has sent its stream to the river of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-davis/it-is-an-ancient-land-honoured-in-the-archives-of-civilisation-every/) [Thomas Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-davis/) > [Ireland and England are like two sisters; I would have them embrace like one brother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boyle-roche/ireland-and-england-are-like-two-sisters-i-would-have-them-embrace/) [Boyle Roche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boyle-roche/) > [“He decides it is better to die in Ireland than in Paris because in Ireland the outdoors looks like the outdoors and gravestones are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-macleod/he-decides-it-is-better-to-die-in-ireland-than-in-paris-because-in/) Alison MacLeod > [“I think being a woman is like being Irish... Everyone says you're important and nice, but you take second place all the time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-think-being-a-woman-is-like-being-irish-everyone-says-you-re/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“Do you know what Ireland is?' asked Stephen with cold violence. 'Ireland is the old sow that eats her farrow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/do-you-know-what-ireland-is-asked-stephen-with-cold-violence-ireland/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [Ireland starts for me with the end of 'The Dead,' which my father read to me from his desk in his basement office in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-jeremiah-sullivan/ireland-starts-for-me-with-the-end-of-the-dead-which-my-father-read/) [John Jeremiah Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-jeremiah-sullivan/) > [“Ireland is probably named the “Emerald Isle” because there are lots of precious stones found there, such as sapphires and rubies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/ireland-is-probably-named-the-emerald-isle-because-there-are-lots-of/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) ## More by Hugh Leonard > [I'm a much nicer person since my wife died. I found out what pain is, so on that level I'm much nicer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-leonard/i-m-a-much-nicer-person-since-my-wife-died-i-found-out-what-pain-is/) [Hugh Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-leonard/) > [We were married for almost 45 years. We fought all the time, it wasn't a great love or anything, it wasn't a great, all-consuming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-leonard/we-were-married-for-almost-45-years-we-fought-all-the-time-it-wasn-t/) [Hugh Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-leonard/) > [I don't think anyone is the perfect one to play me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-leonard/i-don-t-think-anyone-is-the-perfect-one-to-play-me/) [Hugh Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-leonard/) > [It's a natural thing for people to say, you know, Who's in this book? I find myself get ting a little defensive. People come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-leonard/it-s-a-natural-thing-for-people-to-say-you-know-who-s-in-this-book-i/) [Hugh Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-leonard/) > [Gossip is more popular than literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-leonard/gossip-is-more-popular-than-literature/) [Hugh Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-leonard/) > [There is only one immutable law in life - in a gentleman's toilet, incoming traffic has the right of way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-leonard/there-is-only-one-immutable-law-in-life-in-a-gentleman-s-toilet/) [Hugh Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-leonard/) > [I feel like the writer observing the grief, but it is difficult to be detached from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-leonard/i-feel-like-the-writer-observing-the-grief-but-it-is-difficult-to-be/) [Hugh Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-leonard/) > [My grandmother made dying her life's work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-leonard/my-grandmother-made-dying-her-life-s-work/) [Hugh Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-leonard/) > [My life is every moment of my life. It is not a culmination of the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-leonard/my-life-is-every-moment-of-my-life-it-is-not-a-culmination-of-the-past/) [Hugh Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-leonard/) > [My father I liked, but it was only after his death that I got to know him by writing the play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-leonard/my-father-i-liked-but-it-was-only-after-his-death-that-i-got-to-know/) [Hugh Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-leonard/) > [Sometimes silence resolves a conversation confused by Mad Misconstruction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-leonard/sometimes-silence-resolves-a-conversation-confused-by-mad/) [Hugh Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-leonard/) > [I came down to the living room one day and my wife was standing in the living room. It wasn't an illusion. I saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-leonard/i-came-down-to-the-living-room-one-day-and-my-wife-was-standing-in/) [Hugh Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-leonard/) > [I've always believed in survival.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-leonard/i-ve-always-believed-in-survival/) [Hugh Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-leonard/) > [No exercise brings into play all the muscles of the body in a more thorough manner, and none is more interesting than wrestling. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-leonard/no-exercise-brings-into-play-all-the-muscles-of-the-body-in-a-more/) [Hugh Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-leonard/) > [I'm a writer, and what I do is write. I wasn't able to do anything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-leonard/i-m-a-writer-and-what-i-do-is-write-i-wasn-t-able-to-do-anything-else/) [Hugh Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-leonard/) [Explore all 27 Hugh Leonard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-leonard/) ## More Country quotes > [I love playing for my country, getting the support. Especially for the kids and everybody, showing my example of what I can achieve so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-sharapova/i-love-playing-for-my-country-getting-the-support-especially-for-the/) [Maria Sharapova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-sharapova/) > [ That country \[Carthage\] was rapidly sinking into the state of barbarism from whence it had been raised by the Phoenician colonies and Roman laws;… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/that-country-carthage-was-rapidly-sinking-into-the-state-of-barbarism/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [For the Scottish government, the practice of having meetings in different parts of the country is well established, but for the U.K. government, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-sturgeon/for-the-scottish-government-the-practice-of-having-meetings-in/) [Nicola Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-sturgeon/) > [There's no reason someone who has fought for their country should be homeless of jobless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kyle/there-s-no-reason-someone-who-has-fought-for-their-country-should-be/) [Chris Kyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-kyle/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [It's very nice to be a rebel saying, 'I stand on my principles,' but if in fact that's not going to have any impact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dominic-grieve/it-s-very-nice-to-be-a-rebel-saying-i-stand-on-my-principles-but-if/) [Dominic Grieve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dominic-grieve/) > [Most paper money initially existed as a substitute for gold. That's what gave it value. But right now what gives a currency value is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schiff/most-paper-money-initially-existed-as-a-substitute-for-gold-that-s/) [Peter Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schiff/) > [That's what this country is. It's made up of immigrants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bria-vinaite/that-s-what-this-country-is-it-s-made-up-of-immigrants/) [Bria Vinaite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bria-vinaite/) > [You, of Canada, are building a magnificent record of achievement. My country rejoices in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/you-of-canada-are-building-a-magnificent-record-of-achievement-my/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [The United States cannot and should not discriminate on the basis of religion. The free exercise of religion is at the very heart of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pence/the-united-states-cannot-and-should-not-discriminate-on-the-basis-of/) [Mike Pence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pence/) > [The reason I was drawn to the Band Perry was because they have a knack for doing rollicking country music that can sound a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-robinson/the-reason-i-was-drawn-to-the-band-perry-was-because-they-have-a/) [Phoebe Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-robinson/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > ['Lovecraft Country' is reclaiming all these pulp genres for people of color.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/misha-green/lovecraft-country-is-reclaiming-all-these-pulp-genres-for-people-of/) [Misha Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/misha-green/) > [No judge can stop us from praying for our country and I pray that on May 6, millions of Americans will join me in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-graham/no-judge-can-stop-us-from-praying-for-our-country-and-i-pray-that-on/) [Franklin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-graham/) [Browse all 29,881 Country quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The problem with Ireland is that it's a country full of genius, but with absolutely no talent.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hugh Leonard" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-leonard/the-problem-with-ireland-is-that-it-s-a-country-full-of-genius-but/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Country" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-leonard/the-problem-with-ireland-is-that-it-s-a-country-full-of-genius-but/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3d/hugh-leonard-22472_country_the-problem-with-ireland-is-that-it-s-a_2068293.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3d/hugh-leonard-22472_country_the-problem-with-ireland-is-that-it-s-a_2068293.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3d/hugh-leonard-22472_country_the-problem-with-ireland-is-that-it-s-a_2068293.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The problem with Ireland is that it's a country full of genius, but with absolutely no talent.” — Hugh Leonard", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Hugh Leonard", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-leonard/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The problem with Ireland is that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-leonard/the-problem-with-ireland-is-that-it-s-a-country-full-of-genius-but/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-leonard/the-problem-with-ireland-is-that-it-s-a-country-full-of-genius-but/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```