How's it going with your national identity of a Sunday morning? What does it mean to be Irish these days? Last week, the Irish identity was wrapped in a foul-smelling blanket, as the country basked in what it is not, rather than what it imagines itself to be.

First of all, there was the national identity issue at the World Cup. Having failed to make the cut, the nation – certainly as reflected by the bulk of media coverage – is defining itself in negative rather than positive terms.

The biggest cheer last week concerned the decline and fall of the French team. How the airwaves gloated as Nicolas Anelka was sent home for calling his manager the son of a whore. That sort of thing could only happen to the arrogant French. What was the name of that Pacific island, again?

Then, the denouement. Last Tuesday, on France's day of reckoning, when they played South Africa, one sports broadcaster announced that the whole nation would be cheering the Africans. Make that minus one. Irishness, it would seem, is a state of presumption.

Having failed to produce the results required to qualify for the World Cup, there had to be somebody to blame, and who better than the French and Henry's hand and blah, blah, blah.

There is a serious danger that the Henry incident could plummet the Irish to the depths of odious whingeing that has infected England for the last 24 years, following the intervention of the hand of Maradona in Mexico. Please, let it go.

If being Irish last week meant being anti-French, at least there was nothing more at stake than emotional ties to sporting identity, albeit misplaced. Elsewhere, Irishness was officially designated as a spot on the wall.

A scheme is being introduced to supply the diaspora with heritage certificates. This will allow up to 70 million people who boast an Irish forebear to apply for a certificate which can be hung on a wall. This is a proposal baked at the Global Irish Economic Forum, which gathered at Farmleigh last year.

What checks are in place to ensure that somebody of say, entirely German extraction, couldn't obtain one of these treasured parchments? Or will it be as easy to acquire a certificate as it is a hat with the phrase "kiss me, I'm Irish" plastered on it? One stipulation should be that certificates will only be approved to applicants who present themselves in a sober condition. Was it for this the Wild Geese came home to Farmleigh, determined to comfort the ailing Sean Bhean Bhocht?

Not so long ago, one central tenet of Irishness was anti-Britishness. The most potent symbol of this strand of Gaeldom was the queen. Now that she's gearing up for a visit, some people can't leave the past alone. They were on the blower to Joe in jig time last Thursday.

Only the reaction to a specific visit will tell, but the fear remains that insecurity about identity will prompt more than a fringe element to protest a visit by a foreign head of state with whom the country has extensive ties.

There was also serious stuff last week, which would make one ashamed to be Irish. An EU survey found that nearly one in three Irish people fear they may run out of money for food, ordinary bills and daily consumer items. This is the same land of bling which a few years ago swaggered out on the world, its insecurities dressed up as confidence.

At the other end of the scale, the number of rich people in the country rose by 10% last year, according to a wealth survey published by Merrill Lynch. The definition of wealth was persons with investable assets of at least $1m. There are now 18,100 so-called 'high net worth' individuals in this country.

It's good to see that while those at the lower rungs of the ladder were pulling on the green jersey, suffering the brunt of cuts, more entrepreneurial spirits were able to give full expression to their talents. One hitherto, latent strand of Irishness that emerged during the bubble years was the propensity to grab with abandon.

Despite fluffy notions dating from the days of 'black babies', Irishness is not a state of generosity. Last week, a plan was launched to shake a few trees on foot of a report stating that the country lags in philanthropy.

"Rising disposable income levels in Ireland have not translated proportionally into rising levels of charitable giving," the report by McKinsey consultants says. Twenty five years ago, when there was far less to go around, Ireland proportionately gave more to Live Aid than any other country.

These are some of the values that inform the notion of Irishness these days. But, who's looking, when word from beyond these shores is entirely positive. The Wall Street Journal, favoured organ of the hedge-fund brigade, has only the pure finest things to say about this country's ability to ship pain.

Not to mention elements of the British Conservative party, who point to the Irish as splendid fellows taking their cutbacks on the chin.

As an actor needs applause, so too Ireland seems to bask in the nod of approval from abroad.

Where are the national values that were supposed to galvanise the country when the economic winds whipped up into a hurricane? There are decent values out there, apparently missing in action, hopefully temporarily, which inform the national identity. If you see them, say hello.

mclifford@tribune.ie