Did Freud Ever REALLY Say Psychoanalysis Doesn't Work on the Irish?

[astorian]

I meant to raise this issue a few months ago, when I first saw the movie The Departed.

In one scene, a corrupt Irish-American cop played by Matt Damon is seeing a female psychiatrist. At the start of the session, he asks her if she’d ever heard what Sigmund Freud said about the Irish. Supposedly, Freud once said something like, “The Irish are the one race for whom psychoanalysis is of no use whatsoever.”

I thought that was a hilarious anecdote, but I’m not at all sure it’s true. Freud spent most of his life in Vienna, moving to London only as an old man, to escape the Nazis. Did he ever even MEET many Irishmen, let alone take many on as clients?

I’d love this story to be true, but am ready to see it debunked. So, does anybody have a source for the quote? Did Freud really ever say anything like that?

[Blackhawk441]

No cites, but I looked this up once and it seems he never did. Fit the tone of the story, though. (Terrific movie).

[Marley23]

@astorian

I thought that was a hilarious anecdote, but I’m not at all sure it’s true.

It’s made up for the movie.

@Freud Museum of London FAQ

Did Freud say of the Irish “This is one race of people for whom psychoanalysis is of no use whatsoever.”?
This remark is discussed in the Oscar-winning movie ‘The Departed’. However, there is no evidence Freud ever said it.

@astorian

Freud spent most of his life in Vienna, moving to London only as an old man, to escape the Nazis. Did he ever even MEET many Irishmen, let alone take many on as clients?

In theory he could have said it based on stereotypes or some such thing without ever meeting an Irish person, since it could be seen as playing into plenty of anti-Irish sentiments. But apparently he didn’t say it.