Three Types Of Social Capital

Robert Putnam says this about social capital
‘Whereas physical capital refers to physical objects and human capital refers to the properties of individuals, social capital refers to connections among individuals – social networks and the norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness that arise from them. In that sense social capital is closely related to what some have called “civic virtue.” The difference is that “social capital” calls attention to the fact that civic virtue is most powerful when embedded in a sense network of reciprocal social relations. A society of many virtuous but isolated individuals is not necessarily rich in social capital’ (Putnam 2000: 19).
In America Putnam noticed that people going to bowling leagues had decreased

(Putnam, 1995)
There are three types of social capital. The first one is Bonds, this links people on a common identity like family, close friends or people from your same culture. The second type of social capital is Bridges, these are link that stretch beyond a shared sense of identity like distant friends, colleagues or associates. Finally the last type of social capital is Linkages, these are links to people who are further up or down the social ladder.
There has been a decline in Social capital in some ways in Ireland in recent years. For example the Catholic Church was an extremely powerful organisation in Ireland. The vast majority of the population used to attend church on a Sunday. There was gatherings across the length and breadth of Ireland attending church. It was about more than just organised religion. People would meet up, network with each other and various community organisations were formed around this through people meeting up every week. With the decline of the Catholic Church, people emigrating and new cultures with differing beliefs to the Catholic Church coming to Ireland this has an impact on social capital. One of the main sources of the decline

In a survey by the Bertelsmann Foundation, Ireland ranked 11th out of 35 countries for social cohesion (Dwyer, 2017). Social cohesion is the level of solidarity exhibited by people living and working in a geographical community”. This points to high level of Social Capital in Ireland. You don’t have to look hard to see why this might be the case with sports clubs in most community’s in Ireland and especially GAA clubs. The G.A.A. has over 2,600 affiliated clubs dispersed across the island of Ireland with a further 242 clubs among the Irish diaspora overseas. People volunteer for the love of the games but there is a significant positive effect for social capital in communities, this can be seen in improved social connections which can lead to employment opportunities or new social connections. There is a socialising function is also part of what makes the G.A.A. a movement. It seeks to embody and cultivate a sense of community loyalty and pride – at parish, county and national level – and deploy that 'community' sentiment in the creation of significant social capital, a network of community facilities and amenities, and a sense of discipline and civic responsibility as something to be valued by players and the wider membership. Many Irish people are forced to emigrate abroad due to shortages of work in Ireland. When they arrive in