Ireland. A country full of life and and booming with tourism. People flock here from around the globe to experience its wonder. The more time I spend here the more I love its little quirks, those little things that make it special. Is it the great pint of Guinness or the fresh smell of the sea the engulfs its picturesque coastline? No, of course not you can get that anywhere. It's the people. These people are what make Ireland unique. Here's a little insight into what I think makes Irish people so different... in a good way.
Cheap - Their inability to appear "mean" or "tight". In other words to appear cheap with your money. You could be down to your last fiver and know full well that you won't have enough money to get home but you must buy your cousins new boyfriend a drink. God forbid he might think you were mean and then what if he tells the family. The worst insult in an argument with an Irish person : "Well you know what? You were always tight with your money."....Que broken heart.
Dog's don't carry cash..... source: www.dailyedge.ie
Awkward - The feeling of awkwardness in situations that shouldn't feel awkward. Most recently I observed this first hand. When purchasing a bottle of wine in the local grocery the sales assistant asked me if I had ID. (Note: I wasn't wearing make-up, it takes years off me). I feel awkward because I think she's going to laugh at that fact that I'm so old. She feels awkward because she realises she's about 7 years my junior and here she is quizzing me. What should be a straight forward interaction due to a mandatory enforcement by management ends up being a red-faced exchange that that has strangely made the entire que feel awks and everyone's now staring at the floor like they're deep in prayer.
source: tomywrite.wordpress.com
Emotion - not that they have an inability to show emotion, but it's very rare. Words like "I love you" or "I'm proud of you" are generally not uttered unless in extreme cases such as on your death bed. Historically emotional expression was suppressed and now it has become embedded in our heritage. To be fair, just because an Irish person doesn't say they love you doesn't mean they don't feel it, but then of course it could also mean they don't feel it.
Sarcasm - sarcasm is used as a form of social observation, particularly with groups of new people. It is used by the Irish to measure one's ability to have the "craic". So it's perfectly acceptable to slate someone and if they get angry about it it makes them no craic (other terms considered would be minus craic, zero craic and captain no craic).
Culinary habits - stew. Although eastern European countries have goulash, which is not unlike our stew, there is something special about the Irish stew. I think manly because it doesn't really have a set in stone ingredient list. So you could have beef or chicken and of course the humble potato but who knows what else gets thrown in. Some carrots, parsnips, turnip, bit of buttermilk, the heel of a loaf, an old boot, some nail varnish remover....anything goes and you'll be damned if you leave a mouthful behind on that plate.
Irish meals like no other. Source : www.jokeoverflow.com
Thank you for reading. MOD :) X
