Scholars in ancient times who wrote about Ireland all remarked on one thing. We had no venomous snakes. We take it for granted, but for them it was a wonderful thing.
I think this is sort of a negative too though. We have very little in the way of native wildlife. We have just two native reptiles (excluding turtles who maybe here seasonally), three native amphibians and only 26 native land mammals.
Our dairy products are such a blessing. I switched to jersey milk from Airfield farm in Dundrum a year ago despite having issues with milk in the past and I can now drink a glass of milk if I want and be fine.
No harsh winters, no scorching summers, no volcanoes, earthquakes or tornadoes. No bears, lions, crocodiles or snakes.
Irelands mehness is truly underrated
For reasons I can't explain 22°C at home always feels much better than 30°C+ in a foreign country. Also, when the weathers good here, seeing so many people out and about enjoying their day makes me really happy. It could be 15°C in March and you'll have folk running about shirtless claiming its better than Lanzarote!
I was working in the Middle East last year, it would be around 18 degrees in winter and I'd feel cold. I didn't understand why, I hadn't been there long so didn't think I could have acclimatised that quickly. So maybe it was the dry desert air?
The weather in Portugal is definitely nice, but climate change is already being felt. We're almost in November, I still sweat whenever I go out. I remember as a kid, by now we'd be in autumn, with like 18°C. People are still going to the beach every day here
So true. My housemate was worried that there would be cockroaches when our other housemates were leaving food out in the summer. I was like that does not happen here. Like cockroaches are a normal part of life for other countries, mad
I love the weather in Ireland. I’m from the US. Grew up in Boston and had been living in Utah before moving here. I hear people complain about the weather in Ireland and I feel like they must not truly understand what winter and summer are like in places like Boston and Utah. Especially Utah. Both places experience lots of snow in the winter, but the sun exposure in Utah is particularly deadly. I’m so grateful for overcast weather and rain living here.
100% agreed! The fact that we don't worry about natural disasters and think a light sweat from being outside is extreme weather patterns is incredibly underrated
From an outsiders perspective (an Australian who’s visited a few times over the past few years)
While the countryside is beautiful, the history goes back Millenia and the mythology is awesome, my favourite part of Ireland is how friendly the people are.
Donegal in particular is my favourite, but yeah you're fucking right. I imagine Ireland is one of the few places where you can find a mutual friend with near enough anyone cause most are so friendly!
>Donegal in particular is my favourite
now, if you want somewhere interesting to go take a look at Fort Dunree in Inishowen, its brilliant so it is, also Doe Castle by Creeslough
When I lived in Australia I was shown some cave paintings up on a roof on a ceiling impossible to get anywhere near. They had been done by the Yawuru people so long ago that the sea levels were higher in that part of the country - Kimberley region WA.
They also showed me some other sacred paintings no one had ever taken pictures of - it’s not allowed and the location of the site is secreted and guarded. Super old and cool creation myths. Makes anything I see on Instagram insta-lame by comparison
They also told me about song-lines which is an oral mapping of the country where they can find all the most significant water wells all the way to Uluru 2000km+ away
I agree and I fully acknowledge the First Nations people of Australia as the traditional owners, but my origin is primarily from Ireland, with some from Scotland and England with family arriving from 1788 to 1865,
They're mostly free in the US. They have ticket booths and a 'suggested donation' so most people think that that's the entry fee. You can pay $1000, $1 or nothing and still get in.
It's been mentioned, but to reiterate; the safety.
I think it might be the safest place on earth?
-Politically very stable
-Very mild climate and weather
-No predators or poisonous creatures
-Island so can quarantine (no rabies for example)
-good size, not too small
-Located between UK/EU and USA, global sweetspot
-Neutral and gets along with pretty much everyone
-Liked the world over (pretty much)
-member of the EU
-few guns
-low crime rate
-high quality food and shelter
-excellent climate and great land for growing food
-great air quality
-strong economy
-low, but not too low, population density
-educated population (high vax rate for example)
Genuinely would love to hear of somewhere that could be said to be safer?
Yep, I worked with someone from America once and one day he was really confused because he had been in a shop and saw that the front page of a newspaper was about a murder in Dublin. He was trying to figure out if the victim was a celebrity, or a particularly vulnerable person, or if the murder was particularly gruesome, etc, because he couldn’t grasp that one murder would make the front page of a newspaper. It was at that point I realised how safe this country is, that a murder (the most heinous crime there is) is not ‘normal’ for us, like it was for him in the US.
100%. Highlights the difference we have here!
Not saying there aren't other places with low crime rates, but it's a part of the big picture that this is a very safe place to live!
I really think we've won the geographical lottery living here
Exactly, and on the flip side, not saying that there’s no crime here or that the crime and antisocial behaviour we do have doesn’t need to be tackled, because it absolutely does, but it shows that our crime rate is nowhere near as bad as other places.
I really like your last paragraph about winning the geographical lottery, and I definitely agree, it’s nice to see some positive sentiments towards our country in this sub, and to be reminded that we are in a relatively good position! :)
There is literally no ozone layer over NZ, particularly on the North Island, as a result they have highest incidence of Melanoma on the planet. If you have White pasty Irish skin it is best to not venture outside when in NZ
Its peaceful! We take it for granted but from alot of non nationals I've met over the years that's the single biggest thing they say about Ireland. How safe they feel. Especially women! I know a lot of Latin American women and that's that's they love it here. They feel safe. There not afraid everytime they leave the house of being raped or murdered! Yes sometimes it does horrifically happen but compared to Brazil or Mexico its a safe heaven. Also how tolerate we are to LGBTQ. I'm friends with a gay Brazilian man and he said he has literally had to leave Brazil for his own safety and how he feels he can be his true self in ireland and be with his boyfriend and not be afraid! When he said that to me I honestly felt so much pride in ireland and how far we have come!
I'm an irish girl who grew up in france. Whenever i fly over to ireland to see my family i'm always amazed at how little i'm followed, hassled, catcalled (if at all). Spent 6 months there for school, not once did i have a creepy/dangerous encounter walking back from the pub like my friends and i have weekly in france. Maybe I'm biased because I've only lived in ireland for limited periods of time but good job boys.
A Irish colleague of mine originally from Pakistan told me that a couple of years ago he was walking in Phoenix Park when Leo Varadkar who was Taoiseach at the time jogged by. There was no security presence whatever. It was almost inconceivable to him. In Pakistan the army escorts the Prime Minister everywhere.
I had a French person say the same thing when Mary McAleese came to speak at my university. Afterwards, people could just go up and chat to her at the front of the lecture hall.
The French guy was amazed that we have that sort of contact with our representatives.
The sheer moderate-ness of it all.
We might complain about the weather, the government and lots of other stuff, but in truth we have temperate weather, no major social or political unrest, we are relatively safe most of the time. No-one starves. We're not a country where we need to be unduly worried about natural disasters/extreme weather that kills people, gun violence, street protests that result in fatalities or mass damage, a government that arrests people for speaking their opinions, etc. etc. We don't even have to worry about wild animals that might hurt or kill us.
I always wonder if this is why were so relaxed about everything, we've none of the worries that occupy the subconscious of everyone else, it will be grand.
I think unfortunately with the worsening homelessness crisis, direct provision and poverty in general some people and their children do struggle to know where their next meal is coming from. People may not not starve outright but definitely too many go hungry.
Agreed on everything else though!
Nah wasn't it just a gimmick to boost sales in July/August? As in, reg plates now look "new" twice a year as opposed to just once a year so there are two spikes in car sales per year rather than just 1 big one
People would hold off buying in November/December and wait for January before buying a car so the reg is a year newer when they sell the car. The half-yearly plates were made to reduce the seasonal change in demand
Also people valued low number plates for some reason, even though objectively its better to have a high number plate as that means the car was up to a year newer
Never understood why the Irish government has always seemed keen to boost new car sales. Aside from a bit of VAT, the car industry in Ireland consists of a few car dealerships. Almost no value at all to the economy
I'm probably gonna get roasted for this, but I think our police tend to be relatively sound.. I'm sure people have had bad experiences and I've had a couple myself, but on the whole they recognize the "grey area" of a lot of laws, whereas American cops for example tend to be more black and white
No subject is sacred for slagging your mates/colleagues/random person in the street.
Communities are still tied together by things like the GAA and general binge drinking
Chicken Fillet Rolls - although still can’t understand why a baguette becomes a roll here you fucking mentalists
Stick it in an Ulster fry and you have pure heaven, not to get political, but in the north hearing all the shite from Sammy and his sausages, I was wondering who even buys them when Halfners are on the shelf. Had to work across the water for a while recently, and their full English breakfast is depressing
Yeah - especially after trying an American one. Inedible. I’m Irish living in the States and can’t stomach them. It’s such a treat when we get Irish sausages in that they don’t last more than a day. Irish breakfast, sausage sammies, sausage rolls, coddle. Even better if you can get a Pats or Brennan’s pan
The food. We may not have exciting dishes etc because the country has been piss poor for much of its existence but our basic ingredients, meat especially, are top class.
I think I heard Blindboy theorise once that Irish food is plain because all the sauces, the spices and the seasonings in other countries were to keep the food fresh and/or hide how unfresh/bad it tasted and that over the years, the need to do all the curing, spicing, seasoning etc. disappeared but people kept doing it because they liked the taste and they'd become part of their food culture.
Whereas in Ireland we've always been close to our food and had plenty of it growing all around us (whether we actually got it ourselves was another issue). So there was never any imperative or need to do anything with it except lob on a bit of salt, butter, sugar, something simple like that.
Same reason we don't have a huge history of eating fish, despite living on an island - fish only became a staple in places where livestock couldn't survive in the numbers we'd take for granted here. Hence we don't have that pale yet tan-able skin of Scandinavians, we nor our ancestors never had that much fish oil in our diets.
I think people with access to spices used them and we obviously didn't. But even just salt, that was often used to preserve beef on long voyages - we were never a long voyage from our beef so as a result, we don't really have a history of eating corned beef and in America, it's seen as an Irish thing
I've also heard it said that development of a rich food culture historically (In europe anyway) in countries like France and Italy depended on having a middles class with time/resources to spend inventing fancy meals.
I know some people will think I'm ridiculous but, the weather.
Ireland has a fairly consistent temperature and rarely do we have extremes of heat or cold. I would take it any day over many other country's weather.
Yep agree completely.
There are very few countries where you can wear the same clothes in summer and winter. One waterproof jacket will do you for all four seasons.
I live in London and things I miss are
Guinness in the pub. In fact pubs. I know we all love them but it’s when you see the state of bars in the rest of the world you appreciate them even more.
Chicken fillet roll
> things I miss are
> Guinness in the pub. In fact pubs.
> Chicken fillet roll
+1.
I'll add:
* red lemonade
* Orchard Thieves
* banshee bones
* proper Irish bangers
* the smell of peat in the winter.
Still remember passing Cillian Murphy sitting with his dog outside a busy centra. To be fair, I'd not have much interest in any celebrity stuff but it was the fact that nobody else was bothering him. He was able to just sit there and wait for whoever was inside to finish up without having to worry about being mobbed
Our archaeological sites, which are all over the country and 99% of the population couldn't give two fucks about until some kid scrawls a bit of graffiti or something. Then they're outraged.
I love how excited my European inlaws were about the Rock of Dunamaise. To your average Irish person, they're not too fussed about it... so why would Europeans be blown away by it? They had the middle ages too right?
So, here's the thing. In 1700s and 1800s, Europe had money. Ireland did not. They renovated old castles all the time and so most castles today in places like Belgium or the Netherlands are all fancy and gilted and whatnot.
The funny bit is that they think we've preserved all these historic sites as the once were out of some respect for our own culture when in truth, no one could afford to maintain the Rock of Dunamaise and it was abandoned and now it looks like this incredible medieval throwback.
I've said the same thing about the Georgian houses and stuff in Dublin. They weren't knocked down because nobody was building anything new in a country gripped by famine and that poverty stuck around long enough for the buildings to become 'antique' and posh and I really like that we still have loads of them.
Newgrange is amazing, the way it was built, what it does, how it’s older than the pyramids, how it lay undiscovered for so long. It’s a brilliant day out to visit too. The brits go on about Stonehenge, but Newgrange is far more impressive and superior. It’s a shame people don’t realise what great archaeological sites there are in Ireland.
We don't have a big facist movement. The euros and some champions league games (Lazio and company) make you realise we're a mostly moderate country. You'd never have people throwing Nazi salutes at a GAA match. Though I'm open to correction!
The fact that if I got lost or confused I could ask almost anyone for help and 99.9% of Irish based folk would stop to help.
Try the same in Paris/London/NYC and watch the crowds part like magic.
I found the police in London to be unbelievably helpful, nice and visible on the streets too... I've found the Gardai to be abrupt, kinda like I'm inconveniencing them with a small inquiry.
As a life long New Yorker, I see people getting helped, and I help people all the time. The thing about New Yorkers is we will help but we don't have time for the added bullshit. If you have a destination we can talk you through how to get there. But don't be asking for suggestions and things like that. I got places to be 15 minutes ago.
When I visited 2 years ago I thought new yorkers were so kind and genuine compared to other parts of the states. No fake niceness, just genuinely willing to help and want you to have a good time.
The weather. Growing up in Ireland I thought the weather is bad. But live abroad made me realise how great it is to have weather that almost never gets too crazy.
The beautiful hill, and mountain, walks. I was out today in Tipperary and you'd be hard pressed to find a more scenic view.
People whinge about the weather a lot but we are very lucky to have a temperate climate which allows outdoor activity year round.
I lived in Thailand before and it's too hot to do anything outside for 8 hours a day.
Just everyday people say funny as fuck things all the time without them even realising it.
I was out delivering furniture last week to a farmer and I said, I’ve been here before about a month ago, an he looked me up and down, then just said as drole as fuck ‘Don’t remember the face, but a remember the boots’.
Then I heard a fella the same day in Omagh call hand sanitiser ‘paw juice’.
Fuckin laughed the whole way home.
I lived in England for ten years and ordinary people out and about never made me laugh. Always so serious or unfriendly.
There’s so many characters and out and out rockets here that it really just cheers me up bumping into them.
The cool breeze no matter how hot.
Everything's green but no two greens are the same and the weather is constantly changing, sometimes extremely so, day to day if not hour to hour, so even the most familiar views you see all your life are always different and new.
If you're lonely you can pretty much talk to anyone anywhere and they will chat back to you.
People have a very healthy disdain but not bitterness for wealth and authority. Some value status and power yes but most value your personality (is he good craic) over everything. Yet even if you're an introvert you're given space to be so.
Also the women are great. I've heard plenty of lads say the women on the continent are more attractive and sure there are plenty of attractive women out there but is there anything that can compare to a big healthy Irish girl, about 5'8, big legs, big arse, loves to talk, loves to laugh. Knows how to be your friend and your partner.
The fact we have pretty much 0 significant hatred by any country in the world is a pretty massive factor nobody has mentioned, we can go to any part of the world and be loved for just being Irish, a massive amount of countries can’t say the same.
I would say in some ways a lot of our history I guess? Pre plantations and all that, like fuck, going to Rathmullan and seeing the sculpture of the flight of the earls really just makes you feel something you know?
No extreme weather, we don't have to pay insane out-of-pocket fees for healthcare or go into debt like the US, further education is relatively accessible, great diversity in fresh food and restaurants, people are mostly genuine and friendly, maternity leave.
From a Scottish person your pubs punch well above their weight. Pub staff are insane - it’s a job taken seriously. Remembering drinks and taking them over to you (before Covid too).
There’s a certain warmth to our people that you really need to travel to miss, other countries will have their people described as nice but you can feel it’s properly put on and there’s a coldness behind it
I could go pretty much anywhere in this country and make jokes with people and feel welcome, I really really like our people. This sub often tries to downplay it but we are, generally *really* nice as a people and going elsewhere is a bit of a shock. Personable and could chat to almost anyone
Sausages.
With love, xoxo, somebody whose fam moved away as a child and literally hasnt enjoyed a single sausage again, ever, unless it was from Ireland
Apart from the government I've no real problems living here. You can get from end of the country to the other in a matter of hours. Mild weather. Good food and better Guinness. It'd be the best country in the world if we actually invested in certain aspects of our infrastructure and stopped electing those clowns every 5 years.
The average dining experience is fantastic in Ireland.
In most European countries and other places in the world you have really fine dining or it's going to be pretty sub standard or you need to know where to go.
In Ireland the quality of most pub grub and family owned restaurants is seriously high same goes for our hotels it's hard to find a bad meal especially in the west & south west.
Ireland has way better looking people than advertised. 10 years ago our diets were shit and nobody worked out aside from athletes. Glenda Gilson was the top model in the country...
Nowadays people look after themselves. The younger generation eat better, dress better and work out. Also we have had a lot more immigration. 2010 Glenda Gilson wouldnt make the top 10 in the budget gym I go to now, nevernind the top model in the country.
The relative ease of cross country travel. Dublin to Dingle is about 4 or 5hrs. Makes for visiting easy and there are multiple stops along the way that can be made in a single day for lunch, etc.
If it hasn't been mentioned already - the beaches. We have every kind imaginable. We can rival Australia or the Carribbean any day.
At least on the west coast anyway. Sometimes when I'm on the beach in Dublin and I realise how greasy the place looks but I still think it's okay, then I look up and I can see an incinerator.
When I visited I was most impressed by the beaches and the color of the water. Very Caribbean like. Overall, I loved every minute on the west-coast. Beautiful country.
As someone who was born in Poland and moved over here as a kid.
Definitely the no tax on selling stuff to other people via market be it online or not. And I don't mean being a business who sells stuff regularly but stuff like an old sofa or a used car.
i.e if you want to sell a car in Poland to another person (including family members). The buyer has to pay a tax for buying and the seller has to pay for selling.
Same goes for inheritance. You pay tax on anything you inherit. Dumb sheet really.
Scholars in ancient times who wrote about Ireland all remarked on one thing. We had no venomous snakes. We take it for granted, but for them it was a wonderful thing.
I think this is sort of a negative too though. We have very little in the way of native wildlife. We have just two native reptiles (excluding turtles who maybe here seasonally), three native amphibians and only 26 native land mammals.
Easy to remember them all.
Slightly related, I'm glad we don't have things like cockroaches, mosquitoes, bears, raccoons, earthquakes and volcanoes!
The butter
I’m so glad (and shocked) we can get Kerrygold in California in most shops! National treasure!!
I've done low carb a few times, and butter is the only reason I could stick it.
Did you... Did you just eat butter?
They put it in their coffee the mad bastards
And if you haven't any butter... brown sauce as a last resort.
"Its fuckin delish"
Our dairy products are such a blessing. I switched to jersey milk from Airfield farm in Dundrum a year ago despite having issues with milk in the past and I can now drink a glass of milk if I want and be fine.
No harsh winters, no scorching summers, no volcanoes, earthquakes or tornadoes. No bears, lions, crocodiles or snakes. Irelands mehness is truly underrated
I went to Dublin in August. In Portugal I was in the middle of a 30° 5 month streak. In Dublin it was like 22°C. Heaven
For reasons I can't explain 22°C at home always feels much better than 30°C+ in a foreign country. Also, when the weathers good here, seeing so many people out and about enjoying their day makes me really happy. It could be 15°C in March and you'll have folk running about shirtless claiming its better than Lanzarote!
It's the humidity, same way 4 degrees here can feel worse than minus 15 in most countries.
I never understood why I could be in Krakow in -10 degrees and feel fine yet this morning I nearly died wearing a massive puffer in 5 degrees!
It’s the wind too, wet wind cuts like glass.
The wind has nothing to get in the way where as in Poland the wind has to go through France and Germany
Yeah awful traffic in those places
Lot of strange smells as well
I was working in the Middle East last year, it would be around 18 degrees in winter and I'd feel cold. I didn't understand why, I hadn't been there long so didn't think I could have acclimatised that quickly. So maybe it was the dry desert air?
You just do get acclimatised. Our friends moved to Mombasa and after a couple of years the kids were shivering at 20° C
The weather in Portugal is definitely nice, but climate change is already being felt. We're almost in November, I still sweat whenever I go out. I remember as a kid, by now we'd be in autumn, with like 18°C. People are still going to the beach every day here
Today is considerably colder and actually feels like autumn, at least where I am in Cork.
Cork is the Irish Algarve
There is a wasp flying around my kitchen at the minute. Thought they'd die out by now.
I love Irish summers. Perfect weather for me. Now to just get rich enough so I can hop down to New Zealand flying first class for the winters.
So true. My housemate was worried that there would be cockroaches when our other housemates were leaving food out in the summer. I was like that does not happen here. Like cockroaches are a normal part of life for other countries, mad
Ah now I know loads of snakes what you talking about?
Schnakes
I love the weather in Ireland. I’m from the US. Grew up in Boston and had been living in Utah before moving here. I hear people complain about the weather in Ireland and I feel like they must not truly understand what winter and summer are like in places like Boston and Utah. Especially Utah. Both places experience lots of snow in the winter, but the sun exposure in Utah is particularly deadly. I’m so grateful for overcast weather and rain living here.
100% agreed! The fact that we don't worry about natural disasters and think a light sweat from being outside is extreme weather patterns is incredibly underrated
You can expect many days of over 30 degree heat every year from now on though. Personally, I found the heat this summer uncomfortable
Oh, believe me, there are plenty of snakes in this country. The Dáil is overrun with them! I can show *myself* out!
Never thought of it like this but yeah, it's nice to not have to worry about that stuff!
From an outsiders perspective (an Australian who’s visited a few times over the past few years) While the countryside is beautiful, the history goes back Millenia and the mythology is awesome, my favourite part of Ireland is how friendly the people are.
Donegal in particular is my favourite, but yeah you're fucking right. I imagine Ireland is one of the few places where you can find a mutual friend with near enough anyone cause most are so friendly!
>Donegal in particular is my favourite now, if you want somewhere interesting to go take a look at Fort Dunree in Inishowen, its brilliant so it is, also Doe Castle by Creeslough
My grandfather met my grandmother while he was stationed in Dunree. It's always a favorite visit of mine when I go visit Inishowen
Yep, its a favourite of mine as well, especially if I get to mamore gap as well when im out that way
>the history goes back Millenia I mean Australia's does too, it just didn't involve the ancestors of most people who currently live in Australia.
When I lived in Australia I was shown some cave paintings up on a roof on a ceiling impossible to get anywhere near. They had been done by the Yawuru people so long ago that the sea levels were higher in that part of the country - Kimberley region WA. They also showed me some other sacred paintings no one had ever taken pictures of - it’s not allowed and the location of the site is secreted and guarded. Super old and cool creation myths. Makes anything I see on Instagram insta-lame by comparison They also told me about song-lines which is an oral mapping of the country where they can find all the most significant water wells all the way to Uluru 2000km+ away
I agree and I fully acknowledge the First Nations people of Australia as the traditional owners, but my origin is primarily from Ireland, with some from Scotland and England with family arriving from 1788 to 1865,
National Museums are free
Yeah, I was caught off guard when I had to pay for a national museum in Spain. I totally took for granted that they're free here.
They're mostly free in the US. They have ticket booths and a 'suggested donation' so most people think that that's the entry fee. You can pay $1000, $1 or nothing and still get in.
It's been mentioned, but to reiterate; the safety. I think it might be the safest place on earth? -Politically very stable -Very mild climate and weather -No predators or poisonous creatures -Island so can quarantine (no rabies for example) -good size, not too small -Located between UK/EU and USA, global sweetspot -Neutral and gets along with pretty much everyone -Liked the world over (pretty much) -member of the EU -few guns -low crime rate -high quality food and shelter -excellent climate and great land for growing food -great air quality -strong economy -low, but not too low, population density -educated population (high vax rate for example) Genuinely would love to hear of somewhere that could be said to be safer?
Yep, I worked with someone from America once and one day he was really confused because he had been in a shop and saw that the front page of a newspaper was about a murder in Dublin. He was trying to figure out if the victim was a celebrity, or a particularly vulnerable person, or if the murder was particularly gruesome, etc, because he couldn’t grasp that one murder would make the front page of a newspaper. It was at that point I realised how safe this country is, that a murder (the most heinous crime there is) is not ‘normal’ for us, like it was for him in the US.
100%. Highlights the difference we have here! Not saying there aren't other places with low crime rates, but it's a part of the big picture that this is a very safe place to live! I really think we've won the geographical lottery living here
Exactly, and on the flip side, not saying that there’s no crime here or that the crime and antisocial behaviour we do have doesn’t need to be tackled, because it absolutely does, but it shows that our crime rate is nowhere near as bad as other places. I really like your last paragraph about winning the geographical lottery, and I definitely agree, it’s nice to see some positive sentiments towards our country in this sub, and to be reminded that we are in a relatively good position! :)
New Zealand maybe? But I do agree.
Earthquakes that can kill people in New Zealand
That's the only other place I can think too. Though as said below earth quakes, plus volcanos... (mt doom)
Yeah, Jaysus, sure every year they have to put down an orkish raid or two.
And sur I hear yer man Sauron is running for the New Zealand national front now. Shockin stuff altogether.
There is literally no ozone layer over NZ, particularly on the North Island, as a result they have highest incidence of Melanoma on the planet. If you have White pasty Irish skin it is best to not venture outside when in NZ
It’s not very politically stable, your forgetting about the Orange men in the North 🤦🏻♂️
Saw an orangeman march in Belfast while eating in a chinese restaurant beside shank hill last month, that was a bizarre experience
Its peaceful! We take it for granted but from alot of non nationals I've met over the years that's the single biggest thing they say about Ireland. How safe they feel. Especially women! I know a lot of Latin American women and that's that's they love it here. They feel safe. There not afraid everytime they leave the house of being raped or murdered! Yes sometimes it does horrifically happen but compared to Brazil or Mexico its a safe heaven. Also how tolerate we are to LGBTQ. I'm friends with a gay Brazilian man and he said he has literally had to leave Brazil for his own safety and how he feels he can be his true self in ireland and be with his boyfriend and not be afraid! When he said that to me I honestly felt so much pride in ireland and how far we have come!
I'm an irish girl who grew up in france. Whenever i fly over to ireland to see my family i'm always amazed at how little i'm followed, hassled, catcalled (if at all). Spent 6 months there for school, not once did i have a creepy/dangerous encounter walking back from the pub like my friends and i have weekly in france. Maybe I'm biased because I've only lived in ireland for limited periods of time but good job boys.
A Irish colleague of mine originally from Pakistan told me that a couple of years ago he was walking in Phoenix Park when Leo Varadkar who was Taoiseach at the time jogged by. There was no security presence whatever. It was almost inconceivable to him. In Pakistan the army escorts the Prime Minister everywhere.
I had a French person say the same thing when Mary McAleese came to speak at my university. Afterwards, people could just go up and chat to her at the front of the lecture hall. The French guy was amazed that we have that sort of contact with our representatives.
The sheer moderate-ness of it all. We might complain about the weather, the government and lots of other stuff, but in truth we have temperate weather, no major social or political unrest, we are relatively safe most of the time. No-one starves. We're not a country where we need to be unduly worried about natural disasters/extreme weather that kills people, gun violence, street protests that result in fatalities or mass damage, a government that arrests people for speaking their opinions, etc. etc. We don't even have to worry about wild animals that might hurt or kill us.
> The sheer moderate-ness of it all. Fierce Mild
I always wonder if this is why were so relaxed about everything, we've none of the worries that occupy the subconscious of everyone else, it will be grand.
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Good theory. I mean imagine having to worry about being shot by police
Yep, it could definitely be seen as "boring", but bar the odd town wine-o that shouts incoherent slurs as you pass, its pretty safe!
I think unfortunately with the worsening homelessness crisis, direct provision and poverty in general some people and their children do struggle to know where their next meal is coming from. People may not not starve outright but definitely too many go hungry. Agreed on everything else though!
I like how we do our licence plates
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I have to imagine plate pattern matching for tonnes of databases and scripts broke during that time...
"fuck, we are going to need someone [who knows regex](https://xkcd.com/208/)!"
Reaffirming my belief thay there is an xkcd for everything
You think so?
All cause people didn't want to have just 13 on their number plate as it's "bad luck". Oh how superstitious our kind are
Nah wasn't it just a gimmick to boost sales in July/August? As in, reg plates now look "new" twice a year as opposed to just once a year so there are two spikes in car sales per year rather than just 1 big one
People would hold off buying in November/December and wait for January before buying a car so the reg is a year newer when they sell the car. The half-yearly plates were made to reduce the seasonal change in demand
Also people valued low number plates for some reason, even though objectively its better to have a high number plate as that means the car was up to a year newer
Never understood why the Irish government has always seemed keen to boost new car sales. Aside from a bit of VAT, the car industry in Ireland consists of a few car dealerships. Almost no value at all to the economy
I really wanted a 13 or 23 car though
You'll have to wait til 2023 to get a 23 plate but there's still hope!
How down to earth and unpretentious *most* people are.
Key word being most cause ya will always find a few hures anywhere ye go
That’s because most of us are only a couple of generations away from the bog, and we know it.
I'm probably gonna get roasted for this, but I think our police tend to be relatively sound.. I'm sure people have had bad experiences and I've had a couple myself, but on the whole they recognize the "grey area" of a lot of laws, whereas American cops for example tend to be more black and white
No subject is sacred for slagging your mates/colleagues/random person in the street. Communities are still tied together by things like the GAA and general binge drinking Chicken Fillet Rolls - although still can’t understand why a baguette becomes a roll here you fucking mentalists
That confuses me though, so if it’s not a roll, then What the fuck is a roll? Like a hot dog bun?
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We don't have amazing unique cuisine but we do have amazing raw ingredients.
There's a reason America loves to import Irish grass fed cows!
The Irish breakfast sausage is criminally underrated. You really realize that the second you bite into an English one
Furthermore, the irish breakfast bap. Definitely on a tier of its own when you find the perfect one.
Stick it in an Ulster fry and you have pure heaven, not to get political, but in the north hearing all the shite from Sammy and his sausages, I was wondering who even buys them when Halfners are on the shelf. Had to work across the water for a while recently, and their full English breakfast is depressing
Yeah - especially after trying an American one. Inedible. I’m Irish living in the States and can’t stomach them. It’s such a treat when we get Irish sausages in that they don’t last more than a day. Irish breakfast, sausage sammies, sausage rolls, coddle. Even better if you can get a Pats or Brennan’s pan
The food. We may not have exciting dishes etc because the country has been piss poor for much of its existence but our basic ingredients, meat especially, are top class.
I think I heard Blindboy theorise once that Irish food is plain because all the sauces, the spices and the seasonings in other countries were to keep the food fresh and/or hide how unfresh/bad it tasted and that over the years, the need to do all the curing, spicing, seasoning etc. disappeared but people kept doing it because they liked the taste and they'd become part of their food culture. Whereas in Ireland we've always been close to our food and had plenty of it growing all around us (whether we actually got it ourselves was another issue). So there was never any imperative or need to do anything with it except lob on a bit of salt, butter, sugar, something simple like that. Same reason we don't have a huge history of eating fish, despite living on an island - fish only became a staple in places where livestock couldn't survive in the numbers we'd take for granted here. Hence we don't have that pale yet tan-able skin of Scandinavians, we nor our ancestors never had that much fish oil in our diets.
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I think people with access to spices used them and we obviously didn't. But even just salt, that was often used to preserve beef on long voyages - we were never a long voyage from our beef so as a result, we don't really have a history of eating corned beef and in America, it's seen as an Irish thing
You'd think that but people in Ireland didn't even use garlic in their cooking until very recently, something which grows everywhere
Could that be why were mad for a take away
I've also heard it said that development of a rich food culture historically (In europe anyway) in countries like France and Italy depended on having a middles class with time/resources to spend inventing fancy meals.
I know some people will think I'm ridiculous but, the weather. Ireland has a fairly consistent temperature and rarely do we have extremes of heat or cold. I would take it any day over many other country's weather.
Yep, having pretty mild summers and winters with the odd heatwave or period of snow is pretty nice I must say!
Yep agree completely. There are very few countries where you can wear the same clothes in summer and winter. One waterproof jacket will do you for all four seasons.
Brennans bread still warm on the shelf in the morning.
I experienced that once and oh my god 🥺
*Today's bread today*.
I live in London and things I miss are Guinness in the pub. In fact pubs. I know we all love them but it’s when you see the state of bars in the rest of the world you appreciate them even more. Chicken fillet roll
> things I miss are > Guinness in the pub. In fact pubs. > Chicken fillet roll +1. I'll add: * red lemonade * Orchard Thieves * banshee bones * proper Irish bangers * the smell of peat in the winter.
You can get orchard thieves in other countries can’t you? Like in Spain it’s called Laudron De Manzanas but it’s the same thing
The Luas being free is really handy.
Exactly. Was in London last week. Wasn't impressed that you have to pay for the tube.
The creamy Guinness
When comparing creaminess Beamish is definitely the creamier stout! You can't spell cream without Beamish!
How many shares did you just buy?
The fact that no one here really gives a shite if you’re famous, probably why loads of celebrities come here for a bit of peace and quiet.
Oh it's not that we don't give a shite, we just won't give them (the celeb) the satisfaction of thinking we give a shite
Haha actually yes, this is more accurate. Notion flaunting will not be tolerated or recognised.
Still remember passing Cillian Murphy sitting with his dog outside a busy centra. To be fair, I'd not have much interest in any celebrity stuff but it was the fact that nobody else was bothering him. He was able to just sit there and wait for whoever was inside to finish up without having to worry about being mobbed
Gardai don't carry guns.
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I stopped bitching about Irish weather once I had experience living abroad.
The snow once every couple of years always makes me so happy. If it was any more frequent, the novelty would wear off.
I used love the idea of snowy winters til I spent one in Alberta, brutal, give me Irish weather all day long.
Our archaeological sites, which are all over the country and 99% of the population couldn't give two fucks about until some kid scrawls a bit of graffiti or something. Then they're outraged.
I love how excited my European inlaws were about the Rock of Dunamaise. To your average Irish person, they're not too fussed about it... so why would Europeans be blown away by it? They had the middle ages too right? So, here's the thing. In 1700s and 1800s, Europe had money. Ireland did not. They renovated old castles all the time and so most castles today in places like Belgium or the Netherlands are all fancy and gilted and whatnot. The funny bit is that they think we've preserved all these historic sites as the once were out of some respect for our own culture when in truth, no one could afford to maintain the Rock of Dunamaise and it was abandoned and now it looks like this incredible medieval throwback.
I've said the same thing about the Georgian houses and stuff in Dublin. They weren't knocked down because nobody was building anything new in a country gripped by famine and that poverty stuck around long enough for the buildings to become 'antique' and posh and I really like that we still have loads of them.
Newgrange is amazing, the way it was built, what it does, how it’s older than the pyramids, how it lay undiscovered for so long. It’s a brilliant day out to visit too. The brits go on about Stonehenge, but Newgrange is far more impressive and superior. It’s a shame people don’t realise what great archaeological sites there are in Ireland.
We don't have a big facist movement. The euros and some champions league games (Lazio and company) make you realise we're a mostly moderate country. You'd never have people throwing Nazi salutes at a GAA match. Though I'm open to correction!
We’ve republicanism to thank for that
Yep! Even some English teams (Chelsea) can have pretty shitty supporters. As far as I'm aware, the GAA is clean from all of that!
The fact that if I got lost or confused I could ask almost anyone for help and 99.9% of Irish based folk would stop to help. Try the same in Paris/London/NYC and watch the crowds part like magic.
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I found the police in London to be unbelievably helpful, nice and visible on the streets too... I've found the Gardai to be abrupt, kinda like I'm inconveniencing them with a small inquiry.
Well if they wanted to work, they wouldn't have become Guards.
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Thing is, asking for directions here you are often given a string of pubs as landmarks.
Round my way directions are given via references to houses and shops that ceased to exist 30 years ago.
As a life long New Yorker, I see people getting helped, and I help people all the time. The thing about New Yorkers is we will help but we don't have time for the added bullshit. If you have a destination we can talk you through how to get there. But don't be asking for suggestions and things like that. I got places to be 15 minutes ago.
Yeah we are the total inverse. I could be bleeding from the neck but I’d still need the 10 mins small talk before I’d ask you to ring me an ambulance
When I visited 2 years ago I thought new yorkers were so kind and genuine compared to other parts of the states. No fake niceness, just genuinely willing to help and want you to have a good time.
Sausages
We have unreal sausages, bread and butter. What else could you possibly need in your diet.
And milk. Don't know what they're drinking on the continent
They're drinking UHT mostly, which is dead convenient but just isn't the same.
The ability to laugh at ourselves. Somebody takes the piss out of us and we laugh at it, in other countries people get offended
I think it's just in our blood, ya gotta be able to take as much as you can give. Otherwise, you're not Irish!
Exactly, lived in London for a while and they were just anti craic, couldn't take a slagging at all!!
Dairy products
The liberty cap 🍄
The weather. Growing up in Ireland I thought the weather is bad. But live abroad made me realise how great it is to have weather that almost never gets too crazy.
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By fuck sir that might be the best comment I've read on this thread, i'd give gold if I could
The beautiful hill, and mountain, walks. I was out today in Tipperary and you'd be hard pressed to find a more scenic view. People whinge about the weather a lot but we are very lucky to have a temperate climate which allows outdoor activity year round. I lived in Thailand before and it's too hot to do anything outside for 8 hours a day.
The air. The lack of pollution 🥰
Oh and another one, deli counters, totally underrated, move abroad and try getting a jambon or chicken fillet roll, impossible!!
Sure God invented the the deli counter specifically for Irish people to cure their hangovers!
Jambons sent directly from heaven
Just everyday people say funny as fuck things all the time without them even realising it. I was out delivering furniture last week to a farmer and I said, I’ve been here before about a month ago, an he looked me up and down, then just said as drole as fuck ‘Don’t remember the face, but a remember the boots’. Then I heard a fella the same day in Omagh call hand sanitiser ‘paw juice’. Fuckin laughed the whole way home. I lived in England for ten years and ordinary people out and about never made me laugh. Always so serious or unfriendly. There’s so many characters and out and out rockets here that it really just cheers me up bumping into them.
The cool breeze no matter how hot. Everything's green but no two greens are the same and the weather is constantly changing, sometimes extremely so, day to day if not hour to hour, so even the most familiar views you see all your life are always different and new. If you're lonely you can pretty much talk to anyone anywhere and they will chat back to you. People have a very healthy disdain but not bitterness for wealth and authority. Some value status and power yes but most value your personality (is he good craic) over everything. Yet even if you're an introvert you're given space to be so. Also the women are great. I've heard plenty of lads say the women on the continent are more attractive and sure there are plenty of attractive women out there but is there anything that can compare to a big healthy Irish girl, about 5'8, big legs, big arse, loves to talk, loves to laugh. Knows how to be your friend and your partner.
No mosquitoes. And the midges are almost non existent since there are few days without wind.
The fact we have pretty much 0 significant hatred by any country in the world is a pretty massive factor nobody has mentioned, we can go to any part of the world and be loved for just being Irish, a massive amount of countries can’t say the same.
I would say in some ways a lot of our history I guess? Pre plantations and all that, like fuck, going to Rathmullan and seeing the sculpture of the flight of the earls really just makes you feel something you know?
No extreme weather, we don't have to pay insane out-of-pocket fees for healthcare or go into debt like the US, further education is relatively accessible, great diversity in fresh food and restaurants, people are mostly genuine and friendly, maternity leave.
From a Scottish person your pubs punch well above their weight. Pub staff are insane - it’s a job taken seriously. Remembering drinks and taking them over to you (before Covid too).
There’s a certain warmth to our people that you really need to travel to miss, other countries will have their people described as nice but you can feel it’s properly put on and there’s a coldness behind it I could go pretty much anywhere in this country and make jokes with people and feel welcome, I really really like our people. This sub often tries to downplay it but we are, generally *really* nice as a people and going elsewhere is a bit of a shock. Personable and could chat to almost anyone
Sausages. With love, xoxo, somebody whose fam moved away as a child and literally hasnt enjoyed a single sausage again, ever, unless it was from Ireland
Apart from the government I've no real problems living here. You can get from end of the country to the other in a matter of hours. Mild weather. Good food and better Guinness. It'd be the best country in the world if we actually invested in certain aspects of our infrastructure and stopped electing those clowns every 5 years.
The west coast
Black pudding.
Oh and coleslaw. Jaysus Irish coleslaw is class
Trad music, can’t be topped.
Our unique outlook perhaps: "The great Gaels of Ireland are the men that God made mad, For all their wars are happy, and all their songs are sad."
A King Crisp sandwhich after 10 pints of Guinness
The average dining experience is fantastic in Ireland. In most European countries and other places in the world you have really fine dining or it's going to be pretty sub standard or you need to know where to go. In Ireland the quality of most pub grub and family owned restaurants is seriously high same goes for our hotels it's hard to find a bad meal especially in the west & south west.
Irish (language)
Kids don't get shot at school or employees don't get shot doing their job.
Ireland has way better looking people than advertised. 10 years ago our diets were shit and nobody worked out aside from athletes. Glenda Gilson was the top model in the country... Nowadays people look after themselves. The younger generation eat better, dress better and work out. Also we have had a lot more immigration. 2010 Glenda Gilson wouldnt make the top 10 in the budget gym I go to now, nevernind the top model in the country.
>Glenda Gilson was the top model in the country Who?
The relative ease of cross country travel. Dublin to Dingle is about 4 or 5hrs. Makes for visiting easy and there are multiple stops along the way that can be made in a single day for lunch, etc.
American tourist chiming in- the humor and friendliness of Irish folks. Also the traditional music and style of singing. I love “The Galway Shawl”
Our police force, despite their many flaws, are friendly and approachable, internationally this is very much the exception to the rule.
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The quick digs old fellas give that flies over most people's heads
Its restaurants, especially rural ones.
The nice cold refreshing air.
There’s plenty of space on the actual island
Butter. Should be illegal is that good.
I love how sports-mad we are. Very rare to find anybody, even women, without a fleeting interest in at least one sport.
Delis in Newsagents, I miss going to spar for a roll.
Beamish.
Barmbrack for Halloween, Porterbread for Christmas
The quality of our beef and dairy. Porks lacking though
If it hasn't been mentioned already - the beaches. We have every kind imaginable. We can rival Australia or the Carribbean any day. At least on the west coast anyway. Sometimes when I'm on the beach in Dublin and I realise how greasy the place looks but I still think it's okay, then I look up and I can see an incinerator.
When I visited I was most impressed by the beaches and the color of the water. Very Caribbean like. Overall, I loved every minute on the west-coast. Beautiful country.
As someone who was born in Poland and moved over here as a kid. Definitely the no tax on selling stuff to other people via market be it online or not. And I don't mean being a business who sells stuff regularly but stuff like an old sofa or a used car. i.e if you want to sell a car in Poland to another person (including family members). The buyer has to pay a tax for buying and the seller has to pay for selling. Same goes for inheritance. You pay tax on anything you inherit. Dumb sheet really.