There are many myths told about the Irish: that they're fighters, they're stupid, they're belligerent, or that they never forget. All nonsense.
The truth about the Irish is much harder to pin, and much more elusive than they are given credit for. There's even a line - falsely attributed to the great Sigmund Freud but telling, nonetheless - that says, "This is one race of people for whom psychoanalysis is of no use whatsoever."
So how can you tell the reality from all the myths? Well you can start here, with IrishCentral's top ten myths about the Irish.
The Irish are always friendly
Many Irish people will happily give you the shirt off their back, but others would much prefer to sue you for it (especially if there's a disputed family will in the mix somewhere). Usually the Irish are genuinely friendly , but like anywhere a lot depends on who you are, where you are, and what you are.
Quibbling aside, the land of a hundred, thousand welcomes deserves its reputation because, the truth is, that most Irish people can be so kind and considerate it will take your breath away. But like anywhere, a few nettles sprout among all the roses, so tread carefully betimes.
The Irish are religious
Even avowed Irish atheists will call upon all the angels and saints when there's a crisis or they're in danger. But that doesn't mean they're deeply religious, it's just a reflex hardwired into them from birth. You trip, you sprain your ankle, you'll call the Lord's name (and many others).
The truth is, most Irish people are much closer in spirit to Father Ted than to Rome, and they always have been. James Joyce, as always, put it best: "O Ireland, my first, my only love/Where Christ and Caesar are hand in glove." If you can reconcile those two opposing forces and learn to live with them without giving it another thought, you're well on your way to being Irish yourself.
The Irish can sing
Two words: Ronan Keating. Make those three words: Chris De Burgh . Let's face it, even housewives' favorite Daniel O'Donnell is no threat to Luciano Pavarotti - and he's dead. Not every Irish man can sing a rousing rebel song on request, despite what you see every time in the movies.
Irish people can however reduce you to heaving sobs with their songs about lost love, lost land and faded hopes. Be warned: otherwise perfect social evenings can be brought to a standstill by the power of just one Irish ballad competently sung. Your guests may weep copiously or begin to think about snow falling faintly, and faintly falling, and if it does happen just go with it, it's the Irish way.
The Irish are stupid
Pull the other one. You're in the native land of the scholar (the saints, like the snakes, were evicted long ago). Trust me, all those Paddy the Irishman jokes you heard growing up (about the guy who always gets it wrong) are an expression of anxiety, not contempt. People have been calling the Irish thick for centuries. They're fools.
Take Edmund Spenser, the Elizabethan poet, for example. He tried to denigrate the Irish in his genocidal pamphlet "A View of the Present State of Ireland", written in the early 1590s. Spenser's propaganda pamphlet argued that Ireland would never be totally pacified by the English until its language and customs had been completely destroyed, if necessary by violence. (Irish rebels, possibly acting on his own advice, later drove him from his County Cork home).
For many contemporary scholars Ireland's James Joyce is the true heir to William Shakespeare simply in terms of his influence and cultural impact.
The Irish are charming
Anyone who has ever ordered a cheese sandwich from the joyless drudges who staff the Bus Áras canteen in County Monaghan knows this is not true. The Irish are not always charming . In fact some Irish people have perfected a stare of such hostility and perfect contempt that the memory of it will never leave you.
The Irish have red hair and freckles
Just as not all Irish women are tempestuous redheads crying out to be tamed by an avuncular John Wayne stand-in, not all redheaded Irish men are leading donkeys carrying turf bags to the fair.
There are quite a few blonds (bottle and natural) knocking about the old sod; black hair and brown or blue eyes are a common feature too (think of Cillian Murphy or Jonathan Rhys Meyers ). Nowadays Ireland has become a much more intercultural place, so it may be time to update your image of it.
The Irish are happy to start a fight
Whilst it's fair to say the Irish are a passionate lot, it's wrong to assume they're always spoiling for a knockdown fight. In fact, when someone makes a fool of himself by acting belligerently in public most Irish people will cringe and designate him a fool – and when an Irish person comes to that conclusion about you, you'll be considered a fool all your days.
The Irish are great storytellers
Well, yes, and no. Whilst it's true there are Irish people who can tell tales to delight or terrify you , they're not all born with the gift. In fact, the Irish have produced the woman that literary experts agree is the worst novelist who ever lived. Amanda McKittrick Ros was born in Ballynahinch, County Down in 1860 and according to The Oxford Companion to English Literature is "the greatest bad writer who ever lived."
Amanda self-published her own series of novels in the late 1890's and instantly won a devoted following, but the critics savaged her. McKittrick Ros's faith in her own talent was undiminished however, and she replied by calling them variously: "bastard donkey-headed mites, clay-crabs of corruption, denunciating Arabs, evil-minded snapshots of spleen, talent-wipers of a wormy order." Her revenge is that today we quote her, and not her detractors.
The Irish never forget
Not true. Ask Thierry Henry. After his handball at the qualifying France versus Ireland World Cup match, there are literally millions of Irish people desperately willing themselves to forget what he did. Their attempts to do so may be as insincere or short lived as Thierry's apology, but give them some props for the effort.
Famous Irish drinking toast Sláinte explained
Sláinte is the most used Irish expression in America, our reader survey discovered. Sláinte [SLAHN-chə], or "Good Health" in English, is an Irish expression that derives from the Old Irish word slán, meaning "healthy" or "safe".
It can be used in different contexts. For example, when downing a pint of Guinness you say "Sláinte" before you begin to drink.
There are many other expressions that use sláinte, such as "Is fearr an tsláinte ná na táinte" (English: "Health is better than wealth").
Another expression is "Go dte tú slán" (English: "May you go safely"), which is what you say when someone is leaving on a journey.
"Sláinte na bhfear" (English: "Good health to the men") is another derivative, used when drinking in the company of men.
"Sláinte na mbean" is the opposite - for when drinking with women!
Slán itself has other meanings besides "healthy" and "safe" in Gaelic. It can mean "farewell" when used as a noun and "goodbye" - as an interjection.
"Slán go deo" means "goodbye for ever".
Erin go Braghless, John
Happy St. Pats..
One missing from your list.. the Irish love a good pint... Preferably Guinness with a plate of corned beef.
Lá fhéile Pádraig sona dhuit!
Rest of the story kind of stuff, ( smile );
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Be warned: otherwise perfect social evenings can be brought to a standstill by the power of just one Irish ballad competently sung
About 10 years or so I was in a pub in the Salthill section of Galway. As it got close to a closing, one of the patrons stood on a chair in the middle of the pub. The 100 odd people in the pub, quickly hushed and he began to sing the Auld Triangle acappella. It's hard to capture in words how electric a performance it was.
The pub went completely silent, where you could literally hear a pin drop when singer paused. I've never experienced anything like at a show before, let alone in a pub with that many people who've been drinking for hours. Everyone's attention was focused like a laser on the singer who preceded to absolutely nail the song. Hanging on every note, the whole place was in thrall for like three minutes. I've never seen anything like it.
You're Irish? I never would have guess that, LOL.
Love that song Sean. It's hauntingly beautiful.
Carrickfergus
This is probably my favorite Irish song.
Jim Mc Gann - On Raglan Road
Green beersh tashtes jusht ash good ash osher beersh, jusht shayin...
Brraaaap! Dash damn tooth! HIC!
Happy St. Pat's !!!
Ha Ha ! Feckin' cute !
Happy St. Patrick' Day! The day for wearin' the Green and having a pint (or two or three....!)
For me, there is nothing so fascinating as the Irish Riverdance. Their precision is just amazing.