Do you know where Leitrim is?

Recently I was up in Dublin at a PD event.While enjoying the nightlife of Dublin,I got chatting to many Dubs(from both sides of the Liffey).

The shocking thing is 90% of the people did not know where Leitrim(My homeplace) was.One girl even suggested it was part of Kildare.Do they really not teach Geography inside the pale?:p

Another occasion was when a gang of Donnybrook hens came down.I was working n the pub and there happened to be a westmeath game on.One of th girls turns around to me and asks me
Her:"Why do Meath get to have two teams in the all ireland?"
Me:"sorry"
Her:"You know,Westmeath and Meath.Really if they are allowed two teams,We should be allowed have a southside only team in the all-ireland!"

I then had to explain to hr that Westmeath and Meath were two different counties.

So how come Dublin people don't seem to have a grasp of their own countrys geograpy?Is it simply that ye don't give a toss about anything outide the pale?

spurious

It's like the Yanks - we don't need to know about the rest of the place - they all eventually come here.


I had a class of first years who could not tell me what coast Galway was on. I went off on a bit of a mad teacher rant about kids in second class knowing that sort of thing and what are they doing in the primary schools, when a Chinese student in the country a year said 'What do you expect Miss, they don't even know their own language'.

He had a point.

DublinWriter

The_Dazzler wrote:

So how come Dublin people don't seem to have a grasp of their own countrys geograpy?

The old joke goes that people from Leitrim actually resemble the shape of the county - broad at both ends and pinched at the middle.

Dub13

Why would one need to know where Leitrim is...?

Kinetic^

Dub13 wrote:

Why would one want to know where Leitrim is...?

Had to correct your post there

Wishbone Ash

Presumably, The Dazzler, being from Leitrim, you know where in Dublin, Leitrim Place is located?



I agree with you that some people's ignorance is breathtaking. Take vehicle registrations for example. I've had trouble convincing ladies that KE is not for Kerry, LK is not for Letterkenny and SO is not for South Offaly. :rolleyes:

r3nu4l

I had a friend in College from Monaghan who had the following conversation:

Monaghan Girl: So where are you from?
My mate: Limerick.
Monaghan Girl: Oh, I love Tipperary!
My mate: Huh?
Monaghan Girl: Yeah, I've been to a few towns in Tipp but not Limerick town
My mate: Limerick is a city in County Limerick...
Monaghan Girl: Ha, good one, County Limerick, ha ha.
My mate: No seriously, Limerick is a county...
Monaghan Girl: Yeah right!

Only when we got an Atlas and showed her would she believe us...it's not just a Dub thing!

As for me, I've been to every county in Ireland and know where each one of them is and I'm a Dub.

It may be that you met some Dubs who were pulling your leg...we have a habit of doing that to our country cousins

Peace

Leitrim, I was there once...

I have absolutely nothing more to say about the place. I wonder why.

grimloch

To be honest, I wouldn't be so sure about where it is. I think it's over there on the left someplace. I have never been there, nor do I have plans to go there at any stage in the near future and I got something like 35% on a geography of Ireland test back in 4th class which is the one and only time I've been quizzed on the counties of Ireland.

johnnyrotten

Yes

Chucky the tree

near the middle is it?

stepbar

It's no wonder we have so many stupid people in this world :rolleyes:

Wishbone Ash

Leitrim has a coastline - not a lot of people know that.

Flukey

I am a Dubliner and I know where Leitrim is. I've been in it and the other 31 counties. Leitrim has the shortest coastline of any Irish county, between Sligo and Donegal, and it also has the smallest population of any county.

It is amazing how many Irish people cannot name the 32 counties, or know what province they are in. I've done this as an exercise in computer classes that I teach, as a way of laying out tables in a Word document. When trying to name counties it is also amazing how many people come up with the names of towns, thinking they are counties. People come up with "counties" like Athlone or Belfast among a host of others for example. People confuse counties too. The Meath and Westmeath one is a common one. People often correctly name some counties, but put them in the wrong province. I've had people from other countries being able to name more than some Irish people can. As an exercise for yourselves, see how many of the counties you can name off the top of your head - no atlases, searching the net etc. - and put in the correct province. Don't post it here, for fear of embarassing yourself. I'll post the correct list here tomorrow evening.

Wishbone Ash

Slightly off topic but the amount of Dubliners who think Dublin shares a border with Louth is staggering!

Flukey

It is not off topic. The thread has developed into being about the knowledge that Dubliners, and indeed other Irish people, have of their country's geography.

Feral Mutant

Flukey wrote:

As an exercise for yourselves, see how many of the counties you can name off the top of your head - no atlases, searching the net etc. - and put in the correct province.

I can do that, had to learn it back in primary school, by province as well. Shocks me that some people don't know where Leitrim is or can't tell Westmeath from Meath.[/high and mighty rant]

is_that_so

Wishbone Ash wrote:

Slightly off topic but the amount of Dubliners who think Dublin shares a border with Louth is staggering!

It should with those Dubs up there. Only a sliver of Meath in the way.
And I have been in Leitrim, a very fine and pleasant county.

boneless

Wishbone Ash wrote:

Leitrim has a coastline - not a lot of people know that.

Sligo gave it that bit of coastline to create a control zone between it and Bundoran...:p

snickerpuss

I'm okay at most of the proper coastal counties but the whole middle is a bit of a blur... I only ever drive through it.
(Sorry middle county people!)

TerrorFirmer

Haven't a clue where Leitrim is to be honest. Going there for New Years though...

Nevyn

dRNk SAnTA

How can anyone get out of senior infants and still not know where the counties in ireland are. thats really embarrassing.

My pops is from leitrim. I've been there a lot and its a cool place. Obviously not the party capital of ireland though. Its definitely becoming more popular these days because its one of the most unspoiled areas of ireland.

Important fact from school - leitrim has the shortest coastline in ireland.

Also, my granny down there used to make boxty, it was the best stuff ever. Does anyone on here still eat it? it doesnt seem to be common anymore. g'wan the potato!

Nevyn

actually they are not tought as part of senior infants but later on in primary.

dRNk SAnTA

hmm, well I learned early then.

spurious

Most people, when asked to name them, remember Leitrim, but forget Laois.

Saruman

Im a dub, i know where it is... i do not think i have ever been there. I find it shocking that anyone in this country does not know where every county is... for feck sake we went through it all the way through primary school!

Tar.Aldarion

The other counties surrounding Leitrim should envelop bits of it until it is no more.

Dub13

Thaedydal wrote:

That map is not very accurate they have Drogheda down as Meath.

arybvtcw0eolkf

Leitrim, I passed through it once. My daughter got sick in the car, probably nothing to do with Leitrim, but I couldn't wait to get back to Dublin all the same..

Gurgle

Dub13 wrote:

That map is not very accurate they have Drogheda down as Meath.

Drogheda is on the border between louth and meath.

OP, you set the bar way too high.

Southsiders, do any of you know where glasnevin is?

Tar.Aldarion

Mairt wrote:

probably nothing to do with Leitrim

Don't go back, just in case.

luckat

Leitrim, the lovely country full of woods and hills and lakes. (And mosquitoes, but we'll forgive it them.) Just don't try to cycle through it - it takes days, because people are so friendly that you're dragged in for a cup of tea every time you pass a gate.

super_furry

I'm not convinced Leitrim actually exists. It's all an ellaborate tax-scam.

Dub13

What does Leitrim add to the Irish economy...?

Who is the most famous person to come out of Leitrim in the last 20 years...?

Wishbone Ash

Dub13 wrote:

Who is the most famous person to come out of Leitrim in the last 20 years...?

Paul Williams?
Professor Brendan Drumm CEO HSE
The lads who won the Eurovision with 'Rock 'n' Roll Kids'.

Thomas_S_Hunterson

Dub13 wrote:

What does Leitrim add to the Irish economy...?

I hear they make a good cuppa

Feral Mutant

luckat wrote:

Leitrim, the lovely country full of woods and hills and lakes. (And mosquitoes, but we'll forgive it them.) Just don't try to cycle through it - it takes days, because people are so friendly that you're dragged in for a cup of tea every time you pass a gate.

Some people would consider that kidnapping.
Guy cycling through: Er, yeah I really should be going . . .
Leitrim Guy: It rubs the tea on its skin or else it gets the hose again.

stepbar

Wishbone Ash wrote:

Paul Williams?
Professor Brendan Drumm CEO HSE
The lads who won the Eurovision with 'Rock 'n' Roll Kids'.

John McGahern
Colm O'Rourke was born in Leitrim
John Joe McGirl (IRA Chief of Staff
Sean Mc Dermott (of Easter Rising fame)
Eleanor Shanley
Shane Flynn - Vice president of MBNA

Dub13

stepbar wrote:

John Joe McGirl IRA Chief of Staff

Now thats scraping the barrel big time.

stepbar

Tar.Aldarion wrote:

The other counties surrounding Leitrim should envelop bits of it until it is no more.

and perhaps you should get out some more.....

stepbar

Dub13 wrote:

Now thats scraping the barrel big time.

Wishbone Ash

stepbar wrote:

Colm O'Rourke was born in Leitrim
John Joe McGirl (IRA Chief of Staff
Sean Mc Dermott (of Easter Rising fame)

He did say "in the last 20 years"

Húrin

The_Dazzler wrote:

The shocking thing is 90% of the people did not know where Leitrim(My homeplace) was.One girl even suggested it was part of Kildare.Do they really not teach Geography inside the pale?:p

Let's face it, Leitrim is an obscure county. I know where it is and so do most people I know, but I can understand some people's ignorance.

Another occasion was when a gang of Donnybrook hens came down.

Many young D4 heads are self-absorbed fools. That explains the rest.

Húrin

Gurgle wrote:

Southsiders, do any of you know where glasnevin is?

Of course I do. you'd have to be truly stupid not to.

Pythia

One of my best friends is from North Leitrim, so I'd be killed if I didn't know where it is.
Of course I knew where it was before, as I know where all the counties are.

eirmail

leitrim got their first traffic light about 2 and a half years ago. I read this in the paper at the time a friend wouldn't believe me so I had to bet a pint on it with him.

stepbar

This conversation actually happened in the grounds of Trinity.... Girl 2 is related to me -

Girl 1 - What part of Dublin are you from?
Girl 2 - Eh, Im not from Dublin... Im from Leitrim
Girl 1 - Oh really.... <short silence while she gathers her thoughts>.... Ah well.... at least its along the East coast.....

Girl 1 was a southsider

Look Leitrim will never make the headlines for anything much apart from being the hideaway for Dubliners who dream of that large second home.... but not knowing where it is, what its main town is just pure ignorant and insulting TBH. It is to me anyhow, in fact if I met you I could prob tell you something about your county, someone I know or tell you about a time I was there etc etc.

People from Leitrim get about their job quietly and I know quite a few who are millionaires many times over. There are also quite a few who made their fortune in America and beyond. You wont hear about them in the news paper either. TBH if a county is judged by the amount of "famous" people that come out of it well then that is quite sad.

Flukey

As someone said about Glasnevin:
"It is the dead centre of Dublin."

Anyway, for the record, the provinces and counties are:

Leinster (12)
Dublin
Meath
Kildare
Louth
Laois
Longford
Wexford
Westmeath
Wicklow
Offaly
Carlow
Kilkenny

Ulster (9)
Donegal
Fermanagh
Antrim
Tyrone
Cavan
Down
Armagh
Derry
Monaghan

Munster (6)
Cork
Kerry
Waterford
Limerick
Clare
Tipperary

Connacht (5)
*Leitrim!!!!
Roscommon
Mayo
Sligo
Galway

An awful lot of people think Clare is in Connaught, because it is on the other side of the Shannon to the rest of Munster. That is the most common one that people mistake in terms of a county in a province.

Sparky

My mam is from Leitrim, just between Mohil an Cloone (sp?). When I'm sometimes down there maybe twice a year, our family normall head for Foxes pub.

Tar.Aldarion

stepbar wrote:

John McGahern
Colm O'Rourke was born in Leitrim
John Joe McGirl (IRA Chief of Staff
Sean Mc Dermott (of Easter Rising fame)
Eleanor Shanley
Shane Flynn - Vice president of MBNA

Who?

leitrim got their first traffic light about 2 and a half years ago. I read this in the paper at the time a friend wouldn't believe me so I had to bet a pint on it with him.

It was taken down again.