The ten best and worst things about being irish

amos13

So I'm listening to some radio station the other day and they're getting people to text in the best things about being irish. And I come onto boards.ie today and read some threads giving out stink about us, our government, our "moaning" etc so I'm thinking, who's doing the bloody moaning here? In the pub last week while discussing the upcoming GAA finals someone mentioned they were proud to be irish and someone else asked "why?". So go on, give me some reasons why your proud to be irish or not. I for one love our culture and I regularly holiday both in ireland and abroad so I believe I can draw up some comparisons which work in our favour.

I've never understood this proud to be Irish nonsense. How can you proud to be something you had no choice in. Now you can be proud of what the Irish accomplished or if your a non national who takes on Irish citizenship you can be proud to be considered Irish but being proud of the fact that you were simply born here is nonsense.

amos13

Deleted User wrote: »

I've never understood this proud to be Irish nonsense. How can you proud to be something you had no choice in. Now you can be proud of what the Irish accomplished or if your a non national who takes on Irish citizenship you can be proud to be considered Irish but being proud of the fact that you were simply born here is nonsense.

I had no choice in who my parents are, I'm very proud of their achievements. Pride in yourself and pride in other people / things are two different things.

Walsh

The best thing about being Irish is: not being English.

amos13

amos13 wrote: »

I had no choice in who my parents are, I'm very proud of their achievements. Pride in yourself and pride in other people / things are two different things.

But you can hardly be proud that you are Irish if you were born here. That's like saying that you're proud of having 8 fingers and 2 thumbs.

galwayrush

I couldn't think of 10 reasons either way without being superficial.

Micamaca

I like being Irish but I'm not proud of it at the moment. We have made many big boo-boos recently or voted in politicians to do just that. (Not me personally but anyho).

I don't see much to be proud of at the moment. I was proud when we brought in the non-smoking ban first in Europe and the plastic bags ban. Those kind of things made me proud.

On the other hand, when I have to use public transport or see tourists trying to make sense of it, I feel less proud...sometimes downright ashamed. We were on a train going to Drogheda one weekend with German friends of ours and every time the train braked, water rushed down through the ceiling like a power shower. Amusing in a kind of 'laugh or cry' way but also embarrassing.

Course, no fear of that happening now for the next year or so!

pappyodaniel

I was over in Australia, and everyone’s like: “Are you proud to be an American?” And I was like, “Um, I don’t know, I didn’t have a lot to do with it. You know, my parents ****ed there, that’s about all.”

-Bill Hicks

That_Guy

The best thing about being Irish is that Tayto is exclusive to us.

villager

Walsh wrote: »

The best thing about being Irish is: not being English.

why does it always come down to this level

Praetorian Saighdiuir

Deleted User wrote: »

I've never understood this proud to be Irish nonsense. How can you proud to be something you had no choice in. Now you can be proud of what the Irish accomplished or if your a non national who takes on Irish citizenship you can be proud to be considered Irish but being proud of the fact that you were simply born here is nonsense.

Ridiculous statement :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

Iv never seen such contradiction!

"How can you proud to be something you had no choice in..." and "Now you can be proud of what the Irish accomplished..."

I had no choice in anything the Irish acomplished.....and I am proud to be Irish.

You "argument" is nonsense, just because YOU are NOT proud to be Irish, pfffffffft!!

amos13

That_Guy wrote: »

The best thing about being Irish is that Tayto is exclusive to us.

And Galtee sausages....sweet sweet Galtee..........

Dr Kamikazi

I can't be proud of being Irish on account of me being German.
Could I be excused from this class and be proud of being German instead?
:cool:

benwavner

benwavner wrote: »

Ridiculous statement :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

Iv never seen such contradiction!

"How can you proud to be something you had no choice in..." and "Now you can be proud of what the Irish accomplished..."

I had no choice in anything the Irish acomplished.....and I am proud to be Irish.

You "argument" is nonsense, just because YOU are NOT proud to be Irish, pfffffffft!!

Being proud of what the Irish accomplished is completely different to being proud of being Irish. I'm proud that my girlfriend got her college course yet I had no part in it as I met her after she applied. I'm proud of her for all the things she accomplished.

It's the same with regarding to being proud of all the things that the Irish race accomplished. As an Irish person I can be proud of what my forefathers accomplished. I cannot however stand up and say that I'm proud of being Irish given that it was completely out of my control.

SV

I have multiple citizenship but eh..


What's this argument? You can't be proud of being irish because you didn't have a choice in it?
What a stupid fúcking statement.

Dr Kamikazi

amos13 wrote: »

And Galtee sausages....sweet sweet Galtee..........

Now that is pride!
Producing a product that contains traces of meat by products, rusk, sawdust, soya, stabilizers, preservatives and beaks and claws and being proud of it.
I'm German, but I'm not proud of our sense of humor.

galwayrush

I'm proud that i'm able to get on with like minded people where ever they are from.:cool:

galwayrush

Dr Kamikazi wrote: »

Now that is pride!
Producing a product that contains traces of meat by products, rusk, sawdust, soya, stabilizers, preservatives and beaks and claws and being proud of it.
I'm German, but I'm not proud of our sense of humor.

Haha, excellent.
You should be proud, because that was funny.:D:cool:

TheCardHolder

I love getting free drinks in bars on holiday when the owner finds out i'm irish

amos13

Deleted User wrote: »

Being proud of what the Irish accomplished is completely different to being proud of being Irish. I'm proud that my girlfriend got her college course yet I had no part in it as I met her after she applied. I'm proud of her for all the things she accomplished.

It's the same with regarding to being proud of all the things that the Irish race accomplished. As an Irish person I can be proud of what my forefathers accomplished. I cannot however stand up and say that I'm proud of being Irish given that it was completely out of my control.

Methinks you are being pedantic

Riddle101

Deleted User wrote: »

I've never understood this proud to be Irish nonsense. How can you proud to be something you had no choice in. Now you can be proud of what the Irish accomplished or if your a non national who takes on Irish citizenship you can be proud to be considered Irish but being proud of the fact that you were simply born here is nonsense.

What's so wrong about being proud of where you're born and from. Just because we have no choice dosen't mean we should act like it's a curse or something. The fact of the matter is, people all over the world have a lot of pride from where they're from so it's not a typical Irish thing.

Anyway things i'm proud of.
That Ireland went from being a third world country to a prosperous one. Sure you could say the EU helped out but it took the workforce in Ireland to get Ireland in motion, even if we're in a recession right now, it good to know we're not like any poor African countries.

That we've never been in any major wars. Sure you could say the War for Independence but let's not kid ourselves. We've never been in a major conflict that saw millions of people killed like World War 2 or the Vietnam War.

Our sports. Hurling and GAA, may not be as popular as let's say Soccer, but at least it's something that we can be proud to say we created.

Has a good education system. Some maybe sceptical but i'm proud to say Ireland produces a lot of scholars every year and i feel proud in knowing that.

Our sense of humour. Seriously we need it from all the jokes that we are the victims of.

the Worst things about being Irish
Incompetent politicians. Ok so maybe I couldn't do a better job, but hey I'm not the one trying to run the country.

Crime. I guess we can count ourselve lucky we don't live in Columbia but I just hate how bad Ireland has gotten with all the crime. drugs everywhere, kids with guns and a justice system that is useless.

The justice and health systems. But I guess a lot of countries have it bad as well

amos13

Dr Kamikazi wrote: »

Now that is pride!
Producing a product that contains traces of meat by products, rusk, sawdust, soya, stabilizers, preservatives and beaks and claws and being proud of it.
I'm German, but I'm not proud of our sense of humor.

wow I'd no idea. what genius came up with putting all those ingredients together to come up with such flavoursome bliss?

orourkeda

Walsh wrote: »

The best thing about being Irish is: not being English.

Really? That's such an enlightened outlook on life isnt it

Praetorian Saighdiuir

@ DARKO,

The stuff you stated in your last post were all out of your control too, so, going by your logic, you cant be proud of them. You cant have it both ways, your argument is flawed.

amos13

I'm proud of tipperary for giving us an AWESOME hurling final

That_Guy

amos13 wrote: »

I'm proud of tipperary for giving us an AWESOME hurling final

Awesome, hurling and Tipperary are not things generally associated with that county.

Seillejet

To open up the debate, I know Im leaving myself open for a pasting, seeing as this is AH but to follow on from OP;

Ten reasons Im proud to be Irish!

1) Our sense of humour and way with words. I must crack up laughing at the sayings Irish people intentionally and unintentionally come out with at least three times every day.

2) Our love of sport. Seriously we are obsessed.

3) The parish mentality that is still out there and sense of community.

4) We are genuinely on the whole a friendly bunch.

5) The gaa football and hurling. I know it is linked to number two but the fact it is unique is something to be proud off.

6) Our language.

7) Our sense of family. I really think there is a huge focus on the family in Ireland perhaps only rivalled by the French.

8) Our level of education.

9) The fact the Gaurds are unarmed. Seriously appreciate this when away.

10) Irish Music.

Reasons I become embarrassed or not proud of being Irish

1) Our transport system, especially from the Airport.

2) The lassiez faire attitude at times. Things will be grand sort of thing.

3) Perception we sometimes put out there that we are hammered all the time.

4) Our driving.

5) I dont think our gifts to the culinary world have been great.

6) Irish television. Seriously the only thing I have ever watched with some degree of interest is Paths to Freedom and the Family.

7) Begrudgers.

8) Fashion. Seriously some of the clobber people wear.

9) The litter.

10) Our obsession with property and all things materialsic.

BrandonFlowers

1. The Gaa.

2. The irish sense of humour.

3. The fact that we get on with almost everybody in the world.

4. Tayto, Galtee, Denny, and any other irish product which brings enjoyment to countless people.

5. Generosity.

6. Sense of History.

7. Artistic temperements; the poets, actors, music artists we've produced.

8. Cuisine- i love a good stew!

9. Irish Music!

10. Guinness, who else would get a worldwide celebration after 250 years!!!

amos13

Seillejet wrote: »

To open up the debate, I know Im leaving myself open for a pasting, seeing as this is AH but to follow on from OP;

Glad someone opened it cos I wan't really getting much back there!

Apparently Freud once said that the only people impervious to psychoanalysis is the irish. I like the way we don't overanalyse ourselves all the time - so the whole "it'll be grand" argument I prob wouldn't agree with, just because that kind of attitude is a low-stressed-out kinda attitude

galwayrush

amos13 wrote: »

I'm proud of tipperary for giving us an AWESOME hurling final

Bloody hell, yes, i feel proud we can produce an amazing skilful gane like this.:cool:

BrandonFlowers

seillejet you beat me to the punch while i wasn't lookin!:D

Riddle101

Riddle101 wrote: »

What's so wrong about being proud of where you're born and from. Just because we have no choice dosen't mean we should act like it's a curse or something. The fact of the matter is, people all over the world have a lot of pride from where they're from so it's not a typical Irish thing.

Anyway things i'm proud of.
That Ireland went from being a third world country to a prosperous one. Sure you could say the EU helped out but it took the workforce in Ireland to get Ireland in motion, even if we're in a recession right now, it good to know we're not like any poor African countries.

That we've never been in any major wars. Sure you could say the War for Independence but let's not kid ourselves. We've never been in a major conflict that saw millions of people killed like World War 2 or the Vietnam War.

Our sports. Hurling and GAA, may not be as popular as let's say Soccer, but at least it's something that we can be proud to say we created.

Has a good education system. Some maybe sceptical but i'm proud to say Ireland produces a lot of scholars every year and i feel proud in knowing that.

There's nothing wrong with being proud of it at all, I just find a lot of the flag waving and people saying how proud they are to be Irish hard to take seriously at times. It's like the people who a few years back were saying how proud they were of what our government accomplished, the same people are now cursing FF. One of the things that I truly hate is the people who go on and on about how bad the country is and how across the seas is so much better.

As for the things you list, I understand perfectly well how you can be proud of the Irish nation of accomplishing those things. I too am proud that under all the stress to join either of the World Wars out nation stood tall and refused to bow to the pressure. I'm proud to say that a number of members of my family fought in both wars.

benwavner wrote: »

@ DARKO,

The stuff you stated in your last post were all out of your control too, so, going by your logic, you cant be proud of them. You cant have it both ways, your argument is flawed.

You missed the point of my first point. You can be proud of your country and of people you know. It's a different thing than being proud of the where you were born.

I have a lot of love for Ireland and am proud of many of it's achievements but I do not consider myself proud of the fact that I was born here.

amos13

galwayrush wrote: »

Bloody hell, yes, i feel proud we can produce an amazing skilful gane like this.:cool:

and congrats to the galway minors too..could we be witnessing a shift away from the cats in the future?

Seillejet

amos13 wrote: »

Glad someone opened it cos I wan't really getting much back there!

Apparently Freud once said that the only people impervious to psychoanalysis is the irish. I like the way we don't overanalyse ourselves all the time - so the whole "it'll be grand" argument I prob wouldn't agree with, just because that kind of attitude is a low-stressed-out kinda attitude

I never heard that Freud quote but it is apt

Seillejet

BrandonFlowers wrote: »

seillejet you beat me to the punch while i wasn't lookin!:D

Begrudger!!

ejmaztec

Walsh wrote: »

The best thing about being Irish is: not being English.

And one of the worst attributes is having an obsession about it.:P

amos13

Riddle101 wrote: »

Crime. I guess we can count ourselve lucky we don't live in Columbia but I just hate how bad Ireland has gotten with all the crime. drugs everywhere, kids with guns and a justice system that is useless.

The justice and health systems. But I guess a lot of countries have it bad as well

they do... statistically ireland have one of the lowest murder rates in the world.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/ireland-the-safest-country-in-europe-report-says-1038166.html

I know its an old article but I couldn't find the one I read recently

ejmaztec

ejmaztec wrote: »

And one of the worst attributes is having an obsession about it.:P

I do hate that. Was on holidays a few years back and had to listen to an Irish lad spend at least half an hour giving off to a German when they asked was he English. They asked me the exact same question a few minutes earlier and all I said was "nope, I'm Irish".

Epic Tissue

I guess this thread relates to the other one recently "What is Irish". Someone said that they are proud of

"2) Our love of sport. Seriously we are obsessed.". <- That is not specifically Irish. England love their sport. America love their sport, etc.

Jumpy

amos13 wrote: »

Glad someone opened it cos I wan't really getting much back there!

Apparently Freud once said that the only people impervious to psychoanalysis is the irish. I like the way we don't overanalyse ourselves all the time - so the whole "it'll be grand" argument I prob wouldn't agree with, just because that kind of attitude is a low-stressed-out kinda attitude

You sure you are not mistaking it for laziness?

I always took "Sure, it'll be grand" as "**** off I cant be arsed"

amos13

damn you kilkenny. The history books will not show how much tipp matched them and led them for most of the match

HalloweenJack

Funnily enough I could only think of nine points each.

Proud of:
1. Hurling
2. Natural beauty
3. Punching above our wait economically for years (which, unfortunately, caught up on us)
4. Trade unionism
5. The Irish Times
6. Irish (although I still think it's a useless language)
7. The way we speak English
8. Sense of humour
9. Our "neutrality" (when it comes to not participating in large scale wars and our work in the UN peacekeepers)

Not proud of:
1. Our "neutrality" (rendition flights, US army using Shannon)
2. Our politicians
3. Education system
4. Transport system
5. Anti-Englishness
6. Obsession with English football (ironic, considering number 5)
7. The GAA organisation
8. The FAI too
9. The Church

Seillejet

Epic Tissue wrote: »

I guess this thread relates to the other one recently "What is Irish". Someone said that they are proud of

"2) Our love of sport. Seriously we are obsessed.". <- That is not specifically Irish. England love their sport. America love their sport, etc.

I think their love is different though. Their love is of sport they are involved in. I work with for an English company and seem to know more about their football clubs than they do. Not just soccer specific either.

Athletics for example we are dire at but I went into work after the recent World Champs in Germany and Irish people were buzzing about the standards and I had to tell the English people about the events they were involved in and what they won.

Americans one word Baseball. Closes the argument. I only cite those two as they are the nations you mentioned.

Seillejet

amos13 wrote: »

damn you kilkenny. The history books will not show how much tipp matched them and led them for most of the match

Great final though.

amos13

Jumpy wrote: »

You sure you are not mistaking it for laziness?

I always took "Sure, it'll be grand" as "**** off I cant be arsed"

Little bit of A, little bit of B

mehfesto2

Worst thing:
The 'As Gaeilge' speech after the GAA final.

"ta. me. an-athas. orm. caca. milis."

REAL LIFE HOOD

Seillejet wrote: »

To open up the debate, I know Im leaving myself open for a pasting, seeing as this is AH but to follow on from OP;

Ten reasons Im proud to be Irish!

1) Our sense of humour and way with words. I must crack up laughing at the sayings Irish people intentionally and unintentionally come out with at least three times every day.

2) Our love of sport. Seriously we are obsessed.

3) The parish mentality that is still out there and sense of community.

4) We are genuinely on the whole a friendly bunch.

5) The gaa football and hurling. I know it is linked to number two but the fact it is unique is something to be proud off.

6) Our language.

7) Our sense of family. I really think there is a huge focus on the family in Ireland perhaps only rivalled by the French.

8) Our level of education.

9) The fact the Gaurds are unarmed. Seriously appreciate this when away.

10) Irish Music.

Reasons I become embarrassed or not proud of being Irish

1) Our transport system, especially from the Airport.

2) The lassiez faire attitude at times. Things will be grand sort of thing.

3) Perception we sometimes put out there that we are hammered all the time.

4) Our driving.

5) I dont think our gifts to the culinary world have been great.

6) Irish television. Seriously the only thing I have ever watched with some degree of interest is Paths to Freedom and the Family.

7) Begrudgers.

8) Fashion. Seriously some of the clobber people wear.

9) The litter.

10) Our obsession with property and all things materialsic.

HAHAHHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH.

The biggest myth in the world. The Irish are a nation of bandwagon jumpers.

Seillejet

HalloweenJack wrote: »

Funnily enough I could only think of nine points each.


2. Natural beauty

I was going to say this and then had a think. Not knocking it but would a Belgian say he is not proud because Gent is not a scenic place. I know we have very scenic places like Kerry and Achill but we also have Moat, Kilbeggan, Tallaght, The Liberties, no offence intended to anyone but hardly scenic.

Seillejet

REAL LIFE HOOD wrote: »

HAHAHHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH.

The biggest myth in the world. The Irish are a nation of bandwagon jumpers.

Can I change one of my ten worst things :rolleyes:

amos13

Seillejet wrote: »

HalloweenJack wrote: »

Funnily enough I could only think of nine points each.


2. Natural beauty

I was going to say this and then had a think. Not knocking it but would a Belgian say he is not proud because Gent is not a scenic place. I know we have very scenic places like Kerry and Achill but we also have Moat, Kilbeggan, Tallaght, The Liberties, no offence intended to anyone but hardly scenic.

true but all countries have kips, some more than others. Ireland is reknowned the world over for its scenery. like the giants causeway, where the **** did that come from?

candy-gal1

1. irish stew!

2. our beers!

3. paddys day

4. cadburys!

5. tayto

6. irish music

7. irish movies like the van, the snapper, intermission, into the west! to name a few!

8. drinking!:D

9. shamrocks

10. shamrock shakes