The Most Embarassed Moment You have Ever Felt to be Irish

Kaka10

Lets try to steer clear of the whole paedophile priests and IMF bail out malarky. Have you ever cringed at something a fellow countryman did abroad ?

My one :
I was in Austria in a skiing resort and the only pub was an English pub called the Londoner. There were an Irish family from Roscommon who used to come in for the Apres Ski every evening. Anyway, one evening the whole family start singing 'RA songs and started singing the fields of Athen Ri, screaming in their own contributions such as "hey baby let the free birds fly" (I am not joking about that one) and more worringly screaming at the top of their lungs "I R A". Everyone in the pub just looked at them bemused and ignored them.

Whats your one?

kfallon

The Omagh bombing

Saila

the wearing the Gaa jersey abroad brigade

kfallon

Kaka10 wrote: »

Lets try to steer clear of the whole paedophile priests and IMF bail out malarky. Have you ever cringed at something a fellow countryman did abroad ?

My one :
I was in Austria in a skiing resort and the only pub was an English pub called the Londoner. There were an Irish family from Roscommon who used to come in for the Apres Ski every evening. Anyway, one evening the whole family start singing 'RA songs and started singing the fields of Athen Ri, screaming in their own contributions such as "hey baby let the free birds fly" (I am not joking about that one) and more worringly screaming at the top of their lungs "I R A". Everyone in the pub just looked at them bemused and ignored them.

Whats your one?

Also I have covered the above subject in some depth on the "Fav Irish Ballad" thread :pac:

Pauleta

When that mad Priest stopped that Brazilian guy from winning the Olympic Marathon :mad:

Chardee MacDennis

I'm fully expecting jedward at the eurovision to be top of my list once that happens!

mattjack

the two austrailian tourists killed by IRA on continent a few yrs ago...claimed they mistook them for soldiers..

FreeCheese4All

When this thread was created!

brummytom

Kaka10 wrote: »

Lets try to steer clear of the whole paedophile priests and IMF bail out malarky. Have you ever cringed at something a fellow countryman did abroad ?

My one :
I was in Austria in a skiing resort and the only pub was an English pub called the Londoner. There were an Irish family from Roscommon who used to come in for the Apres Ski every evening. Anyway, one evening the whole family start singing 'RA songs and started singing the fields of Athen Ri, screaming in their own contributions such as "hey baby let the free birds fly" (I am not joking about that one) and more worringly screaming at the top of their lungs "I R A". Everyone in the pub just looked at them bemused and ignored them.

Whats your one?

Have you never heard the Fields of Athenry sung like that before?!

fontanalis

Murphy Report, Ryan Report, some of the pretnetious nonsense that went on in recent years

mikemac

Kaka10 wrote: »

singing the fields of Athen Ri, screaming in their own contributions such as "hey baby let the free birds fly" (I am not joking about that one) and more worringly screaming at the top of their lungs "I R A".

You seem suprised.
Was it your first time hearing that version?

zuroph

went out for night with GF in Santa ponsa, met a bunch of lithuanian people and went back to theirs drinking. went to the chipper, and soem short drunk irish lad started mouthing off at one of the lithuanian girls. when one of the lads told him to shut up, he went off and came back with three mates, and tried to get a fight going. had to talk the soberest of them down, and explain what happened, while all the time the short prick is shouting all manner of racism his drunken mind could muster.
After being shown such a good night by our new friends, was very frustrating to see some pisshead ruin the evening for us.

Saila

Pauleta wrote: »

When that mad Priest stopped that Brazilian guy from winning the Olympic Marathon :mad:

and he ran across an F1 track with cars coming, total headcase :eek:

Celly Smunt

ask me in 23 days.

RayM

I get embarrassed quite easily, but I've never felt embarrassed (or proud) to be Irish.

fontanalis

Pauleta wrote: »

When that mad Priest stopped that Brazilian guy from winning the Olympic Marathon :mad:

Truely the worse thing an irish priest has done.

Trooperboyo

In one word: Eirigi

alexa5x5

Was in a pub in Portugal a few years ago when a few tables up some guys started singing rebel songs, wouldn’t been so bad but the pub was made up of mainly English people and it wasn’t that sort of place anyway. Have the place got up and left.

Caoimhín

The day the country had to go to the IMF (rest of the world), cap in hand, looking for "the few bob". Sure didnt we go and spend it all on de houses....

OutlawPete

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2XXuRHq15o

Eve_Dublin

St Patricks Day in Dublin when all the tourists come over to experience a Paddy's Day on the Mothership. The feckin' state of us! Cringe-arama.

Messi2

When they lifted up Gerry Adams after the election and started chanting "topped the poll." Cringe.

Ebbs

The Henry thing.

I couldnt be more of a football fan...but jesus these things happen...leave your hoover alone and grow up.

fee fi fo fum

Bono

vandriver

When the whole planeload of Irish tourists claps as the plane lands.This always has me squirming in my seat.

Dudess

Loads of things from Ireland have made me cringe but I can't say they've particularly caused me personally to feel embarrassed to be Irish.

arybvtcw0eolkf

When that bastard Cowen & his cohorts sold us out and the IMF/ECB gave us a Turkish Handshake.

Sie

Xpose on TV3

talla10

The day Brian Cowen had his infamous hungover incident when he was meant to be trying to save the country.

As mentioned Jedward, Crystal Swing but also give a mention to Daniel O' Donnell, Jackie Healy Rae, Ming Flanagan, Mick Wallace and Paul McShane!!

All make me cringe when i see or hear them!!!

cml387

I lived through IRA bombings and never really felt ashamed only because I think most British people realised it wasn't done in my name.

The moment that really stands out is when,before the special Olympics a few years ago,many people in my own town battered down the doors of local politicians complaining about those Hong Kong people coming over here,because they might bring SARS.

That went down pretty badly.

Wolfe Tone

talla10 wrote: »

The day Brian Cowen had his infamous hungover incident when he was meant to be trying to save the country.

As mentioned Jedward, Crystal Swing but also give a mention to Daniel O' Donnell, Jackie Healy Rae, Ming Flanagan, Mick Wallace and Paul McShane!!

All make me cringe when i see or hear them!!!

Hey, Mings a legend!

BraziliaNZ

At Australia V Ireland in a rugby match a few years ago. Drunk Irish youths everywhere shouting "who are ya who are ya" etc at bemused Australian families etc. Scarlet I was!

Wolfe Tone

brummytom wrote: »

Have you never heard the Fields of Athenry sung like that before?!

Sure half the time when its sung people sing that version.

KeithAFC

kfallon wrote: »

The Omagh bombing

Should be number 1.

fontanalis

KeithAFC wrote: »

Should be number 1.

What collective guilt can we put on you?

Teyla Emmagan

Anyone who goes abroad with a tricolour.

There is no need to take our national flag on holidays with you, really. Especially when you're going to wear it wrapped around your sunburnt body at 3am in Spain whilst out of your mind on sangria and shouting about how much you want a roide.

Makes me die a little bit inside.

SChique00

l embarressed to be Irish only when I see the news. You know it's actually funny - in a sick sort of way, perhaps - that even after everything they've been struck by, the brave Japanese are continuing on, trying to rebuild their country without so much as a whinge. Whereas here we get a couple of measly inches of the white stuff over Christmas and the whole country shuts down. I told a foreign exchange student from Finland about my missing four weeks of school because of the blasted snow and she laughed in my face.

Kaka10

brummytom wrote: »

Have you never heard the Fields of Athenry sung like that before?!

The only time I've ever heard the Fields of Athenry sung other than that incident is at rugby games and I've never heard the IRA or let the free birds fly part added in.

fontanalis

What's the name of the fella who looks at the sun for too long?

Celly Smunt

fontanalis wrote: »

What's the name of the fella who looks at the sun for too long?

stevie wonder?

SChique00

Oh, and Cowen of course. Need I say more? OH! And the nuns, and Fair City.

RayM

KeithAFC wrote: »

Should be number 1.

Why should Irish people be embarrassed by the Omagh bombing?

Dudess

Never once felt embarrassed by Omagh - nothing to do with me, even if the bastards claimed it was done in the Irish people's name. I felt furious, distraught, but shame? Why the **** would an Irish person with no involvement feel shame?

SChique00

"We're a small island in a big ocean, but we've disgraced ourselves to the wider world from here". Anyone else hear that the man in the ad cost 5 million spondilicks? And they say we're destitute...

KeithAFC

fontanalis wrote: »

What collective guilt can we put on you?

I ain't an Irish man though. But that one would be number 1 if i was. Awful. Shankill butchers would be probably the one for me. Although i wasn't alive but still shamed by it.

talla10

Wolfe Tone wrote: »

Hey, Mings a legend!

I hope your joking he is a symbol of how stupid some irish people are!!!No other country in the world would ever have an idiot like that in national parliament. And i include America in that!!:D

Dudess

SChique00 wrote: »

even after everything they've been struck by, the brave Japanese are continuing on, trying to rebuild their country without so much as a whinge. Whereas here we get a couple of measly inches of the white stuff over Christmas and the whole country shuts down. I told a foreign exchange student from Finland about my missing four weeks of school because of the blasted snow and she laughed in my face.

Although it was a LOT more than a few measly inches of snow, and we were not prepared for it (unlike Finland) because it very very rarely happened in Ireland up to 2009 and 2010.

BraziliaNZ

KeithAFC wrote: »

I ain't an Irish man though. But that one would be number 1 if i was. Awful. Shankill butchers would be probably the one for me. Although i wasn't alive but still shamed by it.

well Omagh was just another case of your fellow wee countrymen blowing each other up, nothing to do with Irish people.

sparksfly

Went to a funeral in London with a plane load of relations. Afterwards in the pub,
one uncle started every sentence with "begob". The sniggering was unbearable.

elefant

talla10 wrote: »

I hope your joking he is a symbol of how stupid some irish people are!!!No other country in the world would ever have an idiot like that in national parliament. And i include America in that!!:D

Why do you think that?

Dudess

KeithAFC wrote: »

Shankill butchers would be probably the one for me. Although i wasn't alive but still shamed by it.

I personally don't think you should be. I find collective responsibility of that nature to be quite dangerous. Recognition of how awful it was and that it doesn't represent decent loyalists should be plenty.