Are some parts of Ireland just a bit odd?

Exhibit A: Donegal. The county that brought us Peter Casey, Mickey Joe Harte, and loves to say No in referendums. The Trolling County.

In fact, you could probably apply this to all of the North-West and Mayo, but Donegal is its epicentre.

In my own home county, Tipperary, a small village in the south part of the county called Ballingarry is also known for being odd. A hilly terrain (hills and mountains being the natural habitat of the eccentric), one half of the village seems to be alcoholic, the other half plain mad. My Granny used to tell us stories of child cannibalism there long ago. I once passed through and enquired about where to buy petrol. A dwarfish old lady with a mostly-bald head peered in my car window and said "The town is closed". Odd place.

This is probably only a rural phenomenon, but what parts of the country are regarded as being a bit strange? And why?

Your Face

Parts of east Galway have a Deliverance vibe.

SmartinMartin

Parts of every country in the world are a bit odd. What a stupid thread.

SmartinMartin

SmartinMartin wrote: »

Parts of every country in the world are a bit odd. What a stupid thread.

How's life in Ballingarry anyway?

freshpopcorn

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

Exhibit A: Donegal. The county that brought us Peter Casey, Mickey Joe Harte, and loves to say No in referendums. The Trolling County.

In fact, you could probably apply this to all of the North-West and Mayo, but Donegal is its epicentre.

I always thought Donegal said no to referendums mainly because Sinn Fein had a big presences there and they told them to vote NO.
They may also be a tad more conservative because they are a lot of rural areas.

SmartinMartin

I don't know where that is, so in all fairness I can't answer. Doesn't change the stupidity level of the thread.

mattser

SmartinMartin wrote: »

Parts of every country in the world are a bit odd. What a stupid thread.

Indeed. A lot of stupid threads. People with far too much time talking rubbish.

Tombom1

Your Face wrote: »

Parts of east Galway have a Deliverance vibe.

Where ? Unless your referencing travellers what you said is just not true there's been significant enough migration through/in East Galway historically. Id be looking at remote parts of cork/Kerry.. do some research there

dd973

I can never understand why the Beara peninsula seems arbitrarily divided between Cork and Kerry, it would geographically make more sense if it was all Cork.

ILoveYourVibes

Kilkenny.

I love the country. I am not one of those Dubliners. I love west meath (particularly mullingar) and meath. I love cork. I like Kildare I LOVE wicklow.

But MAN Kilkenny....so weird.

kowloon

mattser wrote: »

Indeed. A lot of stupid threads. People with far too much time talking rubbish.

You're reading and commenting on the thread, so you're one of us!

ILoveYourVibes

Ireland is odd in general.

ILoveYourVibes

Some parts up the Dublin mountains are very very weird ...Hell fire /sally gap area.

Zirconia

I once passed through and enquired about where to buy petrol. A dwarfish old lady with a mostly-bald head peered in my car window and said "The town is closed".

It's a local town for local people - there's nothing for you here!

ILoveYourVibes

I wonder what these people think of Dublin?

kowloon

Zirconia wrote: »

It's a local town for local people - there's nothing for you here!

Ubbquittious

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

Exhibit A: Donegal. The county that brought us Peter Casey, Mickey Joe Harte, and loves to say No in referendums. The Trolling County.

In fact, you could probably apply this to all of the North-West and Mayo, but Donegal is its epicentre.

In my own home county, Tipperary, a small village in the south part of the county called Ballingarry is also known for being odd. A hilly terrain (hills and mountains being the natural habitat of the eccentric), one half of the village seems to be alcoholic, the other half plain mad. My Granny used to tell us stories of child cannibalism there long ago. I once passed through and enquired about where to buy petrol. A dwarfish old lady with a mostly-bald head peered in my car window and said "The town is closed". Odd place.

This is probably only a rural phenomenon, but what parts of the country are regarded as being a bit strange? And why?

I wouldn't take much notice of that sort of thing really. I have been to places in other countries and Norn Iron where I have felt a sudden need to get the feck out of there. But in Ireland it is grand. Donegal and places have a bit of madness about them and I like it. Must mean I'm odd myself

sligojoek

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

How's life in Ballingarry anyway?

Which Ballingarry?

Neon_Lights

Leitrim and Longford are full of weirdo's in my experience, followed closely by cavan people

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

Offaly people tend to be a bit cracked and I say that as the son of an Offaly woman. There's a bit of wild-eyed madness about the people of North Roscommon too.

Donegal is definitely the county that tends to go against the grain on most things. I reckon they do it on purpose.

Charles Babbage

freshpopcorn wrote: »

I always thought Donegal said no to referendums mainly because Sinn Fein had a big presences there and they told them to vote NO.
They may also be a tad more conservative because they are a lot of rural areas.

There is a tradition of No in Ulster.

whisky_galore

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater wrote: »

Donegal is definitely the county that tends to go against the grain on most things. I reckon they do it on purpose.

They vote 'agin' everything because they feel sidelined and ignored by Dublin-centric government.

Wanderer78

All parts of the globe are odd, we re just an odd bunch of fcukers

whisky_galore

Rathkeale is a strange spot.
Basically a resort for travellers who refuse to engage with all the normal life of any other village, be it tidy towns, community groups or GAA.
Big houses with high gates, some occupied for only part of the year, various closed down businesses, not unduly untidy or derelict but a definite air of weirdness about it.
Tumbleweed central outside of holiday time.

Eire Go Brach

Why be normal?
Normal is boring.

Peatys

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

?

Anywhere off the motor ways really

Force Carrier

Dublin 5.

Mad_maxx

Your Face wrote: »

Parts of east Galway have a Deliverance vibe.

Clannish beyond belief

kippy

This country is odd, although I'd suggest tis the same in a lot of Wester states.

Tbh I don't mind people voting one way or another. That's what its there for. But for more than half the electorate not engage with the process of elections is odd as fxuk if you ask me. Something that has been fought so hard for.

Cryptopagan

freshpopcorn wrote: »

I always thought Donegal said no to referendums mainly because Sinn Fein had a big presences there and they told them to vote NO.
They may also be a tad more conservative because they are a lot of rural areas.

The referendum in which Donegal notoriously voted “no” was Repeal the 8th, which Sinn Fein supported (there are 5 seats in the Dail representing Donegal, and only 1 is SF; FF are the dominant party). The electorate there is more conservative, probably because the younger generation have to leave to find work, so it votes the way the rest of Ireland would if everyone under 55 stayed at home.

Autosport

ILoveYourVibes wrote: »

Kilkenny.

I love the country. I am not one of those Dubliners. I love west meath (particularly mullingar) and meath. I love cork. I like Kildare I LOVE wicklow.

But MAN Kilkenny....so weird.

We don't like your vibes either :P

LirW

Bunclody is like being stuck in a sphere surrounded by high flood risk rivers, you don't really go there unless you have to go to Mr. Price.

fryup

craggy island

inhabited by odd ball priests, tea making obsessed women, a chinatown with just one chinese family, psychopath culchie wanted for murder, married couple who are hell bent on killing each other yet put on a loving charade, and a annual carnival called funland in which the main attractions are....freak pointing, the ladder, the tunnel of goats and a garden bench hanging from a crane

*can't find it on the map anywhere but it does exist

Mad_maxx

Always found tipperary folk incredibly surly

Anywhere in Ireland like the location for the Movie "Zonad".

I'm grand though. I live in 'The Pale'

Just going through some recent referendum results here

Counties with the greatest proportion of "No" votes in the Divorce Referendum:
Monaghan/ Leitrim/ Donegal/ Longford/ Cavan

Counties with the greatest proportion of "No" votes in the Blasphemy Referendum:
Donegal/ Roscommon-Galway/ Sligo-Leitrim/ Cavan-Monaghan

Counties with the greatest proportion of "No" votes in the Abortion Referendum
Donegal/ Cavan-Monaghan/ Mayo/ Roscommon-Galway

Counties with the greatest proportion of "No" votes in the Reduction of Age of Eligibility to the Presidency Referendum:
Kerry South/ Galway East/ Roscommon - South Leitrim/ Tipperary South/ Limerick

Counties with the greatest proportion of "No" votes in the Same-Sex Marriage Referendum:
Roscommon - South Leitrim/ Donegal South-West/ Cavan-Monaghan/ Mayo/ Donegal North-East

Clear patterns emerging there: many of the places noted as being fairly eccentric are also the most contrarian in terms of the national mood.

What's going on? Anyone have any clear reasons for this, is it an issue of age profile?

kippy

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

Just going through some recent referendum results here

Counties with the greatest proportion of "No" votes in the Divorce Referendum:
Monaghan/ Leitrim/ Donegal/ Longford/ Cavan

Counties with the greatest proportion of "No" votes in the Blasphemy Referendum:
Donegal/ Roscommon-Galway/ Sligo-Leitrim/ Cavan-Monaghan

Counties with the greatest proportion of "No" votes in the Abortion Referendum
Donegal/ Cavan-Monaghan/ Mayo/ Roscommon-Galway

Counties with the greatest proportion of "No" votes in the Reduction of Age of Eligibility to the Presidency Referendum:
Kerry South/ Galway East/ Roscommon - South Leitrim/ Tipperary South/ Limerick

Counties with the greatest proportion of "No" votes in the Same-Sex Marriage Referendum:
Roscommon - South Leitrim/ Donegal South-West/ Cavan-Monaghan/ Mayo/ Donegal North-East

Clear patterns emerging there: many of the places noted as being fairly eccentric are also the most contrarian in terms of the national mood.

What's going on? Anyone have any clear reasons for this, is it an issue of age profile?

Two things I would suggest (in some of the votes)
1. Age profile - Immigration has decimated a lot of these places of people between the ages of 18 and 40. And indeed there are a lot more people in the retiree age groups in some of those areas.
2. Lack of directly effected people (in some cases and also tied to 1) Because of the "age" issue, you'll find that being Gay or in a relationship crisis or indeed a crisis pregnancy is "rarer" than it would be in the bigger population centres.

Again, I'd be more concerned about the vast tracts of the population that do not engage with the process at all, and trying to do something to improve on that.

Zorya

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

Clear patterns emerging there: many of the places noted as being fairly eccentric are also the most contrarian in terms of the national mood.

What's going on? Anyone have any clear reasons for this, is it an issue of age profile?

Feck off, we'll do what we want :mad:

Recently I had a teeny bit of trouble parallel parking on the main street of a lovely town in Northern Ireland. After I was done I got out and in a friendly way waved at the exceedingly old lady in the car behind may, and made a self deprecating remark about my parking skills. With that she leapt from her car, all 4and a half skinny foot of her, and began viciously beating my car with her umbrella, screaming " Get out yiz Taigs, Get out, Yet not welcome here!!!"

No word of a lie. Haha

Ubbquittious

What is up with the likes of Dunlaoghaire-Rathy dathy dathy down always among the highest percentage voting yes to whatever the government wants while jumping up and down like rabbits trying to keep the government happy?

Oops69

Abbeyleix ... bat**** crazy locals

JohnnyFlash

Connies are ****ing weird. Big auld mountainy heads on them, and a deep love for two tone denim jackets. Very shallow gene pool out there, and dark rumours of families being a good bit closer than society would deem appropriate.

JohnnyFlash

JohnnyFlash wrote: »

Connies are ****ing weird. Big auld mountainy heads on them, and a deep love for two tone denim jackets. Very shallow gene pool out there, and dark rumours of families being a good bit closer than society would deem appropriate.

Crass generalisation - check.

JohnnyFlash

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Crass generalisation - check.

Which part, Bartholomew?

Ubbquittious

Ubbquittious wrote: »

What is up with the likes of Dunlaoghaire-Rathy dathy dathy down always among the highest percentage voting yes to whatever the government wants while jumping up and down like rabbits trying to keep the government happy?

Hmm, I can think of recent referenda where affluent parts of Dublin were in the top-5 districts to oppose Government proposals.

Seanad abolition, Oireachtas Inquiries, judges remuneration -- affluent areas of the city joined Donegal in being foremost against those proposals.

intellectual dosser

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

Exhibit A: Donegal. The county that brought us Peter Casey, Mickey Joe Harte, and loves to say No in referendums. The Trolling County.

In fact, you could probably apply this to all of the North-West and Mayo, but Donegal is its epicentre.

Speaking of Trolling, lets tidy up a couple of things...

Peter Casey is from Derry.
Donegal voted in favour of Friday's Divorce referendum
Donegal (as a county) voted in favour of the Abortion referendum
Donegal voted in favour of the Marriage Equality referendum

BlackandGreen

ILoveYourVibes wrote: »

Kilkenny.

I love the country. I am not one of those Dubliners. I love west meath (particularly mullingar) and meath. I love cork. I like Kildare I LOVE wicklow.

But MAN Kilkenny....so weird.

How? Kilkenny is probably one of the nicest, cleanest and wealthiest county in the country. Lovely spot.


If you want weird, then try Wexford, HUN.

intellectual dosser

intellectual dosser wrote: »

Speaking of Trolling, lets tidy up a couple of things...

Peter Casey is from Derry.
Donegal voted in favour of Friday's Divorce referendum
Donegal (as a county) voted in favour of the Abortion referendum
Donegal voted in favour of the Marriage Equality referendum

Fair cop on Peter Casey's birthplace, but as regards the referendums, I'm talking about Donegal (and the north west generally) simply having the greatest proportion of No votes as a general trend. Sometimes Donegal does say Yes.

Also, I wouldn't be taking this thread entirely seriously. I'm not trolling, but I'm not entirely earnest either. I even mentioned an area of my own home county for that reason.

Anyway like most people, I find this kind of odd behaviour (of which elections are just one part) interesting. Not a criticism of anyone; it's almost always great to see people voting.

God forbid we should all think the same way.

asteroids over berlin

reminds me of a wining streak show - a Kerry guy (mid/late 40s) never outside Ireland, first time ever in Dublin, didn't travel much outside Kerry (apparently). Anyway up in the big smoke for winning streak, game kicks off, wins a holiday to Spain, his 2 youngish kids jump up in delight. Not a smile to be had on himself, probably the worst nightmare scenario:D

freshpopcorn

intellectual dosser wrote: »

Speaking of Trolling, lets tidy up a couple of things...

Peter Casey is from Derry.
Donegal voted in favour of Friday's Divorce referendum
Donegal (as a county) voted in favour of the Abortion referendum
Donegal voted in favour of the Marriage Equality referendum

From stuff I've heard in the news Donegal used say No a lot more in the past.
Donegal voted No in the abortion referendum.

branie2

Late 60s early 70s vibe in Cork city.

js35

Portarlington co Laois