is ireland friendly?

sailorboy · 02-06-2005 10:10AM

are you jokin with a few of the shams on here i dont think so lol

on a serious note.. i remember working in london and everyone was very cautious of everyone else ..
this town is way to small for all the hustle n bustles of a big city
hence people got a chip on thier shoulders ..
esp if you make a conversaation to a stranger.. they instantly think you got an angle or trying to rob them or sumtin

.

englander · 02-06-2005 10:20AM

I think its interesting the number of Irish people who think/believe Ireland is friendly.

I think this question should be asked of all foreign people who have visited/lived/stayed in Ireland for more than a couple of months to answer.

The answer you get might be very different than from Irish people or visitors who have spent a few days doing the pubs/clubs/bus tours/Johnny Foxes/Cliffs of Moher/doolin/Guinness Brewery thing.

Ireland (tourism) is very lucky that there is a very strong myth that all Irish people are friendly and an idea of such warmth and generosity like all irish people would invite strangers in off the road into their abodes for some Irish Stew and home made bread etc etc.

I am led to believe it used to be like this a long time ago.

I have lived here (as an Englishman) for 7 years.

The number of English people living in England who have told me that it must be great living over here as everyone is so friendly. I ask them if they have ever been. Most say no, but they just think .... or imagined.... that Ireland is friendly.

Fortunately tourists will only tend to come into contact with people who are in the tourist industry and its in the hotels/B+B/tour operator/tour bus driver etc etc interest to be all smiles and 100,000 welcomes.

It is a very different story living here and getting to know a place and its people.

I have had Irish people being friendly and welcoming and made some great friends in work and out of work. There have have also been moments when I have considered leaving due to the prejudice/hatred pointed at me by a minority of people because I am foreign. Being told to go and F*ck my queen by my manager was one example when we were discussing a football match !

(Likewise my Irish partner has had similar comments made to her when she lived in England - but thats for another thread)

I do not think Ireland is an especially friendly place at all.

I dont know where is ?

Kernel · 02-06-2005 10:27AM

englander wrote:

I have had Irish people being friendly and welcoming and made some great friends in work and out of work. There have have also been moments when I have considered leaving due to the prejudice/hatred pointed at me by a minority of people because I am foreign. Being told to go and F*ck my queen by my manager was one example when we were discussing a football match !

Well, most of the foreigners I have spoken to (both tourists and residents) think that it is a very friendly place.. maybe they just don't understand people being pissed and chatting away or whatever. The reason you are having trouble is because you are English, and there is still a lot of Irish people who hate England for all the ****e in the past etc. It's not been that long since the serious troubles up the north, so it will take time for that friendliness to build up.

When your manager told you to **** the queen, he was probably only joking? I've had an English mate slagging spud munching paddies and slagging us over the famine. He was ill informed, but I didn't take it too seriously tbh.

Finch* · 02-06-2005 10:37AM

irish are friendly out of ireland, talk to us IN ireland and we aint the nicest bunch

Stephen · 02-06-2005 10:55AM

Ania wrote:

I find the Irish people very friendly, but then, I am friendly to you too.

Either the Irish love Polish people in general, or they love me!
I have never come across an Irish person who was not nice to me, however, I'm not in Ireland since a long time.
And Dubliners are very nice too, in my opinion.

I don't know any poles personally but I have come across a few in work and in shops etc and they all (so far) seem like a hard-working, pleasant bunch.
Plus, many polish women seem to be very hot

ergo · 02-06-2005 11:03AM

Sangre wrote:

Heard same for Australians, really open and friendly if you're just meeting them but really hard to actually get to know well.

that's not a bad point

I spent 12 months in Australia and kind of made a point of not spending the whole time in backpacker bars hanging out with other backpackers etc (though that can be fun too) and instead of Sydney I went to Brisbane and worked for the year, now that place is the most genuinely friendly in the whole world, I wasn't sure if I could put it down to the year round warm weather (25 degrees in winter!) influencing people's mood and outlook, people back here are so miserable

but it did take a while to actually get to know some of the Australians and to get invited to their places etc, but it did happen eventually

but compared to IRL, which I have to say in response to OP I think is very unfriendly, especially people in shops, I mean the other day in Centra the women making up my roll said something along the lines of "are you having a good day ?" or "have you had a good morning?" and I nearly fell over with the shock of it all, she was even smiling (I swear, this happened, Centra in Rathmines!)

but in Aus, esp up in sunny Queensland it's so common for people in any shop, service industry (which co-incidentally is strictly non-tipping so it's not all false) to ask how your day has been, and are interested,
I bumped into random people say at open air concerts who are delighted to talk to you, or in bars or whatever similar to what has been posted about Canada

here people will grunt at you and throw back your change, I mean I remember e-mailing an Australian friend a few months back saying "someone asked me how my day has been today!!!") cos I had been bemoaning that and the general miserable service here, and now it's happend twice (in 10 months...)

but I think Irish people who have travelled or lived away probably are more conscious of this and maybe make more of an effort to be friendly ( I know I have)

and country people definitely more friendly, more down to earth compared to Dubs, but of course you can't generalise...

and yes, it depends where people are from, there will always be idiots who will give English people abuse for no reason

but I suppose IRL overall is "friendlier" or people are more approachable than in a good few other European countries but I wouldn't call it an overly friendly place

Sangre · 02-06-2005 11:31AM

Seriously, why are you judging the friendliness of people in shops when at least 90%+ aren't Irish or even speak that much English

cournioni · 02-06-2005 12:25PM

I'm friendly to all good looking women... Does that count?

ergo · 02-06-2005 12:49PM

Sangre wrote:

Seriously, why are you judging the friendliness of people in shops when at least 90%+ aren't Irish or even speak that much English

OK that's another fair point, a lot of the non-Irish people working in shops don't exactly come across as being delighted to be there but neither do the Irish, and even when it was all Irish working there( and I remember when I couldn't get a job in McDos not so long ago) the Irish there weren't exactly a bundle of joy, especially compared to in McD's in Australia, still staffed by Australians and I think they're all on happy pills or something, they so friendly, (well, in Queensland anyway)

but the likes of bus drivers here who mostly are Irish and majority not exactly friendly

or most of the Irish people who work in the canteen where I go to college are pure miserable and are more than happy to pass on their bad vibes

but I can't remember the last time I had an irish waiter or waitress serve me, though don't exactly eat out that often, but I suppose it's unfair to jusge from the service industry

service people aside then, I just think us Irish are very miserable a lot of the time, maybe it's weather related,

and we would be friendly to foreigners but most Irish people don't meet too many that often on a day to day basis but the ones we do meet eg. in work or college, well, I think we are quick to include them in whatever goings on were happening, maybe I'm wrong

02-06-2005 01:42PM

The reason you are having trouble is because you are English, and there is still a lot of Irish people who hate England for all the ****e in the past etc. It's not been that long since the serious troubles up the north, so it will take time for that friendliness to build up.

I can't believe you seem to be defending this viewpoint. Treating people like crap because they're English is completely unacceptable. I've seen it many many times in Dublin, people getting abuse cos of their accent. English people are not responsible for what happened in the past. Holding a grudge for that is ridiculous. Many English people I know here have one or two Irish parents who just went over there to work and ended up staying. Why do they deserve any abuse? I got slagged loads when I first moved back here cos I had been living in England and had an English accent, and I'm half Spanish and half Irish.

I do not get this 'Irish people are friendly' thing at all. If anything, they are LESS friendly than most nations, from what I've experienced. I'm constantly appalled by the lack of tolerance and hatred of anything different. The people working in shops who ARE Irish are downright ignorant and rude, more often than not. I often get the feeling they feel they're doing me a favour by serving me. It's especially obvious when I've just been to Spain, where most people in shops etc are friendly and pleasant. It is unheard of not to smile and say hello to the shop assistant as you walk in. If they acted like most Irish assistants they'd be fired in a week. Interestingly most of the Spaniards working in Dublin shops come off as surly and rude, even with me talking in Spanish. I think the attitude must rub off on them.

I think the Irish 'friendliness' is a thing of the past, in Dublin, anyway. I do remember people being genuinely friendly but it isn't like that anymore. Now and then I get a really friendly, decent taxi driver or bus driver but they are not that common.

I do think the weather has a lot to do with the Irish being so miserable. Its hard to keep a positive attitude when its always freezing, wet and miserable. I think thats why the Aussies are so pleasant.

Spicy Lauren · 02-06-2005 01:58PM

I have been living in Ireland for almost 6 years now and I do have to agree with the fact that Irish people are a friendly nation. Don't get me wrong here, there are a lot of racist people everywhere. I mean 'friendly' in the sense that an irish person would talk to a stranger in the street while queuing at a pass machine, or to the bus driver, and would apologise when bumping into somebody by accident.
Back home (wherever that is) people are very weary of these things and tend to think you are a weirdo if you chat with somebody you dont know, because that that person could be asking for money or has the intention of robbing you or something. And nobody would ever apologise if they brush by me or anything.

Well thats my opinon anyway.

Thinking about it, I really do hate where I'm from!!

Kernel · 02-06-2005 02:19PM

Jermaine Massive Gorilla wrote:

I can't believe you seem to be defending this viewpoint. Treating people like crap because they're English is completely unacceptable. I've seen it many many times in Dublin, people getting abuse cos of their accent. English people are not responsible for what happened in the past. Holding a grudge for that is ridiculous. Many English people I know here have one or two Irish parents who just went over there to work and ended up staying. Why do they deserve any abuse? I got slagged loads when I first moved back here cos I had been living in England and had an English accent, and I'm half Spanish and half Irish.

I'm not really defending it in fairness - I never said it was right or wrong. I'm just giving reasons why an English person might think that Irish people are unfriendly. In the same way that a north korean person might think south koreans are unfriendly etc.

And before you start with the moral high ground effort, for years Irish were treated like absolute sh1t in England. "No dogs or Irish" etc... and I've spoken to people who worked over there years ago and got all that sh1t. It's still fresh in their memories, that's why they do it. Recently a friend of mine was attacked in England because he was Irish. It flies both ways.

tabatha · 02-06-2005 02:29PM

Kernel wrote:

I'm not really defending it in fairness - I never said it was right or wrong. I'm just giving reasons why an English person might think that Irish people are unfriendly. In the same way that a north korean person might think south koreans are unfriendly etc.

And before you start with the moral high ground effort, for years Irish were treated like absolute sh1t in England. "No dogs or Irish" etc... and I've spoken to people who worked over there years ago and got all that sh1t. It's still fresh in their memories, that's why they do it. Recently a friend of mine was attacked in England because he was Irish. It flies both ways.

you know what...that is why it "flies both ways". people like you who think an eye for an eye are the reason we cant move on. it is so silly. i agree totally with what Jermaine Massive Gorilla has said. i lived in england for a few years and "got it" so to speak but that didnt mean to say that i stooped to that level. i have seen my english friends get slagged off over here but they dont take it any further and thats what you should do. i think you may have one to many racist friends.

Kernel · 02-06-2005 02:36PM

tabatha wrote:

you know what...that is why it "flies both ways". people like you who think an eye for an eye are the reason we cant move on.

What are you on about? People like me? I'm not like that, I never said I acted like that, and I never said it was right or wrong!?!? I'm just giving honest reasons as to why people from England might think some people in Ireland were not friendly.

tabatha · 02-06-2005 02:39PM

Kernel wrote:

I'm not really defending it in fairness - I never said it was right or wrong. I'm just giving reasons why an English person might think that Irish people are unfriendly. In the same way that a north korean person might think south koreans are unfriendly etc.

And before you start with the moral high ground effort, for years Irish were treated like absolute sh1t in England. "No dogs or Irish" etc... and I've spoken to people who worked over there years ago and got all that sh1t. It's still fresh in their memories, that's why they do it. Recently a friend of mine was attacked in England because he was Irish. It flies both ways.

well if your not really defending it that what does this mean?

the_syco · 02-06-2005 02:47PM

tabatha wrote:

well if your not really defending it that what does this mean?

He's stating the facts.

=-=

I don't really care where your from, but speak of England as the "mainland", etc, your in my bad books.

tabatha · 02-06-2005 02:51PM

he is not just stating facts, going on about "moral highground" and talking about how the irish were treated like sh**e is not stating facts. are u a racist against english?

impr0v · 02-06-2005 02:55PM

Irish people, except the socially disfunctional ones (of which there are many) exist in social cliques which are commonly formed at different education levels and are extremely hard to break into after they have formed, even for an irish person. This process can be made easier if you are introduced into such a clique by a well-established member, but even so there is usually a lengthy period of being on the fringes. There is a latent neophobia within Irish people, except when it comes to handheld consumer electronics, and an emotional reticence which means that it takes a lot of time to gain get to know a specimen well, and even then they'll harbour a latent and instinctive mistrust of you, unless of course you are related to them.

simu · 02-06-2005 03:07PM

In shops, I agree that some shop assistants can be really unfriendly. However, it seems to be far more prevalent amongst teenagers who work in such jobs. They never say hello, they mumble something stupid like cheers instead of a thank you and they stare at you if you ask them a question. However, older people working in retail are fine and I find they often make conversation or ofer extra advice. I hope this is just a teenage phase and that this doesn't mean Ireland is on the way to becomming the land of the sullen!

I think it's hard to make real friends in any country, not just Ireland. Maybe it's because people here tend to act very friendly to near strangers that newcomers are later disappointed when they realise they're not yet friends with these people who seem to be acting so nicely towards them.

Altheus · 02-06-2005 04:13PM

If you asked me, someone from Dublin, were people friendly, I'd answer, generally... especially during the summer.

If you asked me what is going to be the biggest hiccup to that friendlyness, I'd say:

Speaking with an English accent.
Being a minority group.

If you ask me what would get you the best response:

Being a woman.
Speaking with a Scottish or Liverpudlian accent.
Never making gross generalistions about the nation's populace.

Kernel · 02-06-2005 05:30PM

the_syco wrote:

He's stating the facts.

=-=

I don't really care where your from, but speak of England as the "mainland", etc, your in my bad books.

Yes, that was it exactly syco, thank you. I was merely giving explanations as to why the attitude exists against the English. Sorry tabatha, but not everyone is from happy happy fairyland.
:rolleyes:

Dagnir Glaurung · 02-06-2005 06:44PM

There is a definite attitude problem towards the English in my experience. I'm still at school however and hope that most of my friends will grow out of it sharpish. If you'll believe it, one of my friends shot me with a pellet gun just for saying Ireland is part of the British Isles. There is one English guy in the school and he gets treated like ****.

I worked in a shop myslef last summer and well....nobody will go out of their way to help the customers. If they can get by without acknowledging the presence of the customers at all, that's a good day. Maybe we think we're too good to work in shops these days >_>

tabatha · 02-06-2005 11:19PM

and this is happy happy fairyland???

Kernel · 02-06-2005 11:22PM

tabatha wrote:

and this is happy happy fairyland???

You're catching on now!

tabatha · 03-06-2005 12:06PM

is ireland friendly?

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