Is there Class Distinction in Ireland ?

Fulton Crown · 17-09-2011 07:36PM #1

Ireland always had the name of a "classless" society ...unlike our neighbours across the pond.

I wonder though .....

Even just lookin at the TV coverage of the recent matches...Soccer and Rugby would seem to point up some differences.

Coverage of the recent soccer match in Russia showed mainly a cohort of middle aged irish Fans...most of them looking fairly "weathered" and flashing a fair collection of "Goalpost teeth" and good rounded bumps under their lycra tops.

Average height about 5.5 i would say ..with typical 40/30 measurements.

A viewer would be forgiven if he/she took them for fork lift drivers/taxi drivers/storemen/ general operstives.

On the other hand it was very noticable to this poster that the crowd pictures at the Rugby in NZ showed a much younger demographic.....good proportion of females and all well groomed with shiny well cared for gnashers.

So is there a class distinction here ...an where does the avg GAA person fit in...uber culchie ? Professional person or what......

Just arskin.....

Samich · 17-09-2011 07:37PM

There's a distinction in LCVP but don't know about anything else.

LeixlipRed · 17-09-2011 07:37PM

You forgot the **** class, Bertie and the boys.

hairy sailor · 17-09-2011 07:38PM

How dare you speak to me,now move along peasant

brummytom · 17-09-2011 07:46PM

Why would the lower class have worse teeth?

(I wouldn't know, I've never met a poor person)

wild_cat · 17-09-2011 07:49PM

brummytom wrote: »

Why would the lower class have worse teeth?

(I wouldn't know, I've never met a poor person)

According to family guy..

Upper class English people have the worst teeth in the world.

mattjack · 17-09-2011 07:51PM

Fulton Crown wrote: »

Ireland always had the name of a "classless" society ...unlike our neighbours across the pond.

I wonder though .....

Even just lookin at the TV coverage of the recent matches...Soccer and Rugby would seem to point up some differences.

Coverage of the recent soccer match in Russia showed mainly a cohort of middle aged irish Fans...most of them looking fairly "weathered" and flashing a fair collection of "Goalpost teeth" and good rounded bumps under their lycra tops.

Average height about 5.5 i would say ..with typical 40/30 measurements.

A viewer would be forgiven if he/she took them for fork lift drivers/taxi drivers/storemen/ general operstives.

On the other hand it was very noticable to this poster that the crowd pictures at the Rugby in NZ showed a much younger demographic.....good proportion of females and all well groomed with shiny well cared for gnashers.

So is there a class distinction here ...an where does the avg GAA person fit in...uber culchie ? Professional person or what......

Just arskin.....

Today I watched the rugby,never noticed the crowds delph.

epgc3fyqirnbsx · 17-09-2011 07:52PM

It depends on the person, you get the pretentious types with their air of superiority then you also get those with chips on their shoulders who are determined to feel inferior.
But what they both have in common is they are pretty small minded and I certainly don't think it's a societal norm.
Not in my circles anyway

woodoo · 17-09-2011 07:52PM

I don't think we have an upper class.

But we have a middle class, working class and now an underclass.

whubee · 17-09-2011 07:55PM

"A viewer would be forgiven if he/she took them for fork lift drivers/taxi drivers/storemen/ general operstives."

You think youre something special?

Kojak · 17-09-2011 07:57PM

Are the German taxpayers now the upper class in this "republic"?

Dotrel · 17-09-2011 07:58PM

Fulton Crown wrote: »

Ireland always had the name of a "classless" society ...unlike our neighbours across the pond.

I wonder though .....

Even just lookin at the TV coverage of the recent matches...Soccer and Rugby would seem to point up some differences.

Coverage of the recent soccer match in Russia showed mainly a cohort of middle aged irish Fans...most of them looking fairly "weathered" and flashing a fair collection of "Goalpost teeth" and good rounded bumps under their lycra tops.

Average height about 5.5 i would say ..with typical 40/30 measurements.

A viewer would be forgiven if he/she took them for fork lift drivers/taxi drivers/storemen/ general operstives.

On the other hand it was very noticable to this poster that the crowd pictures at the Rugby in NZ showed a much younger demographic.....good proportion of females and all well groomed with shiny well cared for gnashers.

So is there a class distinction here ...an where does the avg GAA person fit in...uber culchie ? Professional person or what......

Just arskin.....

Could be. The odd thing (or possibly logical thing?) is these physical characteristics even extend to the team itself. Very few of the Ireland team are what I would consider tall for instance. Most of the team are under 6ft and you even get midgets like Stephen Hunt in the squad.

You get these demographic breakdowns everywhere you. eg in America baseball is the 'rural' sport and basketball is the urban. Football is the suburban and soccer is highly followed by immigrants rather than typical wasp types. That's a simplification of course but it's true for the most part.

I think you're more interested in it generally than just how it relates to sport. In that regard there is defo class divide in Ireland but I'd say it's not as pronounced as it is in other countries (eg UK and America) where you can forget about getting into certain circles for no reason other than your birth and upbringing.

For Forks Sake · 17-09-2011 08:00PM

Dotrel wrote: »

You get these demographic breakdowns everywhere you. eg in America baseball is the 'rural' sport and basketball is the urban. Football is the suburban and soccer is highly followed by immigrants rather than typical wasp types. That's a simplification of course but it's true for the most part.

Explain NASCAR?

Dotrel · 17-09-2011 08:02PM

For Forks Sake wrote: »

Explain NASCAR?

Sorry I don't know anything about Nascar but I do know it has that 'southern' 'hillbilly' connotation attached to its fans.

Stained Class · 17-09-2011 08:03PM

1. People with money

2. Coping Class (Most of us)

3. Underclass (Career doleites, druggies etc.)

That about covers it.

Fulton Crown · 17-09-2011 08:06PM

whubee wrote: »

"A viewer would be forgiven if he/she took them for fork lift drivers/taxi drivers/storemen/ general operstives."

You think youre something special?

Don't see where your coming from Dude......just stating an opinion.

They just look a lot like the white van drivers you see on the M 50......

Ok pal ?

Mr. Presentable · 17-09-2011 08:11PM

Yes, you could say the Irish are "classless".

Crazy Horse 6 · 17-09-2011 08:57PM

Fulton Crown wrote: »

Don't see where your coming from Dude......just stating an opinion.

They just look a lot like the white van drivers you see on the M 50......

Ok pal ?

Claptrap. Get down off your high horse. You can't even spell operatives properly that does'nt mean i'd class you as a moron.

Son Of A Vidic · 17-09-2011 09:03PM

Kojak wrote: »

Are the German taxpayers now the upper class in this "republic"?

Not really, I'd imagine if we traveled to Germany we'd probably be granted immediate upper class status. Since we are after all covering the losses their banks should be taking.

Solnskaya · 17-09-2011 09:04PM

Mr. Presentable wrote: »

Yes, you could say the Irish are "classless".

as in "they lack class"?:D How feckin dare you.
Anybody who thinks there are no class distinctions in Ireland is being dopey, a quick trip to S,Co Dublin, especially the area around Vico road and Killiney village should reveal the Irish upper class fairly rapidly, same goes for Cork(except I cant remember where the Yacht club members all congregate there), probably a posh part of Limerick as well(ok, maybe thats pushing it a bit:-) and there are huge swathes of middle-class areas everywhere as well as the working-class areas we all know, and the lower-class areas such as southhill,ballybrack, tougher, etc etc. Of course Ireland is divided by class, although you could argue that "class" in Ireland is very much created by financial standing more so than other divisions, but there are also very obvious "class" accents, ranging from "ja, roish Ryle", to "eaukay Connor" through to "story bud".

Fulton Crown · 17-09-2011 09:08PM

Crazy Horse 6 wrote: »

Claptrap. Get down off your high horse. You can't even spell operatives properly that does'nt mean i'd class you as a moron.

Cool your jets my friend...no need to get personal...i was just posing a question based on my observations of the recent Rugby and Soccer games.

I am not from ireland and I have a Masters in Sociology from a UK University....so these questions interest me .

Just looking for opinions thats all ....

Duffy the Vampire Slayer · 17-09-2011 09:09PM

Dotrel wrote: »

Could be. The odd thing (or possibly logical thing?) is these physical characteristics even extend to the team itself. Very few of the Ireland team are what I would consider tall for instance. Most of the team are under 6ft and you even get midgets like Stephen Hunt in the squad.

A tall and athletically gifted young lad was probably more likely to play a sport in which height is a major advantage such as Gaelic Football.

Dotrel · 17-09-2011 09:15PM

Duffy the Vampire Slayer wrote: »

A tall and athletically gifted young lad was probably more likely to play a sport in which height is a major advantage such as Gaelic Football.

I don't think that's the case. I think for the most part a player will be drawn to the sports that are around them and that they are exposed to. I generally believe that soccer in Ireland is an urban based working class sport and that on average urban based working class people may be slightly smaller in height than middle class people or people from rural backgrounds.

This is just based on observing the man on the street. I've no stats to back this up.

Duffy the Vampire Slayer · 17-09-2011 09:21PM

Soccers very popular in many rural areas as well though. I wonder if we'll begin to see a lot of rural-born players making the Ireland squad in years to come.

Dotrel · 17-09-2011 09:23PM

Duffy the Vampire Slayer wrote: »

Soccers very popular in many rural areas as well though. I wonder if we'll begin to see a lot of rural-born players making the Ireland squad in years to come.

We already have. Back in the day the Ireland team was almost exclusively made up of guys from Dublin, the UK and maybe a couple from Cork City.

However if you look at the current Ireland squad whilst the majority are still Dubs you'll see theres others from all over Ireland and even some from places I'd never even heard of.

temply · 17-09-2011 09:25PM

with regards to the rugby scene, the only place I've seen no class distinction is at Thomand Park.

Fulton Crown · 17-09-2011 10:04PM

Dotrel wrote: »

We already have. Back in the day the Ireland team was almost exclusively made up of guys from Dublin, the UK and maybe a couple from Cork City.

However if you look at the current Ireland squad whilst the majority are still Dubs you'll see theres others from all over Ireland and even some from places I'd never even heard of.

Like...uh......Wexford ?

FlutterinBantam · 17-09-2011 10:06PM

temply wrote: »

with regards to the rugby scene, the only place I've seen no class distinction is at Thomand Park.

Thomond Park is it?

I've seen the Cork crowd with their UCC scarves and pursed mouths, being quite haughty , if I may observe.

paddyandy · 17-09-2011 10:14PM

No matter where human beings are together there is always a scale of values.

Dotrel · 17-09-2011 10:15PM

Fulton Crown wrote: »

Like...uh......Wexford ?

Carnmore and Kilpedder for instance. Other places like Ballyboden, Adamstown and Portlaoise I'd have heard but but would have trouble even finding on a map tbh.

temply · 17-09-2011 10:16PM

FlutterinBantam wrote: »

Thomond Park is it?

I've seen the Cork crowd with their UCC scarves and pursed mouths, being quite haughty , if I may observe.

that was probably just their attitude towards yourself, in fairness

Is there Class Distinction in Ireland ?

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