What Americans know about Ireland - CNBC interview

People in Dublin think we use sterling in Donegal so hardly surprising.

We'd bite your hand off for it but that's beside the point.

catallus wrote: »

Ye hide the fact that ye took the Queen's sovereign? :mad:

Won't take her sovereign but I'd kill for her head.

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

good to know you've progressed from turnips at least

Fifty euros doesn't last half an hour in a pub, a drill of turnips will last you all winter.

The Backwards Man wrote: »

.....a drill of turnips will last you all winter.

A drill of turnips? Did they teach you that fancy talk in Lancashire? :mad:

Was this the final phase of the intern assessment for junior financial journalists?

Mr. Shanahan handed both the chaps on the panel their asses, with complimentary pats on the head.

murpho999 wrote: »

To be honest though it's not just Americans that are like this.
I'm fairly well travelled and I would say the majority of people around the world think that Ireland is in the UK. Have even met many English people who still think that Ireland is in the UK.

Reminds me of when I had just got to Australia and went out to the beach with a few people in the hostel I was staying in. Headed there with three lads in the same room as me - two mates from London and one guy from Worcester. So here we are in Sydney nearly at the Opera House to get a half hour ferry up to Manly, when the Worcester fella starts giving out about Asians. Just an unannounced rant with every slur in the world and not even a hint of sarcasm or humour to it... really random.

Anyway, he then begins to move in about "Krauts and all the bloody foreigners at the hostel" when I remind him were all foreigners there jokingly, since the London fellas were looking proper uncomfortable at this point. So he turns and says (completely friendly and oblivious, no idea how wrong he was or on a into up whatsoever) "well we found Australia... and here we are, four English lads!" which had the London lads cringing hard, looking like they expected something to kick off (I was just trying to stop from falling over laughing). So I just kind of look at hi many say "eeehhhh...." and he did in fairness correct himself, unfortunately to "four UK lads then!" Again I don't even know what to say, so just "eeehhhh....". Again he corrects himself, now to "well at least we're all British!"

I always have to laugh a little when I think of that moment and the London fellas completely incredulous faces. He wasn't the brightest spark though that Worcester lad, he had an absolute obsession with ironing everything for ages (socks, boxers and all) and his surname was Crease, and he somehow never put that together until I nearly wet myself when he told me his surname after 2 or days.

Iranoutofideas wrote: »

At least he wasn't asked - "have you got electricity in Ireland?" like I was when I was over there.

To be fair I went to school with some Kenyan lads who were asked a number of times if they knew what a TV was, needed to be shown how to use a microwave etc. Not even from poor backgrounds of anything either - white, richer than most people in the school, and with an accent way, way closer to English than African.

That said they were teenagers asking (with the odd wildly stupid, similar remark from a teacher or other adult) and not hosts on financial programmes for major news networks like CNBC.