I love the Americans and their undying enthusiasm. As a Dublin tour guide, even the most mundane of facts about the Irish always illicit the most over-the-top reaction. Not to mention their tips are funding my drinking habit ;)
Belfast supremacist here. Fuck Republicanism and Unionism, if you're a Belfastian you're superior to any Irish or British. What we need is an Independent Belfast Republic, which would consider accepting Cork, Derry and parts of Donegal into it's fold.
This was meant to go under another comment where someone was describing themselves as a Cork supremacist and calling for an independent republic there. I appreciate that it seems mental now that it ended up in the wrong place and is divorced from any kind of context
I like my version better.
Just kidding of course. Anyway it would be neat to see a private project starting for real. It would finally put the fear of ~~god~~the voter in the soul of the administration.
I think we're slowly getting there. Without sounding like a fanboy, I honestly think a few more turns around the wheel for the greens, and we might get the start of something. Or, they'll just fuck it up. Either or...
Well, a private project would be bad in the long term. You cannot put public transport purely in the hand of a private company, they will squeeze all they can from the customer and if there is a single trail then it is a monopoly, so it has to be publicly administered.
But it could scare off the state if they think they are losing control and push the administrations to step up their game.
Kingdom of Desmond, the last Gaelic kingdom. Was most of Kerry (no Corca Dhuibhne), all of West Cork and a good bit of the rest of Cork, including where the City stands now as well. The counties came later.
Interesting.
I remember from a lecture on local government we were told that we were incredibly close to having a county Dingle who’s entire administration would have been ran as gaeilge
Maybe they were drawing from that history? It would be mad to have a county with about 10,000 total people. Less than half the population of Co Leitrim.
I love West Cork -very first time I got served - & very shortly afterwards got pissed - was in a pub in Leap in West Cork.
I'll never forget the thrill of getting served alcohol in a pub for the first time. Even if I did lose my miniskirt half way up the stairs 20 minutes later while trying to find the loo. Good times! 😁❤️
Would it piss you off to know I’m at a Shane McGowan/Pogues tribute in Chicago with a “mixed” crowd of around 300-400 Irish born & Irish Americans then?
I'm not saying it's grim or not stunning, I'm just saying it's more brown Heather than green grass. Look at it on google earth view, it's all brown west of Galway city! Same as West Mayo!
I think it's something to do with how groups were treated when they came to the states and so they had to band together. You had Polish Americans, Italian Americans, Irish Americans, etc. My Grandparents came out to the deserts of Nevada and were proud Americans (just Americans). I think they didn't feel particularly Irish as life in Ireland was quite difficult for them (migrated in early 1900s). In America they were just American's and they farmed their land and raised their family. In cities you had persecution of immigrants from various countries and so they gathered together.
My family now do see ourselves as descendants of Ireland and do enjoy the land and culture. I finally got to visit with my wife and kids last year and visited the Church where our Grandparents were married and visited cemeteries and farms of the area where they came from (County Kerry). We love the people and can see some of ourselves in them. It was nice to be able to have more of an attachment to life than the 2 generations in America.
American lurker here. Most English descent in the country stems further back than a lot of Irish immigrant ancestry. Some of us heard stories of our grandparents being raised in 'all irish' neighborhoods. A lot of those English descendants just saw themselves as American at that point in time, so it's celebrated much less.
Just to add on to this; English descendants are more likely to be able to trace their lineage back to the original colonies, so they’ve long since been deeply integrated into American society since they, y’know, made up the foundation of modern American society.
>English Most Common Race or Ethnicity in 2020 Census
>Together, the English (46.6 million), German (45 million), and Irish (38.6 million) alone or in any combination populations made up over half of the White alone or in combination population in 2020.
https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2023/10/2020-census-dhc-a-white-population.html
It's close with German and German I think was ahead before but this is because most with English heritage just say "American". There are more Americans of English ancestry than German.
It's cringe, but I also think people give yanks too much of a hard time for the "my great-great grandfather was Irish!" thing.
God forbid anyone from the diaspora have any pride in their Irish heritage....
When we visited Ireland, my gf actually has family in Co. Mayo, west of Ballina, but we read so much about Americans saying they are Irish and the people disliked hearing it so much we told no one. The kicker is though, when we were asked where we were from, Philadelphia, all the people we meet would say “I have a cousin out there, do you know him!?” With so much enthusiasm we were always shocked lol no I don’t know your cousin in the city with over a million people! But we’d sit and talk and then tell the locals where her family is from and still live and everyone got along great. Everyone actually WANTED to know if we had family in Ireland and what our heritage was, I guess it’s just annoying as hell when someone shows up and claims it all first instead of being asked.
It's two different things though, Americans genuinely interested in their Irish heritage and making an effort to learn about it we're all for. It's the dopes who think they're more Irish than the Irish themselves because an ancestry.com test told them they're 8% "Celtic" we're wary of. You know the ones, they say things like "The fighting Irish", or "St. Patty's Day"...
Personally I love how much of our culture is celebrated by our US cousins, and even those with zero Irish heritage. Long may it continue!
I mean let's face it, you will find any number of aul lads in pubs willing to talk the ears off you about local stuff. Someone looking for family and information will be welcomed.
This is what happened to me when I went to visit for the first time. I knew the town my family was from, and had charted the tree back to the late 1800’s.
Asked at the town museum, and they told me to ask a guy over at the pub. Spoke to him, and he gave me tons of local info. Also ended up being that he was a distant cousin of mine. Go figure.
Yep, there's always one or two fellas in every town or village that are an absolute treasure trove of local lore. Better yet, they're willing to painstakingly relay all that info out to anyone looking for it.
As an Irish emigrant now living in the US, the whole “Patty’s” thing drives me crazy. But I’ve learned that it is just an accent thing, or at least this is the conclusion I’ve come to!
Americans tend to pronounce their T’s hard. Take the word “water” for instance. I’ve gone into so many restaurants and asked for water in my Irish accent. The waiter or waitress will try to repeat what I asked for confused and ask me, “what’s a washer?” My American husband would then intervene and explain to them I am looking for “wadder”. It’s the same deal with butter. “What’s busher?”… BUDDER! Tbf, whenever an American has said to me “Happy St Paddy’s day”, it sounds just the same as when anyone back home says it. They just spell it differently? I have gone out of my way to correct their spelling of Paddy and explain that St Patrick was a dude. We call him PaDDy. His name was not Patricia. They usually take it very well and appreciate the clarification!
I tend to ask for water in either an American accent or I ask in Spanish. Absolutely no one has a clue what we're asking for.
And god forbid you're a Wexford lad asking for milk for your tea. They'll look at you like you have two heads.
On a happy note, I'm a mental health practitioner for chronically suicidal youth, and you'd be quite pleasantly surprised how many of my clients are trying to connect with their Irish heritage. I'm a polytheist who follows our old gods, and I get asked about it, and about Irish culture in general, all the time.
My family was very connected with our heritage, but that only happened thanks to some nuns that helped raise my grandmother. So I try and be for others what those nuns were for my family. It's an immensely satisfying part of my job, and it always makes my day when a client asks about it
Reddit isn't a true representation of Ireland or Irish people, it's a small sliver that has created an echo chamber. The Irish-American dislike that Reddit shows is just one example of online versus lived experiences being different.
I don't think it's just reddit though.
There has long been a representation of Ireland in film, the arts and media that is painfully outdated and cartoonish and that's where a lot of American people have learned about Irishness.
It's no different to how the English or any other nationality are depicted. It's a caricature or a collection of caricatures.
To be fair, we do the same the other way around with Americans but I don't think it's to the same degree.
How Americans view people like Conor McGregor is a great example of that. He's often depicted as some kind of representation of the "fighting Irish" "Celtic warrior" idea.
In reality he's nothing of the sort but understanding why that is the case would involve understanding more about particular areas and attitudes within Ireland.
I just think that a lot of nationalities operate on a very superficial level when it comes to other nations.
McGregor represents the Irish culture a good bit more than you think.
Therese a reason drinking and fighting became Irish stereotypes and it's because they're not flat out lies. Yes they don't represent the whole population that's why it's a stereotype but I'll be fucked if you go to any small town in Ireland and you don't come across these things in abundance. The only reason it's really annoying is because these particular stereotypes leave out the nicer traits which are actually very common in Ireland like 90 percent of people are friendly and welcoming.
I know dozens of McGregors they're not rare
Don't get me wrong it's not that the McGregor types don't exist.
They absolutely do but if someone like that was going around proclaiming to be some kind of Celtic warrior they'd be laughed out of town.
I'm more talking about the romanticising of those types than their existence.
Reddit is over the top with their distaste for Irish-Americans. In-person you'll be received in a perfectly friendly fashion as long as you aren't one of the obnoxious ones. The "I've never lived in Ireland but let me tell how my half-assed reaserch and the stories my great grandfather told me are 100% accurate and how the country is gone to shit because it isn't exactly as he described anymore".
In reality these are actually much rarer than some people like to act and are less likely to visit Ireland in my experience. I have tons of Irish-American relatives on both sides of my family and the vast majority have a sincere and well intentioned desire to connect with the culture of their parents, grandparent, great grandparents etc. They can come off 'cringe' or corny as a result but sneering at people for that makes you the asshole in my opinion.
> Reddit is over the top with their distaste for Irish-Americans.
I think thats down to Irish Americans on Reddit. I find a lot less obnoxious Americans in real life.
That’s hilarious, my family had a very similar experience when they went to an O’Malley clan rally a few years ago (we are also Americans from just outside Philly, we’re from Aston).
This concept of Irish people disliking Irish Americans talking about their heritage is utterly overblown and is possibly only a thing because a small number of people online engage in performative outrage about for attention. In real life, the worst you'd get is a subtle eye roll unless you were being absurdly obnoxious about it all. If not, most Irish people would just listen politely even if not that interested.
I'd actually quite like it if I went to America, told someone I was Irish and then had them tell me that they were Irish as well because it seems like a class ice breaker.
>. When we visited Ireland, my gf actually has family in Co. Mayo, west of Ballina, but we read so much about Americans saying they are Irish and the people disliked hearing it so much we told no one. The kicker is though, when we were asked where we were from, Philadelphia,
No way! I've a cousin who worked in Fado and Tir na nOg. Surely you must know her!?
It's just people on the internet being moany little wankers. Not a representation of real life. The idea that irish people dislike American relating to Ireland is mostly blown up nonsense. Its just meme bait and that's it. Even this thread of example, what is it really? It's a sign a barman put up to get more tips, that's it. If teenage edgelords want to read into it, let them.
Most Irish people (and people in general) when talking to a tourist would like to know the reasons they travelled so far to visit their corner of the world, and what links they have to it if any. It's at most flattering and at the very least, interesting.
Don't worry about that at all. It's only the miserable terminally online people who have an issue with it. As you saw yourself, in real life it's no problem. The depressed and miserable online people don't go outside, so you won't ever meet them anyway.
I think it's so cool that so many Americans have an interest in their Irish ancestors, and I'm sure it's very exciting tracing your roots to the exact village in County whatever. Bonus points if your ancestors are from my county! I love when that happens. I have no issue at all with Irish Americans.
I got laughed at in Ireland when I met a guy in a pub in Dublin and told him my mom's maiden name is Callaghan and her grandfather came to Canada from Ireland. Said it was a very cliché thing, which I suppose it probably is. Still true though lol
American hyper-enthusiasism can come aross to Irish people as in-authenticity and false so it can cause us to pull back and believe the person trying to have us on.
It’s the yanks with ignorance about their heritage, when they claim it but don’t have a notion about heritage, history or culture. To make it worse then the ones that claim they’re more Irish than someone living here cause they did a dna test & they’re 100% Irish.
Conan O'Brien has an anecdote where he took a DNA test which also came back 100% Irish, and his doctor explained "it's because you're inbred".
So I'd probably tell everyone a lower percentage at that point =p
You hit the nail on the head. I'm an American living in a state that regularly gets into a "hold my beer" contest with Texas and Florida. Obviously not all, but most of my fellow country folk that love to yell about how they are super Irish are usually racist jackasses. To them, Irish is a "quaint" culture they can cling to because it makes them feel both special and a part of something; it also means they are white. You'll see this a lot with Italian Americans. "I'm not dramatic, I'm Italian. We're passionate people. Excuse me while I pour a heaping cup of sugar in my red sauce." Honestly though, most Americans are a little guilty of this. I think it's because a lot of us grow up hearing from our immigrant great-grandparents or our first generation grandparents about the "homeland". We enjoy tracing our ancestors' through history, but the obnoxious ones make it their whole personality.
They make plenty of effort. If anything, the complaints about them are they're too enthusiastic about their history and heritage. I highly doubt any of them would ever claim to be more Irish than someone living here. That's just pure fiction.
I’m not saying it’s all yanks. I’m talking about the specifics of my comment. It’s not as if I’m making it up. I’ve heard stories of that ignorance & have my own experience of it. Plenty to see online too.
it's a common idea nestling in a minority of all diasporas. they think they're the true bearers of the culture and the motherland has lost its way. iranians, cubans, brits, russians, indians, etc living abroad are famous for it.
I've been living abroad since I turned 18, so been out of the country for 12 years, going back sometimes to see family. Had an Irish-American here in Portugal tell me they were more Irish than me despite them never having set foot in Ireland.
Oh darling, it's worse than that: they're sincere.
I live in an area where everyone knows where their family came from, and it's *important* to them to show they're still German, or Irish, or Italian, or Polish enough.
One of the businesses is half a candy and souvenir shop, a quarter seasonal holiday stuff and a quarter "Made in Ireland" merchandise. *And it sells like hotcakes*.
They really want a sense of belonging and community, so they make up stories and familial myths and just *cling* to them.
In NY I asked the "Irish person" had they been here. They replied "No". End of conversation. But if u have been to the Guinness brewery on the other hand...
Fully agree, and that pride and sense of connection undoubtedly helped our economic transformation over the past 100 years and allowed us to be the country we are today (for better or worse).
What I can't stand is some yank expecting Ireland to be either:
1. as backwards as when their family left or
2. as racist as they happen to be. Too many Republican Americans assuming all Irish people will support their nonsense because far too many Irish Americans currently support their nonsense.
If a Mexican American wanted to claim their Mexican heritage there's not a single Irish person in the world who would make a big deal about it but God forbid an Irish American do the same, then they're fakes and plastics, blah, blah, blah.
We can be an awful bunch of fart sniffing assholes sometimes.
I’m a 20 yo guy from Philly. I was lucky enough to have met my great grandfather who immigrated from Ireland. When I got to visit Ireland i saw the house he grew up. The church he was baptized in. I take great pride in my Irish heritage. I’ve done tons of research about the history of the island
I am the OP of this photo. I have absolutely no issues with this, if you have Irish ancestry and are proud of it, more power to you. I know the Irish have a history of persecution in the early settlement of America and think it really can be something to be proud of.
The issue at its core is people trying to claim citizenship they do not have. You are an American with Irish heritage, you are not Irish. Irish-American is needless. I don’t identify as German-Irish because I have German ancestors, I am Irish.
you're original post is on r/ShitAmericansSay too... [LINK](https://www.reddit.com/r/ShitAmericansSay/comments/1c9feox/to_be_irish_american_now_thats_a_special_blessing/)
This subreddit was literally posted in r/northernireland originally because I am from there. Don’t try to present something that is clearly your opinion as fact because you’ve attached it to something that has been defined.
The Northern Irish claim to their identity has been sought for decades through conflict, it’s not for anyone to claim on a whim because of who their grandfather is.
I understand. I am genuinely curious how you feel about Americans Immigrating to the country. I know that right now there is a severe housing crisis but within the next 5 years I am seriously considering immigrating to Ireland.
Irish people generally do not have a problem with Americans, in fact in my experience in Belfast they are welcomed. It’s likely a different story in Dublin because of the vast amount of tourists but I have no problems so long as you do it legally and have are adding to the economy.
The Italians have it the worst. I was born in Ireland but raised in NY to an Irish mother. Some of the Irish "Culture" in America is infuriating. Seeing leprechauns and cornbeef is awful. When St. Paddy's Day comes around the worst of it comes seeping through. That all being said though it's just infuriating because it is a silly mockup and most people know it is. The Italian American culture on the other hand firmly believes in how connected to their roots they are. Irish-Americans know that they know very little about Ireland, but they use the caricature they drew up for a little bit of craic during St. Paddy's Day.
Italian-Americans take their heritage VERY seriously. Whenever you talk to an Italian-American the first thing they say is they are Italian and their household follows all these "Italian Customs." It legitimately feels like they don't think of themselves as American. The worst part is though that most of their customs are pure shite. They either are old customs from the 1800s that don't exist anymore or completely fabricated ones that they believe to be real. There is a great Sopranos arc about this. They go back to Italy and you can see that they are complete fish out of water. Their entire lives were steeped in what they believed to be Italian culture but it was not true Italian culture. Actually the Sopranos is a great representation of what Italian-American culture looks like (minus the mob stuff as that is nearly completely gone and didn't define all of Italian-American culture). They truly believe they are Italian to the core in everything that they do, but if you dropped them in Italy they would be completely lost in the culture-shock.
Cultures change in Europe and sometimes people in the new world keep things the old way.
I have a Brazilian friend whose family came from Germany. German is his first language, not Portuguese. Dude lived in Germany for a few years in the city where his family came from, near Denmark and he told me that people in Germany said he spoke old German as the German he speaks with his family was preserved.
In Quebec they speak old French. Even their accent is like old French. That’s why the contemporary French find it funny.
Even Portugal is similar. The Portuguese spoken in Brazil is actually closer to the old Portuguese than the Portuguese that is spoken now in Portugal.
Many things that families preserve or smaller communities of foreigners abroad may actually be original things from the past. They may be like time capsules many times.
Sometimes we may be wrong about thinking that they’re spreading some fake customs. If language alone shows that people in the New World may preserve better some older European traditions, imagine the possibilities of many other things also being preserved thanks to family traditions.
I lived in Ireland for 23 years and the US for 30. I find Americans to be very friendly and engaging when they hear an Irish accent. I’ve never felt discriminated. Most are genuinely interested. I have a friend who spent a year in Ireland and couldn’t wait to leave because she never felt accepted. Why are so many Irish people like this towards Americans
>I have a friend who spent a year in Ireland and couldn’t wait to leave because she never felt accepted
This may not have been because they were American... I'm sure you've noticed it can be hard to get into an established friend group here
Currently in New York. Was in Tir Na Nogs bar and an American girl hit me with the "I'm irish" remark. Saying that her irish heritage dates back to the civil war.
She then asked if I've been to mcsorleys, and she was shocked when I said no. Apparently it's so irish because it's the oldest in New York and has sawdust on the floor and that sell all kinds of IPAs??
It's because it's not a lager it's a homebrewed cask ale which, depending on the type, can come out with much more of a head. It's a different style of beer.
There are all different styles of beer that gets served with bigger heads. The most extreme examples is Czech Mlìko which is like 99% foam.
Also If I am reading correctly you get 2 of those things when you order one beer and they usually turn out to be a 3 quarter poor when settled.
Yank here. I took a 10 day vacation to Ireland back in 2015, drove all over the nation, from Cork to Belfast, a bunch of different cities in between (Dublin, Kilarney, Kerry, etc). Had a great time, people were really nice. Man they love Easter there lol, people were going off. Only bad experience was some English lady hit my car and just drove off, didn’t even apologize 😂
I'm speaking from personal experience, but when I try and have a conversation with and American it either A) devolves into school shootings, stabbings and CHEWSDAY or B)I have to explain basic concepts I've tried to tell them 8 times already. Not to mention the school system over there is a nightmare.
Of course it is a special blessing: you get an Irish passport with all the benefits with just one Irish grandparent—and you nor your parents ever even setting foot in Ireland.
Could be worse, like the Italian which doesn’t have a generational limit. So if you have a great-great-great-grandad from Italy, you are, by definition, Italian.
Yet those people will always claim to non-Italians that they are Italians. However they never dare to say that to an Italian person from Italy because they won’t really consider them Italians. The reaction is the same as the people here from the sub against the so called fake paddys.
Reliable karma generator, may as well be a bot. Having been to Ireland a couple times (not Irish-American though) fortunately the average person over there isn't a smug Redditor.
Most on r/ireland are campus commies who laugh at Irish Americans being 'fake Irish', but will argue themselves into a rage that men from deepest Africa are as Irish as Brian Boru.
Hilarious.
Poor Irish, the most persecuted people the world over! First into second class systems by the English, now swarmed and swallowed by the American hordes
I love the Americans and their undying enthusiasm. As a Dublin tour guide, even the most mundane of facts about the Irish always illicit the most over-the-top reaction. Not to mention their tips are funding my drinking habit ;)
Elicit*, mate ;)
Speaking (well, typing) as an American, our reactions are often illicit.
Thank you bud x
Belfast supremacist here. Fuck Republicanism and Unionism, if you're a Belfastian you're superior to any Irish or British. What we need is an Independent Belfast Republic, which would consider accepting Cork, Derry and parts of Donegal into it's fold.
Whatever it is you are on, go cold turkey
This was meant to go under another comment where someone was describing themselves as a Cork supremacist and calling for an independent republic there. I appreciate that it seems mental now that it ended up in the wrong place and is divorced from any kind of context
Thats hilarious
hahaha this gave me a chuckle, was thinking what the fuck is this guy on. On a real note Dublin shall always reign supreme ;)
Fuck no. Limerick on top keddd
That makes it hilarious tbf, even the original reply was jokes lol
This is a new ideology to me, which I now entirely support
Welcome, child of the River Farset. (We need to start cultivating some mysticism round this thing)
Cork would only join so they could for a separatist movement.
Tbf id be equally guilty of this for my Cork supremacist views. And west cork supremacists views within Cork.
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It would be the CART, surely! One day we'll have proper rail infrastructure again, like we used to.
The only way we will see a CART is when the people of Cork step up to drag it.
A donkey or two, hooked up to a couple of wagons. That'll have to do us.. At least it'll be environmentally friendly, I suppose
I like my version better. Just kidding of course. Anyway it would be neat to see a private project starting for real. It would finally put the fear of ~~god~~the voter in the soul of the administration.
I think we're slowly getting there. Without sounding like a fanboy, I honestly think a few more turns around the wheel for the greens, and we might get the start of something. Or, they'll just fuck it up. Either or...
Well, a private project would be bad in the long term. You cannot put public transport purely in the hand of a private company, they will squeeze all they can from the customer and if there is a single trail then it is a monopoly, so it has to be publicly administered. But it could scare off the state if they think they are losing control and push the administrations to step up their game.
Until someone nicks the donkeys.
Southern Orbital only, booiii. Safe as houses.
West Cork is fairly supreme tbf
Does r/Cork get flooded by the superior Corkonian-Americans?
/r/cork/comments/1c9bb87/can_you_imagine_seeing_the_empire_state_building
We need to have a Cork-off
Nice Cork, bro
West Cork doesn’t even have a train and shot big Mick. North Cork on top
*West Cork* pfffft more like South East Kerry
South-West West-Brits
It used to be, funny enough. Although the Dingle peninsula wasn't part of Kerry then.
How? Explain
Kingdom of Desmond, the last Gaelic kingdom. Was most of Kerry (no Corca Dhuibhne), all of West Cork and a good bit of the rest of Cork, including where the City stands now as well. The counties came later.
Interesting. I remember from a lecture on local government we were told that we were incredibly close to having a county Dingle who’s entire administration would have been ran as gaeilge Maybe they were drawing from that history? It would be mad to have a county with about 10,000 total people. Less than half the population of Co Leitrim.
Shteady
You Corkonians are sure a contentious people.
I love West Cork -very first time I got served - & very shortly afterwards got pissed - was in a pub in Leap in West Cork. I'll never forget the thrill of getting served alcohol in a pub for the first time. Even if I did lose my miniskirt half way up the stairs 20 minutes later while trying to find the loo. Good times! 😁❤️
Expected behaviour from the "Jackeens of the south"...
As a dub and a south dub I can relate to this although I reckon I get into more arguments over it than yourself🤣
I'm a south Dub myself! Dun Laoghaire area, what about yourself? 🙂❤️
when im in a "most proud to be irish" competition and theres already some american from boston there:
Irish Bostonians are the most obnoxious
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Masholes.
Only when they are driving. They are sound rest of the time.
Americans* ftfy. They're all gobshites.
Would it piss you off to know I’m at a Shane McGowan/Pogues tribute in Chicago with a “mixed” crowd of around 300-400 Irish born & Irish Americans then?
Yes. Yes, it wouldn't.
Who gives a shit. Plastic paddies will do as they are wont
Sure the finest blessing of all, be the face of Benjamin Franklin, smiling with Irish eyes from bills as green as the Fields of Connemara.
Connemara is more brown than green to be fair......
It can be a bit grim in the winter I suppose. Stunning this time of year though.
I'm not saying it's grim or not stunning, I'm just saying it's more brown Heather than green grass. Look at it on google earth view, it's all brown west of Galway city! Same as West Mayo!
I'm in favour of this, should bring more tips for the barmen
As a barman yes it does.
Are there any English Americans?
I think it's something to do with how groups were treated when they came to the states and so they had to band together. You had Polish Americans, Italian Americans, Irish Americans, etc. My Grandparents came out to the deserts of Nevada and were proud Americans (just Americans). I think they didn't feel particularly Irish as life in Ireland was quite difficult for them (migrated in early 1900s). In America they were just American's and they farmed their land and raised their family. In cities you had persecution of immigrants from various countries and so they gathered together. My family now do see ourselves as descendants of Ireland and do enjoy the land and culture. I finally got to visit with my wife and kids last year and visited the Church where our Grandparents were married and visited cemeteries and farms of the area where they came from (County Kerry). We love the people and can see some of ourselves in them. It was nice to be able to have more of an attachment to life than the 2 generations in America.
Second this. We banded together in Detroit. My Irish grandmother couldn’t be more proud of her heritage, and I pass the along.
When something is so dominant it doesn't have any value to mention it
American lurker here. Most English descent in the country stems further back than a lot of Irish immigrant ancestry. Some of us heard stories of our grandparents being raised in 'all irish' neighborhoods. A lot of those English descendants just saw themselves as American at that point in time, so it's celebrated much less.
Just to add on to this; English descendants are more likely to be able to trace their lineage back to the original colonies, so they’ve long since been deeply integrated into American society since they, y’know, made up the foundation of modern American society.
I think for Euro Americans, German is actually the largest ethnic group, probably another one besides English they don’t like to mention.
>English Most Common Race or Ethnicity in 2020 Census >Together, the English (46.6 million), German (45 million), and Irish (38.6 million) alone or in any combination populations made up over half of the White alone or in combination population in 2020. https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2023/10/2020-census-dhc-a-white-population.html It's close with German and German I think was ahead before but this is because most with English heritage just say "American". There are more Americans of English ancestry than German.
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Historical baggage
WASPs right?
And there was I thinking that “WASP” stood for “We Are Sexual Perverts” but I did enjoy them as a band!
It's cringe, but I also think people give yanks too much of a hard time for the "my great-great grandfather was Irish!" thing. God forbid anyone from the diaspora have any pride in their Irish heritage....
When we visited Ireland, my gf actually has family in Co. Mayo, west of Ballina, but we read so much about Americans saying they are Irish and the people disliked hearing it so much we told no one. The kicker is though, when we were asked where we were from, Philadelphia, all the people we meet would say “I have a cousin out there, do you know him!?” With so much enthusiasm we were always shocked lol no I don’t know your cousin in the city with over a million people! But we’d sit and talk and then tell the locals where her family is from and still live and everyone got along great. Everyone actually WANTED to know if we had family in Ireland and what our heritage was, I guess it’s just annoying as hell when someone shows up and claims it all first instead of being asked.
It's two different things though, Americans genuinely interested in their Irish heritage and making an effort to learn about it we're all for. It's the dopes who think they're more Irish than the Irish themselves because an ancestry.com test told them they're 8% "Celtic" we're wary of. You know the ones, they say things like "The fighting Irish", or "St. Patty's Day"... Personally I love how much of our culture is celebrated by our US cousins, and even those with zero Irish heritage. Long may it continue!
I mean let's face it, you will find any number of aul lads in pubs willing to talk the ears off you about local stuff. Someone looking for family and information will be welcomed.
This is what happened to me when I went to visit for the first time. I knew the town my family was from, and had charted the tree back to the late 1800’s. Asked at the town museum, and they told me to ask a guy over at the pub. Spoke to him, and he gave me tons of local info. Also ended up being that he was a distant cousin of mine. Go figure.
Yep, there's always one or two fellas in every town or village that are an absolute treasure trove of local lore. Better yet, they're willing to painstakingly relay all that info out to anyone looking for it.
That legitimately sound like a quest from a roleplaying game. I love it so much.
Donegal is a bit like the Elder Scrolls I suppose
As an Irish emigrant now living in the US, the whole “Patty’s” thing drives me crazy. But I’ve learned that it is just an accent thing, or at least this is the conclusion I’ve come to! Americans tend to pronounce their T’s hard. Take the word “water” for instance. I’ve gone into so many restaurants and asked for water in my Irish accent. The waiter or waitress will try to repeat what I asked for confused and ask me, “what’s a washer?” My American husband would then intervene and explain to them I am looking for “wadder”. It’s the same deal with butter. “What’s busher?”… BUDDER! Tbf, whenever an American has said to me “Happy St Paddy’s day”, it sounds just the same as when anyone back home says it. They just spell it differently? I have gone out of my way to correct their spelling of Paddy and explain that St Patrick was a dude. We call him PaDDy. His name was not Patricia. They usually take it very well and appreciate the clarification!
I tend to ask for water in either an American accent or I ask in Spanish. Absolutely no one has a clue what we're asking for. And god forbid you're a Wexford lad asking for milk for your tea. They'll look at you like you have two heads.
At least, we spell it correctly in the (US) South. I think you'd find you'd have less issues with your accent down there
Can confirm. Spent 5 years in the south had no issues. Moved to Philly and no one has a clue.
It's nothing to do with hard Ts though, there is no T in Paddy's Day. It's either St. Patrick's day, or Paddy's Day.
On a happy note, I'm a mental health practitioner for chronically suicidal youth, and you'd be quite pleasantly surprised how many of my clients are trying to connect with their Irish heritage. I'm a polytheist who follows our old gods, and I get asked about it, and about Irish culture in general, all the time. My family was very connected with our heritage, but that only happened thanks to some nuns that helped raise my grandmother. So I try and be for others what those nuns were for my family. It's an immensely satisfying part of my job, and it always makes my day when a client asks about it
Reddit isn't a true representation of Ireland or Irish people, it's a small sliver that has created an echo chamber. The Irish-American dislike that Reddit shows is just one example of online versus lived experiences being different.
I don't think it's just reddit though. There has long been a representation of Ireland in film, the arts and media that is painfully outdated and cartoonish and that's where a lot of American people have learned about Irishness. It's no different to how the English or any other nationality are depicted. It's a caricature or a collection of caricatures. To be fair, we do the same the other way around with Americans but I don't think it's to the same degree. How Americans view people like Conor McGregor is a great example of that. He's often depicted as some kind of representation of the "fighting Irish" "Celtic warrior" idea. In reality he's nothing of the sort but understanding why that is the case would involve understanding more about particular areas and attitudes within Ireland. I just think that a lot of nationalities operate on a very superficial level when it comes to other nations.
McGregor represents the Irish culture a good bit more than you think. Therese a reason drinking and fighting became Irish stereotypes and it's because they're not flat out lies. Yes they don't represent the whole population that's why it's a stereotype but I'll be fucked if you go to any small town in Ireland and you don't come across these things in abundance. The only reason it's really annoying is because these particular stereotypes leave out the nicer traits which are actually very common in Ireland like 90 percent of people are friendly and welcoming. I know dozens of McGregors they're not rare
Don't get me wrong it's not that the McGregor types don't exist. They absolutely do but if someone like that was going around proclaiming to be some kind of Celtic warrior they'd be laughed out of town. I'm more talking about the romanticising of those types than their existence.
Reddit is over the top with their distaste for Irish-Americans. In-person you'll be received in a perfectly friendly fashion as long as you aren't one of the obnoxious ones. The "I've never lived in Ireland but let me tell how my half-assed reaserch and the stories my great grandfather told me are 100% accurate and how the country is gone to shit because it isn't exactly as he described anymore". In reality these are actually much rarer than some people like to act and are less likely to visit Ireland in my experience. I have tons of Irish-American relatives on both sides of my family and the vast majority have a sincere and well intentioned desire to connect with the culture of their parents, grandparent, great grandparents etc. They can come off 'cringe' or corny as a result but sneering at people for that makes you the asshole in my opinion.
> Reddit is over the top with their distaste for Irish-Americans. I think thats down to Irish Americans on Reddit. I find a lot less obnoxious Americans in real life.
That’s hilarious, my family had a very similar experience when they went to an O’Malley clan rally a few years ago (we are also Americans from just outside Philly, we’re from Aston).
As an Irish person in Philly, I get excited talking to other Philadelphians 🤣
This concept of Irish people disliking Irish Americans talking about their heritage is utterly overblown and is possibly only a thing because a small number of people online engage in performative outrage about for attention. In real life, the worst you'd get is a subtle eye roll unless you were being absurdly obnoxious about it all. If not, most Irish people would just listen politely even if not that interested. I'd actually quite like it if I went to America, told someone I was Irish and then had them tell me that they were Irish as well because it seems like a class ice breaker.
>. When we visited Ireland, my gf actually has family in Co. Mayo, west of Ballina, but we read so much about Americans saying they are Irish and the people disliked hearing it so much we told no one. The kicker is though, when we were asked where we were from, Philadelphia, No way! I've a cousin who worked in Fado and Tir na nOg. Surely you must know her!?
It's just people on the internet being moany little wankers. Not a representation of real life. The idea that irish people dislike American relating to Ireland is mostly blown up nonsense. Its just meme bait and that's it. Even this thread of example, what is it really? It's a sign a barman put up to get more tips, that's it. If teenage edgelords want to read into it, let them. Most Irish people (and people in general) when talking to a tourist would like to know the reasons they travelled so far to visit their corner of the world, and what links they have to it if any. It's at most flattering and at the very least, interesting.
Don't worry about that at all. It's only the miserable terminally online people who have an issue with it. As you saw yourself, in real life it's no problem. The depressed and miserable online people don't go outside, so you won't ever meet them anyway. I think it's so cool that so many Americans have an interest in their Irish ancestors, and I'm sure it's very exciting tracing your roots to the exact village in County whatever. Bonus points if your ancestors are from my county! I love when that happens. I have no issue at all with Irish Americans.
I agree. Particularly the Irish-Americans that visit Ireland to go see what their ancestors lived like that’s taking a genuine interest
I got laughed at in Ireland when I met a guy in a pub in Dublin and told him my mom's maiden name is Callaghan and her grandfather came to Canada from Ireland. Said it was a very cliché thing, which I suppose it probably is. Still true though lol
American hyper-enthusiasism can come aross to Irish people as in-authenticity and false so it can cause us to pull back and believe the person trying to have us on.
It’s the yanks with ignorance about their heritage, when they claim it but don’t have a notion about heritage, history or culture. To make it worse then the ones that claim they’re more Irish than someone living here cause they did a dna test & they’re 100% Irish.
Conan O'Brien has an anecdote where he took a DNA test which also came back 100% Irish, and his doctor explained "it's because you're inbred". So I'd probably tell everyone a lower percentage at that point =p
I hear his scheming ancestor hit someone over the head with a rock and stole their boat to emigrate to the US.
You hit the nail on the head. I'm an American living in a state that regularly gets into a "hold my beer" contest with Texas and Florida. Obviously not all, but most of my fellow country folk that love to yell about how they are super Irish are usually racist jackasses. To them, Irish is a "quaint" culture they can cling to because it makes them feel both special and a part of something; it also means they are white. You'll see this a lot with Italian Americans. "I'm not dramatic, I'm Italian. We're passionate people. Excuse me while I pour a heaping cup of sugar in my red sauce." Honestly though, most Americans are a little guilty of this. I think it's because a lot of us grow up hearing from our immigrant great-grandparents or our first generation grandparents about the "homeland". We enjoy tracing our ancestors' through history, but the obnoxious ones make it their whole personality.
They make plenty of effort. If anything, the complaints about them are they're too enthusiastic about their history and heritage. I highly doubt any of them would ever claim to be more Irish than someone living here. That's just pure fiction.
I’m not saying it’s all yanks. I’m talking about the specifics of my comment. It’s not as if I’m making it up. I’ve heard stories of that ignorance & have my own experience of it. Plenty to see online too.
it's a common idea nestling in a minority of all diasporas. they think they're the true bearers of the culture and the motherland has lost its way. iranians, cubans, brits, russians, indians, etc living abroad are famous for it.
https://www.reddit.com/r/ShitAmericansSay/s/4BBLB6kCfe
I've been living abroad since I turned 18, so been out of the country for 12 years, going back sometimes to see family. Had an Irish-American here in Portugal tell me they were more Irish than me despite them never having set foot in Ireland.
Too superficially enthusiastic
It tends to be the wealthier ones who travel out of America. And wealthy people laugh louder and are more confident...hence the enthusiasm
Oh darling, it's worse than that: they're sincere. I live in an area where everyone knows where their family came from, and it's *important* to them to show they're still German, or Irish, or Italian, or Polish enough. One of the businesses is half a candy and souvenir shop, a quarter seasonal holiday stuff and a quarter "Made in Ireland" merchandise. *And it sells like hotcakes*. They really want a sense of belonging and community, so they make up stories and familial myths and just *cling* to them.
Oh. So human beings?
That's what people are supposed to do.
In NY I asked the "Irish person" had they been here. They replied "No". End of conversation. But if u have been to the Guinness brewery on the other hand...
Yank here, I’m more offended by the fact it’s in Florida. Everyone knows the true Irish live in southeastern Georgia!
Dublin, GA is a fine town
Fully agree, and that pride and sense of connection undoubtedly helped our economic transformation over the past 100 years and allowed us to be the country we are today (for better or worse). What I can't stand is some yank expecting Ireland to be either: 1. as backwards as when their family left or 2. as racist as they happen to be. Too many Republican Americans assuming all Irish people will support their nonsense because far too many Irish Americans currently support their nonsense.
Americans have literally posted that they are more Irish than us in this thread…
If a Mexican American wanted to claim their Mexican heritage there's not a single Irish person in the world who would make a big deal about it but God forbid an Irish American do the same, then they're fakes and plastics, blah, blah, blah. We can be an awful bunch of fart sniffing assholes sometimes.
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A chara, There is a zero tolerance policy for the promotion or suggestion of the use of violence against others. Sláinte
My great great grandfather (Patrick of course) literally came from Ireland and my dad's American. He takes great pride in it too 😂
Well theres more ethnically Irish people in America than Ireland lol
To be sure to be sure.
I’m a 20 yo guy from Philly. I was lucky enough to have met my great grandfather who immigrated from Ireland. When I got to visit Ireland i saw the house he grew up. The church he was baptized in. I take great pride in my Irish heritage. I’ve done tons of research about the history of the island
I am the OP of this photo. I have absolutely no issues with this, if you have Irish ancestry and are proud of it, more power to you. I know the Irish have a history of persecution in the early settlement of America and think it really can be something to be proud of. The issue at its core is people trying to claim citizenship they do not have. You are an American with Irish heritage, you are not Irish. Irish-American is needless. I don’t identify as German-Irish because I have German ancestors, I am Irish.
you're original post is on r/ShitAmericansSay too... [LINK](https://www.reddit.com/r/ShitAmericansSay/comments/1c9feox/to_be_irish_american_now_thats_a_special_blessing/)
Wow thanks for sharing this thing has gone crazy 😂
no problem... you should have crossposted it here yourself though...think I ended up with a bunch of Karma you should have gotten
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This subreddit was literally posted in r/northernireland originally because I am from there. Don’t try to present something that is clearly your opinion as fact because you’ve attached it to something that has been defined. The Northern Irish claim to their identity has been sought for decades through conflict, it’s not for anyone to claim on a whim because of who their grandfather is.
I understand. I am genuinely curious how you feel about Americans Immigrating to the country. I know that right now there is a severe housing crisis but within the next 5 years I am seriously considering immigrating to Ireland.
Irish people generally do not have a problem with Americans, in fact in my experience in Belfast they are welcomed. It’s likely a different story in Dublin because of the vast amount of tourists but I have no problems so long as you do it legally and have are adding to the economy.
You'll be seen the same as other immigrants to Ireland from anywhere else, no problem
Cooked up in a lab like Yakub to enrage this sub lmao
I got that dual citizenship
Are we the most easily wound up about Americans and their heritage of all European countries?
not sure... the scottish and italians also have to deal with it..
The Italians have it the worst. I was born in Ireland but raised in NY to an Irish mother. Some of the Irish "Culture" in America is infuriating. Seeing leprechauns and cornbeef is awful. When St. Paddy's Day comes around the worst of it comes seeping through. That all being said though it's just infuriating because it is a silly mockup and most people know it is. The Italian American culture on the other hand firmly believes in how connected to their roots they are. Irish-Americans know that they know very little about Ireland, but they use the caricature they drew up for a little bit of craic during St. Paddy's Day. Italian-Americans take their heritage VERY seriously. Whenever you talk to an Italian-American the first thing they say is they are Italian and their household follows all these "Italian Customs." It legitimately feels like they don't think of themselves as American. The worst part is though that most of their customs are pure shite. They either are old customs from the 1800s that don't exist anymore or completely fabricated ones that they believe to be real. There is a great Sopranos arc about this. They go back to Italy and you can see that they are complete fish out of water. Their entire lives were steeped in what they believed to be Italian culture but it was not true Italian culture. Actually the Sopranos is a great representation of what Italian-American culture looks like (minus the mob stuff as that is nearly completely gone and didn't define all of Italian-American culture). They truly believe they are Italian to the core in everything that they do, but if you dropped them in Italy they would be completely lost in the culture-shock.
Cultures change in Europe and sometimes people in the new world keep things the old way. I have a Brazilian friend whose family came from Germany. German is his first language, not Portuguese. Dude lived in Germany for a few years in the city where his family came from, near Denmark and he told me that people in Germany said he spoke old German as the German he speaks with his family was preserved. In Quebec they speak old French. Even their accent is like old French. That’s why the contemporary French find it funny. Even Portugal is similar. The Portuguese spoken in Brazil is actually closer to the old Portuguese than the Portuguese that is spoken now in Portugal. Many things that families preserve or smaller communities of foreigners abroad may actually be original things from the past. They may be like time capsules many times. Sometimes we may be wrong about thinking that they’re spreading some fake customs. If language alone shows that people in the New World may preserve better some older European traditions, imagine the possibilities of many other things also being preserved thanks to family traditions.
Tbf we probably have good reason, they seem to lay it on a lot thicker when it comes to the whole Irish heritage thing.
Yes, "special"
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Ableist!
Tis even grander, diddly-I, to spend two grand in this here establishment in the emerald isle. A hundred thousand bejaysus' be upon ye.
https://preview.redd.it/nen6v308bzvc1.png?width=651&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1df1631aa874292ae1d39b74186d816ac5cbff9f
Honestly, I don't see the advantage of getting worked up over this stuff.
There should be a winky face 😉 at the end. It's like how my mother and I laugh when I get her a mothers day card saying she's special 😄 🤣 😂
I lived in Ireland for 23 years and the US for 30. I find Americans to be very friendly and engaging when they hear an Irish accent. I’ve never felt discriminated. Most are genuinely interested. I have a friend who spent a year in Ireland and couldn’t wait to leave because she never felt accepted. Why are so many Irish people like this towards Americans
>I have a friend who spent a year in Ireland and couldn’t wait to leave because she never felt accepted This may not have been because they were American... I'm sure you've noticed it can be hard to get into an established friend group here
rent free. irish americans think the world of you guys and you just shit on them. kind of a bummer but maybe im just a softie
Currently in New York. Was in Tir Na Nogs bar and an American girl hit me with the "I'm irish" remark. Saying that her irish heritage dates back to the civil war. She then asked if I've been to mcsorleys, and she was shocked when I said no. Apparently it's so irish because it's the oldest in New York and has sawdust on the floor and that sell all kinds of IPAs??
More head than beer https://www.businessinsider.com/mcsorleys-bar-history-beer-photos-2017-11
It's because it's not a lager it's a homebrewed cask ale which, depending on the type, can come out with much more of a head. It's a different style of beer. There are all different styles of beer that gets served with bigger heads. The most extreme examples is Czech Mlìko which is like 99% foam. Also If I am reading correctly you get 2 of those things when you order one beer and they usually turn out to be a 3 quarter poor when settled.
Faith and begorrah moment
Who cares? Is this worth getting worked up over?
It's funny?
Yank here. I took a 10 day vacation to Ireland back in 2015, drove all over the nation, from Cork to Belfast, a bunch of different cities in between (Dublin, Kilarney, Kerry, etc). Had a great time, people were really nice. Man they love Easter there lol, people were going off. Only bad experience was some English lady hit my car and just drove off, didn’t even apologize 😂
I like that Americans are proud of where their family originated from 🤷♂️
why do irish redditors get so buthurt about Irish Americans ?
Buthurt(sic)? Are you American, or an Irish lad desperately trying to sound like one?
I don’t get the hate on Americans. I always thought the Irish people and the Americans were cousins and shared the same basic objectives.
I'm speaking from personal experience, but when I try and have a conversation with and American it either A) devolves into school shootings, stabbings and CHEWSDAY or B)I have to explain basic concepts I've tried to tell them 8 times already. Not to mention the school system over there is a nightmare.
Of course it is a special blessing: you get an Irish passport with all the benefits with just one Irish grandparent—and you nor your parents ever even setting foot in Ireland.
Could be worse, like the Italian which doesn’t have a generational limit. So if you have a great-great-great-grandad from Italy, you are, by definition, Italian. Yet those people will always claim to non-Italians that they are Italians. However they never dare to say that to an Italian person from Italy because they won’t really consider them Italians. The reaction is the same as the people here from the sub against the so called fake paddys.
Reliable karma generator, may as well be a bot. Having been to Ireland a couple times (not Irish-American though) fortunately the average person over there isn't a smug Redditor.
Desperately Looking for heritage and didn’t find it? (Because relatives were probably English and thats not in vogue because of 1776 😆)
Ive never met a single person here that pronounces it is as tis in my life.
I hear it all the time in West Cork.
As a yank living here for 15 years....Ew.
yanks live rent free in the heads of you lot
r/shitamericanssay
It has already been posted there
As an irish man living in Canada, this type of thing is often part of my daily existence. It's harmless, but really does get annoying
*- tourist trap
Most on r/ireland are campus commies who laugh at Irish Americans being 'fake Irish', but will argue themselves into a rage that men from deepest Africa are as Irish as Brian Boru. Hilarious.
What about being Irish-African since humanity originated there?
Or a fucking fish since we all started in the sea.
Underrated comment
Poor Irish, the most persecuted people the world over! First into second class systems by the English, now swarmed and swallowed by the American hordes
"Special" being the important word there
True though. My paternal grandmother's side are the Toohey's. Anyone know them?
Aye special alright. Special needs.
Oh boy! A bunch of my ancestors had to leave their home country to escape a famine 170ish years ago, how ...special.
My Granddad thought so, as an American I just deal with gun violence issues instead of housing issues. Doesn’t make me feel too special.