Myths about Ireland

As I've mentioned before, I never had the pleasure of visiting Ireland before moving here, and didn't really know what to expect. Like most people who have never been here, I admittedly had a slightly distorted image of what normal life would entail. Now that I've been here for a short time, I thought I'd set the record straight on many of the common myths. Here is a short list of the facts vs. fiction when it comes to Ireland:



Fact:  The majority of people are incredibly friendly

Fiction:  There are jolly leprechauns bouncing around! 
Ok, that one was a gimme. There obviously aren't little giggling people after my lucky charms (unless you consider my work permit my lucky charm, ha!)... But really - there are few leprechaun dolls, toys, or cartoon characters on cereal boxes. You will see one human leprechaun mascot on Grafton St, but this is clearly for tourists!

Fact:  There are many "traditional" Irish meals
Fiction: Corned beef is one of them
I'm not sure when and why that become an "Irish classic" in America, but you will not see it anywhere here! Instead of corned beef and cabbage, the traditional meal is bacon (thick cut bacon, more like ham) and cabbage. Below is a delicious meal of Fish & Chips, Bacon & Cabbage w/ parsley sauce, and plenty of potatoes!

Fact:  There's plenty of Irish slang and different sayings
Fiction:  People say "top o' the mornin' "
I've absorbed a plethora of different lingo here, which I could cover in a whole post itself! "Top o' the morning" would not be included in this, as it is never used as a typical greeting.


Fact:  The Irish love their Guinness
Fiction:  All Irish people drink a lot / the Irish are drunks
While it's definitely not an urban legend that people drink lots of Guinness here and I wouldn't recommend trying to keep up with your Irish friends, not everyone drinks. You don't see any more drunk people in Dublin than you would on a Friday night in Wrigleyville!

Fact:  It's very green here
Fiction: People always wear lots of green
This is pretty self-explanatory. Not everyone is walking around in green, or chunky Aran sweaters for that matter.

This picture is not even enhanced!

Fact:  It is easy to use Dublin as a jumping off point for travel around Europe
Fiction:  We take the train everywhere in Europe...
It's scary how many people back home have asked me if we just take the train everywhere. Ireland is an ISLAND! So yes, there are trains that we can take around Ireland, but any travel outside of the Emerald Isle requires an airplane. Also, the Chunnel goes from the UK to France or Belgium... just throwing that out there.

Fact:  There is still tension between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland
Fiction:  There are many people in the IRA and there is a lot of violence
I certainly don't want to downplay the conflict that has occurred here, but it seems most people are of the mentality that they don't want to return to "the bad days." There are areas where it is still segregated and there is still some distrust, but it's vastly improved. I was in a pub with a friend who just moved down from N. Ireland and an American tourist asked her, "Are you scared to be here?"
To some extent, this was embarrassing, in that she has no reason to feel uncomfortable living in Dublin.


Fact:   Ireland has impressive Olympic boxing champions
Fiction:  Everyone loves to fight
True, Gold Medalist Katie Taylor seemed godlike in Ireland during the Olympics, but not all people follow in her footsteps or try to pick fights at pubs.

Fact: It rains all the time
Fiction:  Well... I got nothing. It rains a lot.
Apparently this is one of the wettest summers Ireland has had in a long time. Lucky us!

But occasionally, you will get that miraculously sunny day that elevates all moods and forces you take advantage of the weather. On these days, I appreciate my city even more and want to go chasing after that nonexistent pot of gold.

Probably the only time I've worn a halter top here!

So to all you Americans back home, stop making your Corned Beef & Cabbage for St. Patty's Day (I was previously guilty of this too), and come take a peek at the REAL Ireland!