Some things make us quintessentially Irish, and I often find myself uttering the words “You know you’re Irish when…”.
Whether someone does something specific or says something, certain things make me realise they or their family are Irish.
And today I am sharing with you some of the quirks and phrases that can let you know someone is of an Irish background. And you too can use the phrase “You know you’re Irish when…”.
This post is going to teach you to know the right situations in which to use it with others.
You know you’re Irish when…
1 Tea solves all your problems.
It just does when you come from the Emerald Isle. And our tea consumption can often outdo our Guinness consumption.
Had some bad news? Have a cup of tea.
Popping into the neighbours with some post that was accidentally delivered to your house. Sure, you’ll have a cup of tea.
Does anyone remember Mrs Doyle from Father Ted? Enough said!
2 You’re always grand.
How are you doing Mary? Sure, I’m grand.
How did your Patrick get on in his exams? Grand, so he did.
3 A proper dinner is one that includes potatoes.
The Irish are famous for their love of potatoes.
4 Your Granny lit a candle for you whenever you had an exam.
In some cases, this was used as a get-out clause for not studying by some!
5 You wouldn’t dare leave the immersion on… ever!
In Irish houses, before gas and oil central heating became available, hot water came from the immersion, a copper tank, usually in a place named the hot press. It had an electrically powered heating coil inside it and was filled with water and this is where hot water came from, whether to simply wash the dishes or take a bath.
And you HAD to turn it off when you didn’t need more hot water as the electricity bill would be through the roof if you forgot!
Thankfully there would be a clonking sound in my childhood home if it was left on, sort of a reminder to go and turn it off. And usually with a shout from my mother as to “Who left the immersion on?”.
6 When you have friends over, your Mam always offers them food…
7 … and you’re always offered a cup of tea as well.
8 Your mother never lets you leave the house without your jacket.
Did your mother ever shout at you as you got to the front door “Have you got your jacket? Don’t you leave this house without it!”.
9 Flat 7UP cures all illnesses.
And if it wasn’t flat, my mother used to put a spoon of sugar into it to take the fizziness out. As if it needed more sugar!
10 You pray to St Anthony whenever you lose something.
It is said that reciting the prayer below to St Anthony will reunite you with a lost or missing item.
St. Anthony, perfect imitator of Jesus,
who received from God the special power of restoring lost things,
grant that I may find [name the item] which has been lost.
At least restore to me peace and tranquillity of mind,
the loss of which has afflicted me even more than my material loss.
To this favor, I ask another of you:
that I may always remain in possession of the true good that is God.
Let me rather lose all things than lose God, my supreme good.
Let me never suffer the loss of my greatest treasure, eternal life with God.
Amen.
I have never done this, but I know lots of friends and family who do. Whether it works or not, well, you’ll just have to find out.
11 You are asked if you are on antibiotics if you are not drinking.
This is especially true on nights out. Since it is advised to not drink alcohol when taking antibiotics, many people assume this is the reason someone refrains from an alcoholic drink when socialising.
12 You can call someone ‘mad’ and mean it as a compliment.
I regularly use this as a term of endearment. ‘She’s mad’ means she’s great/funny/sociable. It rarely implies something negative in Ireland.
13 In any crisis, large or small, the first thing to say is “Jaysis, Mary and Joseph”.
14 You cannot end a call without saying “bye, bye, bye, bye, bye”.
My sisters are very guilty of this Irish trait. It is referred to as the long Irish Goodbye and the Irish have it perfected.
15 Funerals can sometimes be better craic than weddings.
This is so true. Despite it being a sad affair, funerals can often have jovial moments as friends and family remember the good times with the person who has died.
16 And speaking of craic, “For the craic” is the best reason to do anything.
Even touching an electric fence will be done after saying “for the craic”.
17 You always thank bus drivers.
However in Dublin, you now have to say it louder since you exit a bus via the middle doors and not the front ones.
18 You do the 4 claps in the song “The Wild Rover”, every time, without fail.
19 You have no idea how to make a long story short.
This is one of our traits we just cannot get around. This is also a reason why, along with the bye, bye, bye, saying goodbye takes us forever, be it in person or on the phone. And if an Irish person says “Come here till I tell you”, be warned, you are in for a long story.
20 There is Waterford Crystal in your house that no one is allowed to use.
Be it a vase or wine glasses, the Waterford Crystal is never to be used. Although, very occasionally, it might be taken out for special occasions such as Christmas. And yes, I have Waterford Crystal glasses we only use at Christmas time.
21 You made more money on your First Communion than you did in your first week’s wages.
The amount kids make for their First Communion is ridiculous!
22 You have a gift for swearing.
It has become ingrained in the Irish as part of our everyday life and rarely do we swear and mean it in a bad way.
23 You are scared of the wooden spoon.
This is so true. My sister and I were around 6 and 7, and we were playing with the wooden spoon and broke it. We were so terrified our mother would find out that we hid the pieces on top of a wardrobe and never said anything and to this day, I still don’t know if she ever found out.
24 Wallpaper covered your school books.
Guilty as charged. In the 80’s and 90’s, when I was growing up in Ireland, brown paper to cover your books was either not available or very expensive, so our school books were covered with whatever leftover wallpaper there was in the house.
I remember the really thick bathroom wallpaper covering my primary school books and it nearly doubling them in size. Yes, wallpaper in the bathroom!
25 You cannot have any conversation without mentioning the weather.
Every conversation I have with another Irish person ALWAYS involves the weather at some point. We can’t help it. If it is sunny, “Isn’t it a lovely day”. If it’s drizzling “Sure, it’s a soft day out there”. If it’s windy but dry, “It’s a grand day for drying washing”.
Final thoughts on you know you are Irish when…
While there are many more things I could add to this list, the ones included in this list are what make us quintessentially Irish.
We are famous for our love of tea, enjoying the craic, our long goodbyes and potatoes, and the fact we are always ‘grand’.
What actions or phrases would you add to this list?
You might also like:
Pin for later
