Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Ireland: The good stuff!!

The Irish Times - Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Ireland: the good stuff


Amid all the talk of bailouts, it’s easy to forget there are parts of Irish life that economics can’t reach. We asked Twitter users to name the things they love about Ireland. Here are 50 of them, in all their unpunctuated glory
1 @emmagination our turns of phrase – “get up the yard” “get out of that garden” “down there for dancin’”
2 @dcbedwards knowing all your cousins 4 times removed and being shamed by your mother for not knowing all their kids too
3 @SeanMcP West Cork, the sunset through the namhog bus stop at Dingle Harbour, Lough Allan flat beneath a pure blue sky
4 @mrmonty Munster Finals
5 @ChristinaMcS The ritual “no thanks I’m grand I’m only after a cup” followed by “well if you’re having one yourself”
6 @homeopath Everyone’s got a party piece
7 @lightnessalways The book of Kells, Cliff of Moher, Phoenix Pk, Glendalough, National Stud, Japanese Gardens, Shannon, Ceide fields
8 @SimonPRepublic Where you can still watch a Western during prime time Friday night telly
9 @ killianormo Six degrees of separation for the world, two for the Irish!
10 @greenscribbler Community – People will always know and remember you no matter how long you have been away
11 @trixifi Wakes and funerals turning into a party
1 2 @gillianroseduff The Sam Maguire cup being taken around every school in the winning county
13 @AnnieAtkins Irish goodbyes: sneaking out of the pub before anyone coerces you into drinking another pint.
14 @scarie The postman dropping a package for you in your aunt’s work, cos he knows you and your aunt and where ye both work
15 @ChrisFlack your mothers conversations that start with “Do you know who’s dead?”
16 @SlabSquatthrust Keem beach on Achill Island, and the rest of Achill too
17 @idiotkid They can take away our sovereignty but they can never take our red lemonade or sugar sandwiches
18 @inforthenight Curracloe beach, the Aran Islands, Lough Boora parklands, the pier at Dun Laoghaire
19 @thebrieparty The fact that we don’t have to pay for royal weddings
20 @rdelevan The Irish saved civilisation. (Sadly they then invested it in Anglo Irish Bank.)
21 @furlo Looking like quasimodo but still being able to charm the pants off a beautiful foreigner due to the accent
22 @charlemont Having a defence forces instead of an army
23 @bunda Fairytale of new York @ Xmas
24 @eyeblinks The Tart with the Cart, Floozie in the Jacuzzi, Stiletto in the Ghetto, Time in the Slime The Hags with the Bags
25 @foges70 All the ailments that can be treated by putting the kettle on
26 @rubot First country in the world to ban smoking in pubs
27 @poloconghaile Coumshingaun, crisp sandwiches, autumn forest walks and our penchant for tying football socks to holy trees!
28 @quiatimet Irish mammys
39 @SOIreland People going to amazing lengths to help each other. Never ceases to amaze me
30 @irishmarinelife Best surf in the world, and nobody believing you
31 @clairenolan Kilkenny Castle, Kilkenny with the Christmas lights out, Irish soda bread, irish chat and Kerry men!! 32 @levdavidovic Fellas with no teeth on Winning Streak
33 @culabula The inability to pronounce “th” and then magically inserting it where it doesn’t exist cf. “heighth”
34 @lecraic Unpronouncable names (for English TV presenters). Take a bow Charles Hockey and Liam GallaGRR
35 @crosbhealai Ár dteanga féin – An Ghaeilge!
36 @collumbo Apres Match, better analysis than BBC or ITV
37 @david_o_connell World class procrastination and still having the ability to change the world
38 @David_Ferrie Having a unique measurement of length – the long mile – and naming a road after it.
39 @mikeeng1and Weddings that finish when the bride and groom head to bed at 6am, sandwiches in the residents bar at 5am
40 @TellyDubby The warmth of a Leitrim welcome; peat smoke in your nose in the twilight
41 @Sliother the unassuming genius of Aidan O’Brien
42 @paulclancyNL Waving hello to complete strangers on country roads
43 @daracho Storytelling, the art-form and craft – not the solemn, dutiful recounting of mere facts
44 @anniewestdotcom Beautiful words fashioned in the misty dawn of the countryside, from celtic gossamer. Like . . . gobshite
45 @obrienbarry At GAA matches the fans of both teams mix and have a laugh together
46 @deatonm No killer spiders, box jellyfish, great white sharks, snakes or other dangerous animals.
47 @gillianroseduff The night when you go for a quiet drink and end up at someone’s party having met their second cousin in the pub
48 @xfirefishx The fact that people 10 miles down the road laugh at your “funny” accent vice versa
49 @louiseholohan never letting the truth get in the way of a good story
50 @colettecaddle Laughing at our misfortunes even when it looks like the boat might be .......... glug

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