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She told me that phrase is implying British sovereignty against the Irish, my brain wanted me to reply "The British Empire, a great bunch of lads", but I didn't think it was appropriate. We were being asked to offer our opinions on how our company communicated to us during Storm Emma/Beast from the East. I said something like "the weather all over the British Isles was bad...".

This person said it was an imperialist comment, I said I didn't mean it to be imperialist and i didn't mean it in any imperialist way. She just said well it was imperialist. I honestly never thought about what it meant other than a geographical term.

Upon reflection is the origin of the saying that at one point the British ruled both Islands?

I'm in my 40s and it's just a geographical term to me, but then again my dad and grandad used to use saying that couldn't be uttered today.

Anyway she's not taking it any further, just informing me it was a imperialist comment, which I don't believe it is, but I won't be using it in the working environment again if I can help it.

just wanted to make sure before they steal my gold and stuff

I moved to Ireland three years ago from the USA with my wife to be to a town here and have been reflecting about the journey recently and would like to share my thoughts about the country with you. I made a post 2 years ago, and after re-reading it I was thinking about how much I have changed my mind about a lot of things and how much I still stand by what I have always thought.

• Irish people are some of the most friendly people in the world. I mean genuinely nice. See, a lot of people think Americans are super nice but they talk shit about you as soon as you're out the door. An Irish friend will tell you you're a prick and offer to help you move in the course of a pint. I can't stress this enough: Irish people are the most down to earth nicest people you could ever meet 99% of the time.

• A sing song during a lock in is the greatest pleasure in the world. I never would have thought I would love a sing song as much as I do. When I first met my girl (this was when we lived in the states) I thought it was so weird when they would get some beer in their belly and start singing. Who does this I thought. Well let me tell you, after three years living here, I picked a song, learned it by heart and any time there's a lock in I'm not the first to sing, but I'm never the last.

• Irish people are so picky about food. Where I grew up you would think stuff like Ethiopian food or insects were exotic eating. Living over here, I swear, spaghetti and meatballs is the most exotic thing some people would ever eat. You go on holiday and just pray they serve chicken fingers and chips. Now I'll never understand this attitude, but think it's almost endearing. i likes me stew and I likes me Shepard's pie and that's it! Maybe gravy! Anything else and I'd rather starve!

-Brand loyalty when if comes to pints is really surprising. I always drink Guinness and if I go to my local and order anything else they look at me like I went off the rails. Miller? Sure, you're a guinness man! Are you okay? Everything alright at home? I think the Irish craft beer stuff is great and like trying new stuff, but much like the food, I'm amazed by the amount of people that would never drink anything but Carlsberg, Heineken, etc.

• Racism here is one of the funniest things to me. I grew up in the south, so I've experienced more than my fair share. Now, I certainly don't think most Irish are racist, very few are. But the ones you do meet over here, OMG! Like you wouldn't even hear people in the KKK say the word coloured, yet over here you get people that say "Now I don't have anything against the coloureds except..." I just think it's amazingly awkward.

• Ireland is a nation of pessimists. I sincerely believe if Ireland was in a sunnier place no one would ever leave. You have so many great things going here. Real great quality of living, that kind of thing, but you wouldn't know it by talking to people. On my previous point, I think it's amusing how so many people's idea of success is being an immigrant somewhere else but hate people that think moving here is the idea of the same type of success. In the states people would kick your ass if you said anything negative about the country. Over here it's almost the opposite.

• A breakfast roll is a national treasure. What a fucking meal. Although I think ketchup on it isn't neatly as good as brown sauce. Fight me IRL.

• This is the most FAQ at home - Guinness really is better here. I don't know what it is, but it's so much smoother here. I think there's a couple of things that makes Guinness the best drink: 1. Great Taste 2. Easy to drink 3. Black (looks cool as shit with that surge) 4. You can drink 30 pints and never feel full like you would with other beers.

• The hatred of cats over here goes over my head. I grew up in a fairly rural area, and cats always meant less pests. I knew people that didn't like cats, but it was always like, "I prefer dogs." Over here you tell people you have a cat and some people get visibly upset. I always think it's funny. I live next to a river, so I'd rather have 1 cat than 100 rats. That's just me though.

• Macroom's Oat Porridge is the best thing this country's go going for it. I sincerely challenge you to find a better national product. The best oats you will find anywhere. Second only behind a blaa. Again, fight me IRL. PM me if you want to meet me to fight about this.

• Hurling is so great. I think what you grew up watching is always going to be your favourite sport. You compare everything else to it. I grew up watching American football. To me, that is the way sport is. But hurling is so great. One of my favourite things I ever did was bring one of my buddys to Semple stadium to watch a game. His 3 main takeaways were this: 1. Why can't you drink beer in the stadium? 2. Why aren't there any breaks so you can drink beer? 3. How is that not a foul?

• I have come a long way from where I first was with understanding Irish accents. My mom still doesn't 100% understand what my father-in-law is saying. I think the accents everyone has adds so much to the fun of ireland. You always know where someone's from!

Slainte /r/IrishCirclejerk

Sunny weather? Careful now. Sunscreen for pasty feckers, ice cream for others. Great drying out!