Read more: The top ten pros and cons of marrying an Irish woman
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Before you take the plunge or allow your Irish boyfriend to put a ring on it, please review IrishCentral's list of the pros and cons of Marrying an Irishman. It just might save your sanity, or at least it will prepare you for the madness that awaits.
SIX REASONS TO MARRY AN IRISHMAN:
1. Family is extremely important to an Irishman. Family is the core of an Irish man’s masculinity and the more children he has the more masculine he feels.
2. Irishmen don’t sweat the small stuff. An Irishman has surprisingly great coping strategies. Stress isn’t in the vocabulary of an Irishman, chilled and relaxed is the way he embraces life.
3. An Irishman will go out of his way to do nice things for people who are important to you. He will pick your mother up from the airport even though his favorite team is playing on the television, he will sit with your best friend and listen to her woes and he will take your brother to play golf even if he doesn’t like him.
4. An Irishman has a fantastic sense of humor. He makes light of serious situations, which can defuse an argument or simply make you feel better after a hard day's work.
5. An Irishman’s loyalty to his friends is admirable. Aside from his family, an Irishman takes pride in his male friendships and goes out of his way to make certain his friends' needs are met in a generous and heartfelt manner.
6. An Irishman’s heart is as big as the ocean. Although Irishmen might not be the best at expressing their emotions, their actions more often than not speak volumes.
SIX REASONS NOT TO MARRY AN IRISHMAN
1. Mammy will always come first. He may love you but he loves his mother more; you are destined for a life of comparison. “This is how my mother cooks it, this is how my mother does it…. “
2. An Irishman likes to have his wife do most of the household chores including cooking, cleaning and paying the bills. He may help out once in a while but overall it’s the woman who will always run the household with little direction or help from her Irish husband.
3. An Irishman doesn’t like to shop. He thinks it’s okay to wear the same pants and shirt you met him dressed in six years ago to your mother’s retirement party. If you want him to wear new clothes then it will be your responsibility to shop for him. And don’t ask him to come along with you to the mall.
4. An Irishman thinks it’s perfectly okay to pass wind in front of you 30 times a day. Following the flatulence may come, “you liked that one didn’t you?” You are at least guaranteed a hearty pride-filled laugh during these moments.
5. An Irishman can’t dance. He doesn’t know his left foot from his right foot and therefore provides for a clumsy first dance mate at your wedding reception. And dance lessons prior to your wedding are out of the question. He would be too embarrassed if his mates discovered he took lessons.
6. An Irishman rarely shows emotion. The exceptional occasion is the death of a loved one or the loss of his favorite football team. Aside from that an Irishman keeps his feelings behind lock and key and the issue is rarely up for discussion.
24 Comments
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.annie1976 | Feb 22, 2011, 12:30 PM EST
Very, very funny. Really enjoyed reading!!! And yes Mary i totally agree with you: Gwen1980 do you know what the word "CRAIC" means? Well this is what the article was geared towards
Towngate | Feb 22, 2011, 11:26 AM EST
BECCA30. You don't say which list you want him from! One tip: after marriage, always think of yourself as 'Jocasta' and you won't go far wrong! Good Luck!
lindaburke | Feb 21, 2011, 10:24 PM EST
I think you just decribed my husband to a T. All the good and the bad, but I love him and wouldn't trade him.
sirpeter | Feb 21, 2011, 07:02 PM EST
Rosebeautiful..You're not wrong..I was wondering the say thing. You could apply most of this to any man.
MaryQuinlan | Feb 21, 2011, 06:12 PM EST
My daughter is married to a Tipp boy who has everyone of the 6 reasons to marry an Irishman! She hit the jackpot with him...so what if he adores his Mam? If you want to know how you'll be treated as a wife, look how he treats his mother. Oh, and Gwen 1980, lighten up, girl! This is all in fun...take it in the spirit in which it was written:)
norinalundy | Feb 21, 2011, 01:10 PM EST
AARGH!
beccak30 | Feb 21, 2011, 10:46 AM EST
I need a Irish man
TessMountain | Feb 21, 2011, 09:13 AM EST
This was a fun article to read. I really love the Irish sense of humor, anyway. Thanks, Ms. Kelly! :)
Mike7571 | Feb 20, 2011, 11:32 PM EST
My wife swears she could've written this. You were spot on.
Rosebeautiful | Feb 20, 2011, 06:12 PM EST
I thought this is good information it reminds me a lot of my husband and he's not irish.
Goosey68 | Feb 20, 2011, 04:12 PM EST
The Irish man of yesteryear ....describing my father ...he was born in 1922. I believe we've changed ....just a tad ;)
BARNEYKX | Feb 20, 2011, 04:08 PM EST
All men hate shopping including myself
gwen1980 | Feb 20, 2011, 02:00 PM EST
It surprises me that in 2011 people are allowed to write and publish something so sexist and generalist - this article gushes ignorance and is plainly inappropriate. I would understand this if it were in "tongue and cheek" but it is not at all humorous either. If you asked the average 25 year old Irishman if he appreciated being told that he was an ignorant idiot who cannot dance, dress or act with any decorum he would be horrified. Antoinette - I can't even imagine what you were thinking (if at all) when you wrote this. If you married someone who displays these personality traits, I pity you, but please don't subject the rest of the world to you idiocy.
sirpeter | Feb 20, 2011, 01:11 PM EST
Antoinette..The character trait's of your husband is none of our business.
antoman | Feb 20, 2011, 12:27 PM EST
Provided the bride can display the same diligence that the mother put into making sure her boy had clean underpants,then all their up's and downs in life should be mostly between the sheets.
jimmybb | Feb 20, 2011, 12:11 PM EST
its half true at best seriousally some of the writers on this site are so full of crap but yes we are funny and if their is funnier way of looking at things well find find it ha am starting to think irish mammys are writing these articles haha
forflann | Feb 20, 2011, 11:14 AM EST
Indeed several of the mentioned items on the "con" list were true. Mammy did come first! "You are the second most beautiful woman in the world!" "and who's the first?" "Me mum of course!" How can you be upset with that. But "Me mum irons the socks". Well best bring them to her then! Still not the worst, Going "out on a piss" and coming home minus your car...that's bad!
patrickesq | Feb 20, 2011, 11:08 AM EST
I will never marry an Irish guy- living with one is enough!
ShamrockShore | Feb 20, 2011, 10:06 AM EST
Antoinette baby! The flatulence bit ....... have you been seeing an Aussi? Otherwise the rest is a kind of true in a generalising way. My wife's from NH so I must ask her. The article is more suitable for Titbits or an 'Enquirer' style Irish mag.
| Feb 20, 2011, 10:04 AM EST
I only wish this was true. I married a man from Wexford and have been married less than two years. Between the constant drinkIng (arrested 11 times in less than 2 years) for public intoxication, wrecked and totaled cars and abuse I haven't seen any of these things. Even the parents were never loving or kind. I was never treated like a wife - I would have loved this! Now he gets to go back to his dear Ireland and drink himself to death.
CitizenWhy | Feb 20, 2011, 10:00 AM EST
Some of this was so true, but not the farting or dancing part or the part about not showing emotion (which may be true in public, but not in private). ... In fact a study of Irish Americans revealed that they (women and men) hugged their children and told them (even teenagers) they loved them far more than any other group. .. I never saw better dancers than my parents and others from Ireland. When they were young they went out dancing all the time and when older they had parties mainly to talk and dance, with great alcoholic drinks, but the drinking was moderate. It is true that, strangely, they made no effort to teach their children to dance.
mylesie | Feb 20, 2011, 09:59 AM EST
So they were right after all - I dont tick a single box I must be from a different planet!!!!
srdools | Feb 20, 2011, 09:48 AM EST
Who comes up with this crap?
tippboy | Feb 20, 2011, 08:25 AM EST
C'mon, what a load of cliched blarney!