If you’re looking to join an Irish Facebook group, you’ll have no shortage of options: when you type “Irish” in the Facebook group search, over 500 results pop up. There’s everything from the “Irish Jews” to the “Irish Mafia” (sure you are), from the “Feelin Irish” group to the “Irish Bowling” community.

If you’re Irish and interested in pretty much anything, there’s sure to be a bunch of Facebookers who have gone ahead and created a group for you.

But the Irish Facebook group scene being so populous and all, of course there’s going to be a few dark horses.

We here at IrishCentral took it upon ourselves to scope out the most bizarre, least ordinary Irish-themed Facebook groups out there. And trust me – there were no lack of contestants. Facebook goes to show: we Irish are an eccentric bunch.

if your Irish and you know it, eat some TAYTOS!!!

I’ll ignore the blatant misuse of “your” (though it irks me incredibly…) – that is not what makes this group outlandish. The outlandishness comes from the love of Taytos! As an Irish American, I had no idea. Taytos is a reoccurring theme in Irish Facebook gruops – from the Taytos-loving groups to the “im gonna kneecap the next English person who mocks my Northern Irish accent” group that uses a Taytos bag as their default pic. (This group was outlandish enough to receive its own write up - see below.)

Irish people are immune to psychoanalysis

What does this even mean?

I looked it up and discovered a) it’s based on something Freud said (something like “This is one race of people for whom psychoanalysis is of no use whatsoever") , and b) Matt Damon said something to that effect in “The Departed.”

The twenty or so members of this group do little to further explain. There are only three wall posts, two of which, funny enough, are from a woman trying to convince the members to visit her psychotherapy Web site for support. 

♣F*CK YOU I'M IRISH♣

Hey, now, do we have to get nasty? This group is crazy because the Irish are known as such fun-loving people! I mean, c’mon, “Lonely Planet” travel guide named Ireland the “Most Friendly Country” in 2008. Clearly no one from Lonely Planet ran into the members of this group… though there’s a whopping 9,635 of them!

For more mean-spirited Irish pride, visit the groups “I'm Irish, You're Not, So You Suck ”and “Kiss My Irish A**.” 

im gonna kneecap the next English person who mocks my Northern Irish accent

Finally, a Northern Irish-specific outlandish site! They overreact (mildly) to accent mocking, and use a bag of Taytos as their default pic. Naturally.

PLUS, this 4,000-strong group ever so thoughtfully provides a forum in which people can discuss and debate the true meaning of “knee capping.” (Is it shooting one in the knees? Crippling them in the knees via any means? The debate roars on…) 

i have a scary irish mother

Over 3,000 people claim to have a scary Irish mother, and I have a feeling there are a lot more out there.

According to this wise cracking group, a “scary” Irish mother is one who: is not afraid to shout and rip you to shreds in front of your friends and especially in a confined space..like the car; talks too loudly on the phone, usually slagging you off or revealing personal details about you to "Colette" or anyone that’s called; can’t remember the name of the missus down the road who’s uncle's cousin died and yet there’s a whole story you have to hear about; when she sees someone ugly on TV or an eejit, she says "ack...he's somebodys son..."

In the end, though, the members of the group are wise enough to say they love their mothers. Otherwise, their mothers would kill them.

If 10,000 People Join This Group I'll Get A Leprechaun Tattoo On My Ass

So the guy making this horrible threat does not seem to be Irish, but nevertheless, he speaks of leprechauns, and he’s outlandish – so his group makes it on the list. 

Irish accents make my knees go just a little bit wibbly …

There were tons of groups to choose from in this category, from “If you ask with an Irish Accent, I will do whatever you want,” “The Irish Accent Turns Me On” and Irish accents make the world go round...” Bottom line is, women from all over the world apparently swoon upon hearing an Irish accent emerging from a guy’s mouth. Good news for many visitors of this site, eh? 

After seeing The Departed I want to join the Irish Mafia

There’s also the aptly named: “I'm Irish, have a Boston accent, and the Departed is the best movie ever.”

Agreed, it’s a good film, but no. No you don’t. 

Top Reasons it's Beneficial to Date an Irish Dancer

The group name isn’t so outlandish, but the racy list of reasons is. Apparently, it’s a pretty good deal to date an Irish dancer because: “You can restrain us if you'd like... We're used to not using our arms”; “We've worn all sorts of strange articles of clothing... Nothing you can suggest will throw us off” ; “We are encouraged to flash... A lot!”

Side note: we also enjoyed the groups: “Screw the real world, I live in the delusional world of Irish dance” and “There's nothing like stamping your anger out irish dancing after a hard day.” 

I LOVE IRISH EXITS and Irish exit

Facebook members are rather in love with the Irish. They even love how they exit a room…

(Did anyone even know what this was before reading this?)

Apparently, if you leave a place without explanation or a goodbye, you’ve achieved the legendary Irish exit.

Members of the “Irish exit” group have shared their strategic tips on how to accomplish such a task, including:

1. Drink final drink to near end

2. Ask someone to hold near empty drink

3. Exit stage left

Another explains how a friend always said he was going to get pizza. By the third time this happened, they figured out if he was “getting pizza,” that meant they wouldn’t see him until the next day. Brilliant. 

I love Irish Car Bombs

This kind of group itself is not so outlandish (Okay, maybe one is – just check out the default pic of “Irish Car Bombs fo’ life”), but it is outlandish that there are just so damn many of this type on Facebook! There are Irish Car Bomb party groups, championship groups, even a group inquiring where you took your first Irish Car Bomb. (What is this, a sacred ritual?) What I get from this is put a half-filled pint of Guinness and a shot glass full of whiskey and/or Bailey’s in front of one of these guys for them to combine, and they’re happy campers. 

The Irish Afro-Cuban Salsa Congress On 3rd - 5th July 2009

This group name is just so outlandishly, multiculturally-awesome. That is all.