41 Comments

• ToryTory | Oct 24, 2012, 03:58 PM EDT

  Yeah, and good riddance - 'Irish' Americans are a breed in their own right; the Irish are more like the British than you plastic Americans are to the Irish.

• Mairin67 | Oct 22, 2012, 06:21 PM EDT

  Clare, you have a point on some of them but on #10, you are 100% wrong. You are not Irish. You are American. You declared it in your last sentence. If you have all these complaints about Ireland, why do you wish to be called Irish? Americans like to have it both ways but there is a huge difference between the Irish and Irish Americans - believe me, I went to my first ever Notre Dame game this weekend...

• Towngate | Oct 21, 2012, 10:21 AM EDT

  @ below: We could compile a long list of those who went on to develop and refine, and great credit to them ...BUT ... a very short list of genius inventers! (Btw: we will find must significant inventions were British - particularly Scottish. The Seismograph, ECG, Hypodermic needle and many others were Irish inventions, my dear, deluded - get back to the classroom - Miss MacNamara!

• dukmarshal@aol.com | Oct 20, 2012, 06:19 PM EDT

  BTW, those are Clare's observations. I am sure that if she was asked to list the top ten things she liked about Irish lads, you would not be complaining.

• dukmarshal@aol.com | Oct 20, 2012, 06:15 PM EDT

  Ada Lovelace while working with Charles Babbage and the Analytical Engine is credited with the invention of the computer. It took another hundred years for the German to build one. It was the Yanks that made it more practical with the advent of transistors. Jobs & Woz took the microcomputers from a box of parts(mostly used by hackers and electronic wizards) to an all in one micro computer for the every day joe.

• DingoJones | Oct 20, 2012, 05:42 PM EDT

  Most of these are purely relevant to the individuals involved, but being ignorant enough to think that Americans invented the computer or the 'automobile' is probably why people think you're dumb!

• seamus60 | Oct 20, 2012, 02:18 PM EDT

  Tayandcake. So You know all of us ?

• Smyrnian | Oct 20, 2012, 01:06 PM EDT

  THE TOP 7 THINGS I DO NOT LIKE ABOUT IRISH CENTRAL. I LEAVE IT TO THE READERS TO ADD THE REMAINING 3 TO MAKE IT A TOP 10! 1. It’s editorials/opinions are crafted as “news” headlines; same for content. 2. Slobbering love affair with the Obamas. 3. Unabashed enthusiasm for ANYTHING Christine Quinn says! 4. Embarrassing love for NY Times lefty writer Maureen Dowd and ANYTHING SHE has to say! 5. Unbridled enthusiasm for anything to do with the Clintons 6. Obvious promotion of anything with a gay theme 7. Clear anti-Catholic bias

• GerrytheDub | Oct 20, 2012, 10:00 AM EDT

  Non polished shoes is the first thing you thought of after a year........ Have you been to Walmart lately? And we're in a recession... So buy your own drinks. The reason Americans have a bad name is because people like you perpetually affirm the stereotype. I'd take an Irishman over the cheating successful american so and so I married who polishes his shoes. We invented the episiotomy ... Without which there would be no Americans ... And by the way... America improves on existing products... Not creates them. apple stole their ideas... You little snob.

• Portia777 | Oct 20, 2012, 09:33 AM EDT

  I spent 40 years in Eire and this is spot on. I am out thank goodness. I see the discrimination against Americans daily, especially the strong women. Irish patriarchy will do anything to bring a strong woman to heel, under male control.

• derrymarch | Oct 20, 2012, 09:33 AM EDT

  All I can say, Clare, is that there are thousands of very gentle, sensitive, American-loving Irishmen out there- many of them already married or committed, it is true.

• Curitiba | Oct 20, 2012, 08:32 AM EDT

  Ha! Good article Claire, and spot on too. The only thing you forgot was the unspeakable smugness that all Irish-born people under the age of 40 seem to exhibit these days. But if you and your Irish-American friends want an Irish guy with the sophistication and worldliness that being born of Irish parents in a foreign country brings, why not try London? There there are a huge amount of us "Plastic Paddies" who know how to treat a lady and have a decent line in conversation!

• Towngate | Oct 20, 2012, 07:08 AM EDT

  Clare: you have it spot on and remember all the things you complain about in Irish 'men' is explained by the fact that they are simply doing and thinking all the old guff their terrifying Irish Mammys have shovelled into their spineless offspring! ~ One note of warning: Any chance you had of landing one of them was lost if you really did claim that the computer and Motorcar (Automobile)were invented in American. That's Britain and Germany, by the way! No Mammy would let their precious little son go out with such a thick American. - even an Oirish one!

• vince363 | Oct 19, 2012, 11:25 PM EDT

  i say god bless the USA im a irish born canadian having lived here nearly sixty years , and visit the USA often , while canada is a great country to live in ,and has terrific sceneray coast to coast ,the USA is the country with the most freedom ,. and the most generous people in the world,. i still love ireland my country of birth and hope to visit soon .

• seagreen | Oct 19, 2012, 08:16 PM EDT

  Canadian Pat Olay Okay..... You have convinced me. You are a Canadian! I am sure you have the Maple Leaf on your backpack to declare you are not American as you wander through the crowded gathering spots of Europe

• JethroBodine | Oct 19, 2012, 07:07 PM EDT

  Ah - I see that our dear friends from the People's Republic of Canuckistan are predictably not missing an opportunity to relieve themselves on us Bloody Yanks. Tragically, they suffer from a crippling & perfectly understandable inferiority complex, so we overlook them - which is of course very easy to do in their case.

• EamonnDublin | Oct 19, 2012, 06:33 PM EDT

  "Proud Canadian2" - Did I say I worship the United States? No, I did not. I was NOT saying that the USA is the saviour of Western civilization because it receives immigrants from all countries. The United States is the saviour of Western civilization because it stands between us and the success of the repeatedly stated aim of extreme Islamists, Iran, etc., which aim is to conquer the whole world. That safety barrier is the reason I have the height of respect for the USA. THAT is why I say "God Bless America". I don't want to get into the nasty stuff that is far too abundant on these boards, but may I just say that we would be waiting an awfully long time if we were relying on Canada to be the main defender of the West - and I say that with all due respect to the many brave Canadians who have fought and died for that very cause. Please be a little more careful before you throw insults gratuitously around the place. I'm sure you are a very nice guy - or girl, it's just the anonymity of the internet that gives some people a rush of blood to the head and they start shouting insults. It's a form of senility I suppose. Éamonn, Dublin.

• Mercenary | Oct 19, 2012, 06:26 PM EDT

  I'll take the 5th on her shoe polish comment, but she's right about Irish-Americans not getting enough respect in their ancestral homeland. Let me guess-THERE'S A PERFECTLY GOOD REASON WHY NO ONE HAS COMMENTED ON THAT PART OF HER ARTICLE YET??????????

• Stiofain | Oct 19, 2012, 05:11 PM EDT

  CanadianPat: In the late 1960's I lived in Paris,FR for two years. All Parisians thought all "Americans are tight fisted, big mouthed,clueless know it alls." After six months you would not get an argument from me.

• zekeking | Oct 19, 2012, 05:07 PM EDT

  Note to CanadianPat, Come down to New Orleans and let us change your opinion of Americans.

• tiernan | Oct 19, 2012, 03:56 PM EDT

  What I've found from my time in the USA is that girls of similar age to Ms. McNamara gravitate to the douchist of douch-bags that can be found in any bar, club, pub, what have you. It seems she also brought that trait on her trip with her... she met the 1% (we, nice Irish guys, are the 99%)

• emmmyjay | Oct 19, 2012, 03:55 PM EDT

  Ah, Clare, go on, go on, go on............... I've been married to 1 American, 1 Canadian, dated a number of American-Italians, American-Irish, American-Germans, etc (and am of Irish descent with dual citizenship) but found the love of my life in Ireland, with a Longford man. 3 is really too small a number to base anything on, even men in general! It sounds as though you're a rather young woman and will experience many more encounters with the opposite sex. I hope you will allow yourself to enjoy the diversity of men available to you. And, stop whinging and writing about it in public forums......that's simply attention-getting behaviour and not very attractive.

• fiddlinvet | Oct 19, 2012, 03:26 PM EDT

  Miss McNamara You learned nothing during your exchange. What a waste of time and resources. I hope you will make it home to Chicago, soon. Good riddance.

• breandan | Oct 19, 2012, 03:23 PM EDT

  1. Maybe they don't like shiny shoes. Did you ask if they thought you perfect? 4. Granted but we Americans often think the Irish are stupid (which is often how the Irish present themselves in media). 5. Sounds like fun dinner games. 6. Won’t buy you a pint? Explain to him that you're not a feminist and you expect to clean his laundry. 7. See #6 8. Think all Yanks are loaded - with money. Sure, I have a mansion back home and am a good catch for the money. Actually, mine is a tiny two bedroom share in Chicago. 10. Claiming to be "true" Irish when your claim is diluted and distant is a bit silly.

• CanadianPat | Oct 19, 2012, 02:16 PM EDT

  Americans are tight fisted,big mouthed, clueless know it all's, but I hate to generalise! :-) !

• TayandCake | Oct 19, 2012, 01:58 PM EDT

  SEANMOR, people who have any Irish in them or are from Ireland are essentially problematic. Maybes it just in the blood to be weird, but not in a Tim Burton way, in a kind of "Get away you're weird" way

• TayandCake | Oct 19, 2012, 01:23 PM EDT

  The only thing thats any use in Ireland is the hills and valleys, all the people are lousy.

• Seanmor | Oct 19, 2012, 01:22 PM EDT

  I have a few U.S.-born first cousins - one in particular - who delight in reminding me of their 'superiority' over me. Also, while stationed in Marine Corps bases in the South many Catholics, expecially those of Irish parentage liked to emphasize the 'differences' between them and me. But most Southern W.A.S.P.s befriended me and some of them, especially a young Tennesseean who later became a K.I.A. in Vietnem, became my closest buddies. The main difference between my own American relatives and those of my wife (a New England Methodist whose ancestors came here in the mid-1600s) in that the former frequently treat me as being 'different', but the latter always accept me as an equal.

• TayandCake | Oct 19, 2012, 01:21 PM EDT

  The "Drop" is a huge problem here. Thursday nights is student night, Friday and Saturday is the weekend, On a Sunday a man goes for the curer, one or two on a Monday to set up the week, and then there's always the Champions League match on Tuesday and Wednesday.

• Proud Canadian2 | Oct 19, 2012, 12:24 PM EDT

  Here is a perfect example of some of the American mentality. Superieority is alot of the American's middle names, I only wish that the Irish men or women wouldn't worship the states as much as they do. Canada has welcomed and provided for the Irish immigrant as much or even more in some cases then the USA. My father came over in 1928 to Canada in 1928 and wouldn't havelived anywhere else. Everytime I go over there I am asked what part of the states I am from and I have to respond please don't lump me in with them, I am Canadian. I wonder who Clare dates in the states, most of the men are either so called chokes and talk exclusively of baseball or football or how much money they have. I think that Seamor is exactly right with his post and I am glad to read most of the post have tried to set Clare right with the exeption of EamonnDublin, who is one of the Irish that I talked about at the beginning of this post.

• jamieLM | Oct 19, 2012, 12:02 PM EDT

  Clare's mistake is judging ALL Irishmen by her extremely limited experience with 3 of them. That's ridiculous, small-minded, and called "generalizing." Her title should have read, "The Top Ten Things I Didn't Like About the 3 Irishmen I Met In Ireland."

• CindyDoyle | Oct 19, 2012, 11:27 AM EDT

  Well written! All my Irish relatives living in the Republic of Ireland all agree too.

• Seanmor | Oct 19, 2012, 11:24 AM EDT

  One can easily understand Clare's superiority over us mere Irish. By her U.S. birth she aquired the genes, intellect and DNA of an American, all of which are vastly superior to those of the average Irish person. Obviously her superciliousness is totally justified, simply because of her genetic make up.

• Eamonnca1 | Oct 19, 2012, 11:20 AM EDT

  Ha! You complain about being called a "dumb yank" and then go on to claim that America invented the automobile (Benz and Daimler were German) and that America invented the computer (invented in Manchester, England). Then you have a go at Ireland for having a depression. I think you'll find that the American economy's in a bit of trouble too.

• geneq | Oct 19, 2012, 11:12 AM EDT

  #10: Three of my grandparents were born in Ireland and I have Irish dual citizenship by descent. I can't recall any not-really-Irish attitude during any of my several trips; on the contrary, I have always felt warmly welcomed. One of my cousins, taking my Italian-American wife and me around to meet other Mayo relatives, even announced our visit by saying, "They've come home for a few weeks!" You can't ask for better than that. For those that do run into an-American-isn't-really-Irish attitude, just remind your detractors that Eamon de Valera was born in Manhattan, New York City.

• Searlit | Oct 19, 2012, 10:36 AM EDT

  I really find these articles about why Irish don't like Americans and vice versa, irritating. It's so childish.

• mikehoulihan | Oct 19, 2012, 10:06 AM EDT

  Hey Clare, you sound like a whiny bitch. No wonder the Irish men weren't nice to you. You're obviously a superficial phony with a shoe fetish. Please don't come back to Chicago!

• hooligan6a | Oct 19, 2012, 09:53 AM EDT

  #10, I don't understand that one either. What do the irish think we are? My blood is 100% Celt. There are Irish people born all over the world, UK ,US, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Mexico, Canada, Scotland and more. We may not be Irish citizens but our blood is just as Irish as yours.

• Nicopernicus | Oct 19, 2012, 09:53 AM EDT

  Oh yea...and if your stupid yourself the probability that every other country's population will be stupid as well...go figure.

• Nicopernicus | Oct 19, 2012, 09:50 AM EDT

  My Grandfather was from Cork...polished his shoes to help poor concrete at the neighbors home. Its generational and situational...My advice is to find a better Irish situation influenced by the thoughtful generation that brought them up. The reason they won't by you a pint is because they are broke..and they are broke because of the pint. The lads need the last sliver of silver to get his drink on...again.

• EamonnDublin | Oct 19, 2012, 09:37 AM EDT

  Hi Clare! Very sorry to hear of your bad experiences in Ireland. Sincere apologies! I think you might have been mixing with the wrong people, in the wrong place. Whilst there are indeed plenty of ill-mannered ones around, there are also plenty who are well bred and mannered. I certainly agree about the shoes - when I came back after living abroad for 21 years, I was amazed at the state of the shoes. I have always said that well polished shoes can save the image of a not-so-good suit but a beautiful suit is a total waste of time when the shoes are not polished. My father polished all of our family's shoes, I polished my own children's shoes, and my son now polishes his children's shoes. It's all down to breeding and example. Don't pay any attention to the ones who insult the USA. They have no brains, so they have their opinions formed by our left wing liberal media - which is stuffed with nutters who blame the USA for everything. Most people who can think for themselves know that if it were not for the USA, Western civilization would be doomed. God Bless America. Éamonn, Dublin, Ireland.