I was inspired to write to IrishCentral after Colleen’s Harte’s piece on “Ten things I now dislike about Irish men”.
While it’s fair to say that for the most part we’re not all George Clooney-esque or anywhere near perfect, I thought it only fair that the Irish-American male’s voice be heard.
Although I’ve dated some great Irish ladies, who are feisty, fiery, smart and great fun this is not always the case. Irish women aren’t so perfect themselves and that’s why I’ll be giving them a wide berth on the dating scene. Frankly, recently, I find Irish women to be more trouble than they’re worth.
Here are my reasons why:
Fake tan
The smell of this stuff alone is enough to put you off any Irish woman for life. Their insistence to cover themselves in false tan in the hopes of turning themselves into a bronzed goddess, there really is no point ladies.
I have had to dump several sets of bed sheets after a strange orange Shroud of Turin like imprint was left behind. Give me pasty skin any day over an orange umpa lumpa from “Willy Wonka”.
Drinking
When someone told me that any Irish woman could drink me under the table, I brushed it off as an urban myth. Years later drinking beer and shots of whiskey with an Irish lady friend, I learnt the hard way.
Yes, yes it’s honorable you have a good tolerance for alcohol, but that does not give you the right to harass the barman at 3am for more shots. Less is more ladies.
Paranoid
I swear, if I’d heard the phrase “what’s that suppose to mean?” one more time! Irish women seem convinced that all men are speaking in hidden meanings and are in fact always having a go at them. This is not the case.
Irish women need to relax and learn to be less paranoid. There’s no better way to start a fight than digging at innocent comments. Let it go. Even if you’re trying to be nice it can still back fire due to their paranoia.
Cannot walk in their shoes
Too many women move to New York with aspirations of becoming a character from Sex and the City. The Irish especially seem to have an affinity for Carrie Bradshaw and her sky-scraper heels.
It’s a simple rule ladies, if you cannot walk in them, leave them at home. You may not be the tallest breed of women in the world, but I’d much rather see you arrive in sneakers, than have to haul ass home with you strewn over my shoulder.
Bossy
After dating an Irish women for a while you’ll suddenly notice that please and thank yous go out the window. Even the most pleasant things like organizing a barbecue for friends begins to feel like a military operation as orders are barked at you and you are expected to obey.
Too feisty
I think I have only ever been slapped by two women in my life, one was my Irish mother and the other was my Irish ex-girlfriend.
Irish women are extremely feisty and while of course this can be endearing, when she starts screaming insults at a driver who just took her spot in the car-park, all you can do is squirm and look away.
Talk too much
I’m not positive but I’m pretty sure that Irish women got more than their fair share of ‘the gift of the gab’. Irish women can literally ‘talk for Ireland’. It’s just as well someone invented Skype.
I women think nothing of an two-hour trans-Atlantic phone call but unfortunately it doesn’t end there. Irish women talk, and talk and talk unfortunately many of the women that I’ve met didn’t really have that much to say.
Not ladylike
What a turn off when the blue eyed, freckled Irish girl asks the barman for a big dirty pint when she looks like she walked off the set of “Sex and the City”. That little black dress and fake eyelashes should not be matched with a pint of beer.
If you choose to relocate to New York, at least try to feign sophistication.
Stuck up
Now this could just be me but over the last while I’ve noticed that when you’re talking to an Irish girl they immediately ask “What do you do?” It seems to me that Irish girls might put too much stock in the size of lads wallets rather than in their personalities (they will no doubt deny this emphatically).
A lot of Irish girls I have met seem to dream about moving to the U.S. and marrying a Wall Street banker.
Spend too much time shopping
On my life I’ve never met people more obsessed with shopping, store, bargains and labels than the Irish girls I’ve dated. They can waste entire weekends shopping and spend the rest of their week planning their next attack on the stores.
When they get off that plane they cannot seem to get to Macys or Jersey Gardens quick enough and the obsession doesn’t wane either. One girlfriend I had even got her mother to bring out clothes from a store in Ireland, as if there wasn’t a big enough choice here. Insanity.
It seems for Irish women, shopping is pastime.
So there you have it. Rest assured Irish women out there, that these are just my thoughts, although some of my buddies did agree with me on some of my opinions!
Oh and just one final pointer for the road, Irish women don’t take criticism very well and I imagine the response I will get to this article will prove my point!
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.Smyrnian | May 24, 2013, 01:33 PM EDT
Is it me or have I seen this recycled IC story several times before? Must be running out of anti- Catholic stuff or gay stories or pro-abortion articles or something!
Seanmor | May 23, 2013, 10:24 PM EDT
A few of my first cousins - one in particular - delights in emphasizing the 'drudgery and poverty', 'ignorance and superstition' of her parents because they were raised in Ireland. True, neither parent had eduction beyond the primary level, but her father became a successful businessman and made enough money to raise his 2 children in comfort. Her mother was a perfect housekeeper, an excellent cook and very good at needlework. Both parents set very fine examples for their son and daughter.
handsome68 | May 23, 2013, 04:22 PM EDT
Seanmor, thank you; you should feel proud, also since you got the gist of what I meant.
Seanmor | May 23, 2013, 12:28 PM EDT
Handsome: It makes me feel proud to read the praise you lavish on your dear departed parents, both of whom were Irish immigrants. I too never used the "f" word since I arrived in the U.S. before my 19th birthday, not even during the 4 years I spent in the Marine Corps.
anglo-norman | May 23, 2013, 11:51 AM EDT
I saw the effect the Celtic Tiger had on Irish women & believe me it was ugly.
KilkennyCats | May 23, 2013, 10:16 AM EDT
Must say, this list is quite accurate. The phrase "Shanty Irish" comes to mind.
Seanmor | May 23, 2013, 04:17 AM EDT
I do NOT know what exactly is meant by "Irish women" in this case. Does it include any woman with Irish DNA anywhere in the world or it it restricted to natives of the Southern Irish state? In either case, it does not include my wife, a New England Methodist and a D.A.R. member a bhfuil cúpla focal Gaeilge aice. Being a Gaeilgeoir makes her her very different from most women who were raised in Southern Ireland.
handsome68 | May 22, 2013, 04:58 PM EDT
Truth be told, Mom was born in Ireland and lived there her first 25 years or so. Neither she nor Dad (to my knowledge) ever used the F word and they would not tolerate it if any of us 4 kids did. Nearly 70 now, I still don't swear, also since it sounds terrible, angry, and low-class. No one had handed anything to them either in Ireland or here in the USA, and so another thing Mom and Dad instilled in us was education. Prepared in and by the School of Hard Knocks, all 4 of us got college educations. Thanks Mom and Dad, and R.I.P.
handsome68 | May 22, 2013, 04:55 PM EDT
Truth be told, Mom was born in Ireland and lived there her first 25 years or so. Neither she nor Dad (to my knowledge) ever used the F word and they would not tolerate it if any of us 4 kids did. Nearly 70 now, I still don't swear, also since it sounds terrible, angry, and low-class. No one had handed anything to them either in Ireland or here in the USA, and so Another thing Mom and Dad instilled in us was education. Prepared in and by the School of Hard Knocks, all 4 of us got college educations. Thanks Mom and Dad, and R.I.P.
Portia_O'Neill | May 21, 2013, 01:26 PM EDT
Most of the items on this list apply to Pauline Wogan.
handsome68 | May 21, 2013, 11:08 AM EDT
You're right -- I do like to hear myself talk, but I don't need to be posted twice. Delete one, also since I'm glad you didn't delete both.
handsome68 | May 21, 2013, 10:48 AM EDT
Good, Sean, good. I mean, bad, Sean, bad. You write, "Irish women aren’t so perfect themselves .... " which is enough to get you excommunicated from women in general. Wait, I mean Jewish princesses, I get them confused. Different but strangely similar in that they are opposite sides of a coin. Keep up the good fight, Sean. You may stand and sleep alone for the rest of your life, but one must stand for something. And this is something. Incidentally, I am Sean too but I don't call myself that since am in NYC and only cops and firemen respond to the name "Sean" and I am neither.
handsome68 | May 21, 2013, 10:43 AM EDT
Good, Sean, good. I mean, bad, Sean, bad. You write, "Irish women aren’t so perfect themselves .... " which is enough to get you excommunicated from women in general. Wait, I mean Jewish princesses, I get them confused. Different but strangely similar in that they are opposite sides of a coin. Keep up the good fight, Sean. You may stand and sleep alone for the rest of your life, but one must stand for something. And this is something. Incidentally, I am Sean too but I don't call myself that since am in NYC and only cops and firemen respond to the name "Sean" and I am neither.
anglo-norman | Oct 06, 2012, 06:40 PM EDT
Spot on sean, the paranoid factor is huge with them & always over the silliest of things. Very few with class. Drink like fishes & the fake tan is disgusting. Women have delicate feelings on the whole but Irish women take it to the max. Stubborn to the point of stupidity & talk absolute nonsense for the most part. The smell of guinness of a girl is disgusting to say the least.
PhillyHellion | Aug 01, 2012, 01:48 PM EDT
while im posting kinda late on this subject, I must admit alot of this, except the shopping, is why I LIKE Irish ladies as much as I do. American woman are too timid alot of times, I like a girl who talks, ALOT, and can hold her own and then some at the bar and argues and fights back.
cicidel | Feb 24, 2012, 01:51 PM EST
Yes, yes we can overdo it on the fake tan at times. But it's tough if you cannot naturally tan and all the "yanks" are sporting their bronzed legs in shorts. The reason we love shopping so much is that everything is so expensive in Ireland, so we come here, earn more money and clothes, shoes etc. cost so much less. We are like kids in a candy store then.
jimod4343 | Feb 16, 2012, 02:36 AM EST
I agree whole-heartedly with everything here. They haven't got any degree of sophistication at all. They go out in the evening covered in fake tan, hair dyed black, ridiculous amounts of make up. They are incapable of saying "Pardon?" or even "What?"; It's more like "Huh?" or "Whaa?". After a night of drinking they come back looking like something the cat dragged in. And all you Romeos out there BEWARE; because it's all going to be YOUR FAULT.
Jerry123 | Feb 13, 2012, 09:28 PM EST
I Have dated few Irish women before and remember once we went to watch a Rugby match Irelad-Wales game it was funny how she used to cuss the players with F words and scream like a man on any missed opportunities in the game, she had 9 pints of beer through out the match lol
ciaradexy | Feb 01, 2012, 05:37 PM EST
I cant speak for Americans but when an Irish woman askes 'what do you do?', its to make conversation!
PhilipOHayda | May 18, 2011, 03:01 PM EDT
you should stop dateing chavs girls so.
eibhleann7 | May 13, 2011, 06:54 AM EDT
You had a girlfriend?! I think not!
Towngate | May 13, 2011, 05:11 AM EDT
OldActor: Have a great visit but don't forget to hop over to 'God's Own Country' next door and pay your respects to Scotland and England and take the Eurostar train from London to Paris ~ then all your ancestors can finally rest in peace. 'Break a Leg' ~ as we say for 'Good Luck'.
Scrivner | May 12, 2011, 05:56 PM EDT
OldActor, since you have the same background as I do, let me advise that I found the Irish in Ireland to be most welcoming and pleasant people, altho they do not like to put up with fools and fakes (but who does?). Ask your hotel about neighborhoods to avoid, teke tips from the locals about what to see and enjoy.
OldActor | May 12, 2011, 02:04 PM EDT
In July,I'm planning on visiting Ireland for the first time and taking a tour around the country. Mostly tourist places, but I want to go to the pubs and meet the locals, men and women. I expect I'll find a broad range of personalities, but I'm hoping that my American accent won't set people off on diatribes. I have a mixed cultural background (Irish/Scot/English/French), so I'm looking forward to good music, conversation and the occasional Jameson(sp?). As an older man, I appreciate the greatness that God instilled in women, especially their infinate ability to forgive us men for being so stupid. Be they Irish, or American, or French, or German, women are definately God's greatest creation, and I thank God for every single one of them.
SingleDonald | May 11, 2011, 04:24 PM EDT
GeorgeDillon, I agree with you! It is a turn off to hear any woman talk that way, and especially those who you admire!
GeorgeDillon | May 11, 2011, 02:09 PM EDT
You said "Talk Too Much" but you should have added "Cuss Too Much". I don't like the F*** word from any source, but it gets particularly ugly when Irish women use it in every sentence. Enough to make me lose interest in what the word refers to. (Incidentally, I bet those three gorgeous creatures in the photo above are not Irish).
Dublin4 | May 11, 2011, 08:41 AM EDT
Everyone asks everyone what their job is, it's called having a conversation. Maybe 'thank you' goes out the window because the women had nothing to be thankful for when they were in a relationship with you!
IrishGirlyGirl | May 11, 2011, 07:17 AM EDT
@SingleDonald I agree with you! You can't just turn these into stereotypical traits for Irish girls. Like i said before, we aren't all like this.
IrishGirlyGirl | May 11, 2011, 07:15 AM EDT
Well yeah, okay maybe some of us Irish girls are like that, but it's obvious not all of us are like that. ;)
falconflash | May 11, 2011, 05:54 AM EDT
Yeah, the imitation of the sex and the city girls is ridiculous....... most American men (and women) see these sex and the city women as whores, how nieve can the Irish woman be? Television exits to trash Christian values.
antoman | May 11, 2011, 05:14 AM EDT
@positiveguy-Can you post your location?I want to drive through your town flat out with the windows up and not look back.
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PolinDeB | May 11, 2011, 01:25 AM EDT
And there is nothing as sexy as a girl in a little blank dress and a pint.. most Irish guys would be drolling... In fact my friends husband knew he would marry her when she slide down the stairs with a pint and didn't spill a drop ;) ye of little taste...;)
PolinDeB | May 11, 2011, 01:23 AM EDT
Wow, I must not be an Irish girl.. except the drinking you under the table which 'No Problem'... I think you may be hanging out with the Cetlic Tiger missies looking for a new sugar daddy now daddys broke ;)
irishwxman | May 10, 2011, 08:12 PM EDT
You forgot smoking.
JessNiLeacai | May 10, 2011, 06:18 PM EDT
well dear to be honest, I wouldnt want an Irish American but then again I am in Ireland so I'll stick to the real Irish men if you dont mind. I didnt like the article on things disliked about Irish men and I dislike this one as well even tho some points are valid, they could be applied across a wide spectrum of cultures so you would really want to take off your horse blinders there bob. Anyways, I detest fake tan, I can actually walk in heels, yes I can drink a lot but I dont often, I do talk a lot, I am feisty, so yeah ok, fair enough you hit a few stereotypes on the head. But what I beg to question is WHAT DO YOU LIKE? I mean do you want a subservient woman, a mail order bride that says 'da' (that's YES in Russian) or perhaps someone who would be one of these airhead bimbos? I am just wondering, I am tired of hearing how much this sites HATES Irish people...
feliciamaisey | May 10, 2011, 03:43 PM EDT
This is obviously comical and a work of fiction, at least in part, or else the most stereotyped article I have read in a bit. In either case, there is a kind of raw grating quality about the article, as if the author doesn't like women at all, or sees them as a bit of a brutish lot; If that is the case, stop looking for a nice Irish woman in pub when they are already worse for the wear (at least as per your suggestions in the article.
SingleDonald | May 10, 2011, 03:33 PM EDT
As an Italian American, I have always considered Irish girls to be the elite, among women! I mean mostly Irish American women. However, one coming from the "source" must be all that special, as well! I know an Irish American usher, in my church. We have friendly disagreements over which girls are the best. He says the Italian women; I insist the Irish women! As Sharon says, at one time or another, we all, men & women, may belong to a stereotypical category! So, it's not fair to put permanent labels on people!
sharoneileen | May 10, 2011, 02:55 PM EDT
As an Irish American Woman I don't like any article that puts people into a category. The article could be written to say "The Reason I Don't Like Women". I don't nor never did fake tan (I recall the calamity of the early self tanners in the late 60's, they didn't work then either), I don't nor ever spend more time than necessary shopping, I hate shopping and do most on the internet. I did not see the column article on hating Irish Men as a matter of fact I spent two weeks in Ireland and fell in love with everyone in the homeland. Irish American Men, I find all are about the same and most just want a lady who will listen to them, challenge their intellect just a little and will abstain from bed hopping. I don't really believe in "stereotyping" at one time or another we all belong to a stereotypical category. Right now I am an early middle aged Irish American lady with very severe arthritis that I am actively fighting and don't seem to fit into any category. Sharon
davelee | May 10, 2011, 02:24 PM EDT
an amusing point of view,however,i think irish women are great!!!ALL WOMEN LOVE TO SHOP!YOU WILL FIND "STUCK UP" WOMEN IN ANY COUNTRY!IRISH WOMEN DO LIKE TO TALK A LOT,...BUT LOTS OF MEN DO TOO!AS FOR BEING TOO FEISTY OR "BOSSY",....SOME LADS NEED TO GROW A SET!! IF I WANTED A DOORMAT I'DE GO TO A HARDWARE SHOP!! AS FOR DRINKING PINTS,,WHO'S BEING STUCK UP HERE?? IT DOES NOT BOTHER ME AS LOADS OF WOMEN DRINK PINTS! I LOVE THE NO BULL ATTITUDE OF IRISH WOMEN!! EACH TO THEIR OWN MIND. IN MY EXPERIENCE IRISH WOMEN ARE REALLY DOWN TO EARTH&GIVE AS GOOD AS THEY GET. FAOR PLAY TO THEM I SAY! I DISLIKE MEEK WOMEN AS PARTNERS AS IT TAKES A STRONG MINDED WOMAN TO MATCH MY STRONG MIND & OPPINIONS. AS FAR AS IRISH WOMEN IN GENERAL GO?? I JUST CANT GET ENOUGH!!!! MORE POWER TO THEM!!! ;-))
deburca | May 10, 2011, 12:38 PM EDT
Irish ex-wives are the worst.
Ballyphehane1 | May 10, 2011, 12:27 PM EDT
As an Irish girl, I have to say that I think your article is very funny - can definitely relate to a lot of it. I think shopping has always been a past time for the irish, even before the celtic tiger - although we do go a bit mad when we land in an outlet mall. I think partly it's because there's not a whole lot of other things going on in Ireland - particularly during those teenage years when the shopping skills are honed. If you weren't into sports in Cork, you met in town on a Saturday afternoon - invariably shopping while you 'did pana' - basically hanging around patrick street. Never had much money, but always managed to buy something... Good article though!
crny925 | May 10, 2011, 11:52 AM EDT
IRISH MEN ARE CHEAP!!!!
seagreen | May 10, 2011, 11:50 AM EDT
When I'm anywhere near, or close to a conversation with an Irish woman, I say nothing, and just keep nodding my head in agreement..
cillowen | May 10, 2011, 10:59 AM EDT
stubborn streak - but tasty.
badolan | May 10, 2011, 10:52 AM EDT
I was struck by how pretty and slender many Irish women are. I could listen to an Irish accent all day long.
kittyok | May 10, 2011, 10:47 AM EDT
Irish men tend to resemble Howdy Doody. I am rarely bored enough to listen to a dummy.
TheBetterCoug | May 10, 2011, 10:46 AM EDT
Oh for those challenges of youth long gone. Fun read; brought out some sun on this gray day.
annie1976 | May 10, 2011, 10:45 AM EDT
So you said you " had to dump several sets of bed sheets". Doesn't look like you were complaining then!!!! Seriously if this is your impression of Irish women then you really don't have a clue. Please do not tar us all with the same brush and seriously THINK before you put together a list like this.
islenita | May 10, 2011, 10:23 AM EDT
This is as stupid as the men dislike lit. yes I may be able to drink you under the table and may be feisty but the rest is pure fiction. Hate shopping, don't wear high heels, NEVER have a bottled tan, not stuck up, paranoid or talk too much. Two out of ten makes this list fail!
manhattan | May 10, 2011, 10:00 AM EDT
Thanks for the great laugh I had over this very clever column. Hopefully Irish girls also have a sense of humor.
americano | May 10, 2011, 09:59 AM EDT
I had an Irish girlfriend, she drank alcohol of all sorts in particular Guinness, and red wine, and always to the point of getting drunk, and once that stage was reached she always started arguing about silly matters that had no importance, she obviously needed arguments, thus my decision was good bye dear.
antoman | May 10, 2011, 08:43 AM EDT
I hate it when Irish women wake up in the morning and say "your an old man",while pouring your teeth and the water in the glass over your head.They never leave a few bob on the bedside dresser either.They just storm out the door.
harryfee | May 10, 2011, 07:56 AM EDT
i have to agree with sean. i was married to an irish girl, and all i can say is YIKES!