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You know you’re Irish in America when… give aways you were not born in the US

What little things separates us from the average American

BERNIE MALONE,

IrishCentral Staff Writer

Published Saturday, April 21, 2012, 7:07 AM

Updated Saturday, April 21, 2012, 7:07 AM

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The perfect treat some "real" tea and a tayto crisp sandwich

Photo by Google Images

You may now live in the U.S, but if you are reading this, chances are you are Irish.

As much as we all enjoy and are grateful for our existence here, here are a few things that separate us from your average America.

1.   You can shoot the breeze with anyone about anything, but weather is always going to be a topic.

2. You automatically go to the bar and get a round of drinks in, despite some people never reciprocating.

3.    In the summer you get an ‘Irish tan,’ you still look pale to everyone, apart from your Irish friends who admire your great color.

4.    You don’t count it is as driving unless there is a gearbox involved.

5.    You don’t see the point in splitting a bill, when you have all eaten the same thing.

6.   No matter where you go, chances are you will meet someone who knows someone you know.

7.   You refer to your vacation time as your ‘holidays’.

8.    Mosquitoes love your blood, and leave you looking like a leper.

9.    It seems perfectly normal to use Taytos (chips) as a sandwich filling.

10. You don’t consider it tea unless there is a teapot, milk and sugar involved.

11. You wait until you are in crippling pain or discomfort before going to see a healthcare professional.

12. It’s unacceptable for gifts from Ireland not to include Cadbury’s chocolate and Lyons or Barry’s tea bags.

13.    You bring reusable shopping bags to the grocery store, out of habit.

14.    When you were growing up in Ireland, divorce was something that only happened on TV.

15.    When you go home to Ireland, the locals refer to you as ‘The Yank’.

16.    The first questions a stranger usually ask you when they hear you’re from Ireland is “Where are you from and how long have you been here?”.

17. You don’t excited by March madness or the playoffs, but you will get up at 8am on a Sunday to go to a bar and pay $20 to watch the GAA.

What separates you as an Irish person living in the U.S?

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43 Comments

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mreinhar2001 | Jul 15, 2012, 11:50 PM EDT

ciradexy babe: I asked youa quetsion in April and yuo ahve not replied. Is your homework too much for you? Well just stick with it and you will mature.

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fromGort | Jun 13, 2012, 09:58 PM EDT

Soo, what does it make me if numbers 1, 3, 9, 10 & 13 apply to me (born in the USA, with Coen, Reilly, and O'Leary ancestors)

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YoungPike | Jun 13, 2012, 10:38 AM EDT

Yet more evidence that, these days, the Irish are practically indistinguishable from the English!

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89west | Apr 24, 2012, 08:14 AM EDT

stevenstar......Sorry to have overlooked your pronouncement, I guess it had something to do with your shouting so loud. Now that you said it, do you plan to rewrite history or petition the gov't to shut down your borders to exclude all those who claim brotherhood and fraternity. Can you tell me; does being an amaideach occur naturally or do you have to work hard at it?. Considering the very dim forecast for Ireland's future, one would think other matters of importance would be more relevant for someone who purportedly claims Ireland as his own. Enjoy it while you can, because as it was said elsewhere you will soon be a minority in your own homeland. No shin off my ass, but you might consider a testosterone management program, it will do wonder for your mental health and stave off many physical ailments as well. Besides, if you have any family, I'm sure they would also see the benefit. Now you do have a good day and remember, like me you are only here for a visit.

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89west | Apr 23, 2012, 11:46 PM EDT

a chara, ciaradexy, you may be a paddy and may be proud of it, however, you ethnocentric view is flawed and has very little impact in a multi-cultural Ireland, where according to recent demographic studies you will be a minority in your own country within forty years. This time frame maybe somewhat accelerated because of the depopulation of the native Irish during this recent financial emergency. Speaking for myself, I am a hyphenated Irish who inherited my Irishness from my parents and extended family on both sides of the pond. It was hard won and came at great cost and your negative views, in no way will detract from my enjoyment of the relationship I enjoy with family in the old country. Yes, many of us abhor the wanna be Irish and their antics, as well as, some of the reactions coming from the native Irish about us. You should engage your brain when you run your mouth about Americans and their travel experiences. All you have to do is visit the national cemeteries for the American war dead from 1917 to 1918 and 1941 to 1945 found throughout Europe and you will readily see they certainly did a lot of one way travel. Oh I know ye Irish don't want to hear this but these same Americans kept the jack booted gestopo from overrunning your cabbage patch, not my words but hitlers. All the while your Senor DeValera was hiding under the bed and didn't stick his long nose out from under it until it was all clear and then he ran off with his Mass card in hand to pray for hitler's soul. Someday when I have time, I'll go on about the terms of endearment used to describe the Irish abroad, which apparently you have missed on your world travels to Costa del Sol and back.

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jamieLM | Apr 23, 2012, 08:14 PM EDT

@ciaradexy, I don't mind being called a Yankee, but where I live in the Midwest, we don't use the term. We think of ourselves as Americans, Midwesterners, or a version of our state's name. I would never call an Irish man a "Mick" - I see it as insulting. I respectfully disagree with you about the number of Americans who have traveled abroad. You obviously haven't polled everyone in the U.S. about their traveling experiences out of the U.S. Actually, I'm amazed at the number of Americans I've run into of all ages, from all over the U.S., on my European travels, even in the remotest places. Americans love to drive and we love to travel, including out of the country. Then there are all of us who have traveled abroad on business.

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mreinhar2001 | Apr 23, 2012, 05:22 PM EDT

Just curious

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mreinhar2001 | Apr 23, 2012, 05:22 PM EDT

ciradexy: I have a question. I like the name "Paddy" and I am glad that you are proud of it. In ages past, in the U.S., the term "Mick" was used as an insult when referring to new Irish immigrants or second generation Irish-Americans. (I have never read that the name "Paddy" was used as an insult, though). Again, I do not mean to upset or anger you or to stir your ire, but I am wondering if the name "Mick" is insulting to you or as you wrote on Apr 23, is it "just a nickname?"

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mreinhar2001 | Apr 23, 2012, 05:12 PM EDT

jamieLM: Good post! Perception is certainly the key to meaning.

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mreinhar2001 | Apr 23, 2012, 05:10 PM EDT

Hi Scrivner and 89west, Thank you for the inetresting information about the word "Yankee." That is all very interesting new information for me. Interesting spelling of the word, too, ciradexy. It is always intriguing to see how a word, or at least the spelling of the word, changes across cultures.

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ciaradexy | Apr 23, 2012, 04:49 PM EDT

Dear 89, Im a Paddy through and through. There SI no other nationality I could possibly be. I work in Dublin and Galway/Connemara and I have travelled the world so my world view is very wide and I know a hell of a lot more about the world in comparison to what most Americans know about it as most Americans have never even left the US! Jamie & Scrivner, I have heard that in some parts of the US calling someone a Yankie can be insulting. Yankie and Yank are very different here. Calling someone a yank is the equivalent of calling one of us a Paddy. Its not an insult, its just a nickname.

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89west | Apr 23, 2012, 12:30 PM EDT

Stevenstar.....I'm well aware that no benefit of the law accrues to the spouse if she doesn't have an Irish pedigree. However, one has to wonder what benefit the Irish Gov't comes away with, having so liberal a citizenship policy. As this citizenship law was formulated sometime after the creation of the State of Israel, it seems feasible, the Irish State saw it as a means of creating solidarity and support for the old country much as Israel did with her right of return for worldwide Jewry. Unfortunately, for the Irish, their diaspora offered very little in the way of economic and political support for the fledgling Republic.

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jamieLM | Apr 23, 2012, 11:58 AM EDT

@Scrivner, good post. You're right. My Southern cousins call we who live in the Midwest their Yankee cousins. It is a matter of perception who is a Yankee in the U.S.

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Ballyphehane1 | Apr 23, 2012, 10:09 AM EDT

Jeez - so many people with their knickers in a twist on this site. The banter used to be funny but it just seems ugly these days. And, for me personally, it's hard to beat a cheese and onion tayto sandwich with fresh bread & butter, washed down with a cup of Barry's - just milk, no sugar (gave that up for lent when I was about 8)... I suppose the tayto sandwich all comes down to where in Ireland you are from. I'm sure there are plenty of areas where it wouldn't be the norm, but where I'm from.... it's up there with a chip (fries) sandwich - best when the chips are from jackie Lennox's in Bandon road, Cork.

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STEVENSTAR | Apr 23, 2012, 08:49 AM EDT

@@@@@89west | Apr 22, 2012, 09:34 PM EDT>>>>>>>>>>>> I THINK YOU MUST HAVE MISUNDERSTOOD IF YOUR BORN IN AMERICA YOUR AMERICAN MATE NOT IRISH ....

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