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Secrets revealed - ‘the luck of the Irish’ is a myth

Research shows the Irish win more cash but not as frequently

By
CATHY HAYES,
IrishCentral.com Staff Writer
Published Tuesday, March 15, 2011, 8:00 AM
Updated Tuesday, March 15, 2011, 8:00 AM

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The Luck of the Irish is a myth
The Luck of the Irish is a myth
Photo by Google Images


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According to research, carried out by a major bookmakers, there is no such thing as the 'Luck of the Irish'.

Ladbrokes bookmakers and lovetheraces.com, racing website, studied the data accumulated over 12 months and found that the Irish are no luckier than their British counterparts.

There has long been a belief in the betting community that punters in the Emerald Isle have a knack for picking the winners but it would seem that this is not so. Ladbrokes' researchers looked at 28,123 punters on each side of the Irish Sea. They found that Brits win more than 40 percent of the time. That's 5,902 British wins versus 3,471 Irish.

However when the Irish do win they tend to win an average of 167 percent more money than the British.

 "The results of the survey are staggering and have exposed as a myth one of the most widely-accepted sayings in betting history," said David Williams, from Ladbrokes.

"The Irish are certainly fearless punters but it's the Brits who seem to enjoy the luck. No doubt the Irish will look to correct the injustice at the Cheltenham Festival."

The Cheltenham Festival will take place this week.

He added "It's the biggest betting week of the year and the euros that flood over from Ireland are enough to make any bookie go weak at the knees. We've always kept our ear to the ground for whispers from the Irish but perhaps we should have a re-think."

Visit our special St. Patrick's Day section

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5 Comments

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Kevin714 | Mar 17, 2011, 10:11 PM EDT
I had heard recently that the saying "Luck of the Irish" was originally coined in 19th century america as a sarcastic way of saying the irish had bad luck based on our tragic history.

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jacersagain | Mar 16, 2011, 07:26 PM EDT
Everybody might get lucky to see a real (mythical?) Irish banshee. America's NBC station broadcasts live from a haunted castle in Ireland, tomorrow, St. Patrick's Day at 6PM EST (11pm Irish Time). NBC will film the night's goings on at Duckett’s Grove Castle in Co. Carlow, hoping the Castle's banshee makes an appearance. Watch it live on the internet at (wx3)syfy(dot)com/destinationtruth from 6pmEST. Whoooooooooooo

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eileend | Mar 15, 2011, 03:33 PM EDT
Thanks for the great laugh. After all, they call it Murphy's Law, not Kaufmann's Law.

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ImInIt2WinIt | Mar 15, 2011, 12:48 PM EDT
Being of Irish, British, and French decent, I have to say I have the best of All Luck! Ouu La La

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mayoman | Mar 15, 2011, 10:36 AM EDT
The real winners are always the bookmakers, the state lotteries, and the casino-owners. Its these grifters that always possess the genuine "luck".

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