The Irish accent is generally perceived as favorable to Americans, a recent survey from Highland Titles found.
Overall, Americans found the Irish accent to be the fourth 'most attractive,' ranking behind Australian, Scottish, and London accents.
The Irish accent also landed in third in the 'most charming accents' list, right behind Scottish and Australian accents.
Surprisingly, the Irish accent didn’t crack the top five in the ‘most attractive female accents’ list, though it did land in second (behind Australian) in the ‘most attractive male accents’ ranking.
There was also no love for the Irish accent in the top three ‘most romantic accents’ and ‘most seductive accents,’ both of which went overall to the French accent.
Thankfully, the Irish accent wasn’t ranked in the ‘most annoying accents’ and ‘most boring accents’ lists.
The survey also asked participants for their views on actors with the most enjoyable accents, and Co Antrim’s own Liam Neeson came in second, just after Sean Connery. (While Neeson's accent is certainly enjoyable, it is no doubt difficult for some American listeners!)
Elsewhere in its survey, Highland Titles found that 71% of survey participants said they were interested in dating someone with an accent. 76% of people attracted to women wanted to date someone with an accent, while 67% of those attracted to men did.
Highland Titles said it polled 1,000 Americans (52% were men, and 48% were women) about their perceptions of different national and foreign accents for the study.
Perhaps complicating Americans' perception of Irish accents is the sheer variety that the country has, especially given its relatively small size.
In archive footage, the late comedian and actor Niall Tóibín brilliantly demonstrates the array of Irish accents spread across the island of Ireland:
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