What’s the crack? What about ya? How’s yer man?
Grand! You could be mistaken for thinking it isn’t English, but it is in fact! In Ireland (Éire, or the ‘Emerald Isle’ as the locals call it), they have their own unique set of vocabulary that is often lost in translation.
Ireland is the second largest island of the British Isles, with Great Britain being the largest (England, Scotland, and Wales). What is confusing is where Northern Ireland fits in because, actually, geopolitically, Ireland is divided between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Great Britain and Northern Ireland constitute the United Kingdom.
Are you still with me? Despite sharing an open border, the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland do not get on well, to put it mildly. ROI is an independent state with its own government, whereas Northern Ireland’s political power is held by the UK government, so tensions often run high.
The population of the entire island is just over 7 million, with Dublin being the capital of the Republic, whilst Belfast is the capital in the North. Dublin is also the largest and most populated city, home to around 2 million. A relatively flat country with low-lying mountainous coastal areas, Ireland is famous for its greenery and beautiful scenery and its coastline has been featured in many famous movies and TV shows.
Agriculture and farming were, for the longest time, the biggest source of income, although nowadays, tourism, food, financial services, energy and most notably, IT are the leading industries. A number of multinational companies have based their European headquarters in Dublin - Facebook, Yahoo! , Microsoft, Google, to name just a few.
Ireland went from being one of the poorest regions in Europe to its second wealthiest in 2021, trailing only behind Luxembourg. Recording a total of 11 million visitors in 2019, Ireland ranked 23rd in the world for tourists. Dublin receives the most tourists who look to soak up the Celtic culture, the landscape, and the nature, but also the buzzing lifestyle which has been described as metropolitan and urbanized in recent years.
Recognized worldwide as a country of great writers, poets and playwrights, the Irish generally love a good book! James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, W. B.
Yeats, and Samuel Beckett are just a handful of their famed literates who are celebrated throughout the country with various statues, museums and libraries dedicated to them. Guinness is, undoubtedly, one of the most famous brands to come out of Ireland (along with Jameson Whiskey and Bailey’s Liqueur). .
. you could say they love a drink, those Irish! Irish pubs and bars are littered across the world (McThis or McThat!
) and you will definitely have heard of St Patrick’s Day which is observed internationally on March 17th each year and entails a lot of drinking, parades and all things green! This special day began as a religious ceremony, but has evolved over time into a simple celebration of Irish culture. So aside from drinking and reading, how do the Irish spend their time?
Rugby, football, hurling, boxing, surfing, and horse-racing are amongst the most popular sports whilst hiking and folklore are favoured pastimes. Who hasn’t heard of a lucky leprechaun with a four-leaf clover and a jolly green giant for a friend…chances are they all originated in the Emerald Isle! Sláinte…it’s your round!
