Things the Irish would never say

The Irish are popular throughout the world, with millions of people in America, Australia, the UK and elsewhere being of Irish descent.

However, some of the stereotypes attached to the Irish, and the way they behave, are not always accurate.

Here is a list compiled by Irish people, of things that they would never say.

You know what, our politicians do a great job. They’re honest as the day is long and they’re worth every penny they get. More power to them.

People across the world tend to be cynical about politicians. This particularly true in Ireland during the recession when the country was rocked by some property scandals.

Nah! Don’t bother turning off the immersion heater. It’ll be fine… no chance at all of it blowing up.

Concern over the immersion heater can reach paranoia levels in Ireland. It can spoil a night out as people worry about whether or not they switched it off and whether it will have blown up when they get home. At the time of writing, there hasn’t been a single incident involving an immersion heater blowing up but that doesn’t do anything to ease people’s minds.

Well, would you believe it! It’s started raining… I never saw that coming because the weather was so fine a moment ago.

Irish weather is famously unpredictable. Four seasons in one day is commonplace and so no change in the weather comes as a surprise.

Of course I’m not going to dye my hair… I love it ginger!

It’s a bit of a fallacy that nearly all Irish people have red hair. The vast majority don’t, and sometimes take great delight in teasing the minority who do.

My mammy never threatened me with the wooden spoon… it holds no fears for me.

The Irish mammy wielding the dreaded wooden spoon is the stuff of Irish legend. Just the thought of it can send a pang fear through the bravest soul.

Aren’t we lucky to have such a great set of bankers… they’re the saviours of this country.

As in many western countries, the popularity of bankers nosedived during the recession when they were blamed for getting the country into unmanageable debt. The Irish people had to endure several years of austerity to clear up the mess blamed on the bankers, which only added to sense of outrage.

After 10 years learning Irish in school I’m now totally fluent and can easily hold down a conversation.

Many Irish people lament that after learning Irish throughout their school lives, they still can’t speak it properly. As they get older and begin to develop more interest in their country’s culture, some people regret not having paid more attention to Irish lessons.

No thanks, I couldn’t bear a cup of tea.

The Irish are often portrayed as drinking too much alcohol, but the tea is the real national drink.

Top o the morning to ya, to be sure, to be sure!

A favourite cliché for anyone wanting to sound Irish… yet it’s a phrase never used in Ireland.

Walkers crisps are much better than Taytos.

Taytos have something of a national treasure status in Ireland. To prefer Walkers from across the water in England is regarded as unpatriotic.

I’m sick of all this sunshine…wouldn’t a drop of rain be nice for a change.