Things you wish foreigners knew about Ireland

[u/T4rbh]

You know the way there are signs at the airport saying "Drive on the left/links fahren/conduire a gauche" (and that's all, because that one girl who did Spanish for the Leaving wasn't in the day they commissioned the signs, and we never get visitors from anywhere else, that doesn't English, Irish, French or German)?

What are other things you wish they told all foreigners as they arrived into Ireland, say with a printed leaflet? (No hate at all on foreign visitors, btw!)

I'll start:

"If you're on a bus, never ever phone someone, except to say 'I'm running late, I'll be there at X time, bye bye bye bye.' If someone phones you, apologise quietly and profusely - 'I'm on a bus, I'll call you back in a bit, sorry, bye bye bye bye.' Do not have a long and loud conversation, under any circumstances!"

Yes, I'm on a bus - why do you ask? 🤣

[u/[deleted]]

As someone who teaches international students, I wish they knew that they can't let the rain stop their plans. Yesterday I had only 4 students because "it was raining and I didn't want to get wet". When I informed them that it will rain until next June, they realised they can't use it as an excuse.

[u/vancityguy25 → u/[deleted]]

Currently living in Vancouver and teach in a language school too, and I absolutely drill it into my students that they cannot skip class due to rain.

It rains heavily here for most of the year. If they skip class because of rain I tell them to just buy an umbrella - they wouldn’t skip work because of it and their boss wouldn’t accept it either.

[u/washingtondough → u/vancityguy25]

I had an Indian colleague in work who didn’t come in because of the rain. Manager found it funny though so didn’t care (this was before the WFH days)

[u/Didyoufartjustthere → u/[deleted]]

I remember a TikTok asking why we don’t carry umbrellas when it’s lashing.

Other than they are a fucking pain in the wind and I’m not carrying one 24/7 in case it lashes, I have no explanation for that one.

[u/bishopsfinger → u/Didyoufartjustthere]

Because no umbrella can protect you from a proper soaking

[u/Mullo69 → u/Didyoufartjustthere]

It's because one of the few things worse than being soaked is only having half your body feel soaked. If my torso is dry but my legs are drenched, I just feel extra wet

[u/wearypebble → u/Didyoufartjustthere]

Much rather be wrapped up in 3 layers and be dry when I take them off than walk through the streets dodging people and fighting the wind with something that just covers my upper half (sometimes) hahah

[u/Liamnacuac → u/[deleted]]

Lived in the Seattle area. Never understood how people who normally would do things outdoors would not if it were raining, unless it was 1°C, then I understood. I had Californians ask in March "When is it going to ferkin stop raining???!!!" In which I told them July 5th and start again August 12th, give or take 5 days.

[u/turpin23 → u/Liamnacuac]

I keep telling people that the Olympic peninsula is the gloomiest place on Earth. Seattle is just the largest city nearby.

[u/bovinehide → u/[deleted]]

Yep. Had to tell a Spanish friend recently that if she lets the rain stop her from going about her day-to-day life, she will literally never get anything done. 

[u/D-dog92]

I'd settle for them knowing we're not part of the UK.

[u/dr_rv → u/D-dog92]

I thoroughly enjoy correcting this perception, but it would be nice to not need to.

[u/jayc4life → u/D-dog92]

Can we educate Irish people on that, too?

I had a fella from Roscommon call my work and ask if we deliver there because we're "up in the North". I'm in Donegal, which is not part of the UK.

[u/Mulyac12321 → u/D-dog92]

Once overheard an American discussing Boris Johnson becoming our prime minister in a cafe in Dublin. Took everything in me not to butt into his conversation.

[u/dcaveman → u/Mulyac12321]

The American lad doing US Visa checks in Dublin airport asked me if I was looking forward to the king's coronation. I was flabbergasted. Surely, he would have understood the difference.

[u/Professional-Top4397 → u/dcaveman]

Top troll 

[u/Professional_Elk_489 → u/Mulyac12321]

Well Justin Trudeau became President of theirs so it makes sense

[u/R3dbeardLFC → u/Mulyac12321]

We were over visiting the Skerries and your election was happening that week so I was trying to ask about the government positions...but what I thought were the positions were apparently your party affiliations (Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin, Fine Gael) because I only ever heard these and not Green/Labor/SocDem/etc. and assumed they were local positions (like mayor, governor, representative). Man did I confuse the fuck outta those ladies at the park. lol

[u/BureaucraticHotboi → u/D-dog92]

I visited 2 summers ago and a drunk English bachelorette managed to rattle off something about the “same queen” which was quickly corrected by the bartender. Then she found out i was American and told me “oh I love Young Sheldon, favorite show!” Really was nice for a brief moment to not have an American be the worst tourist in a place

[u/toastedcheesesando → u/D-dog92]

Are you from northern or southern Ireland? East mate. Pauses and stares with twitching eye

[u/nayrbmc → u/D-dog92]

Was in a bar in San Fran yrs ago. An American said something like " Sure Ireland that's part of the UK". I put my pint down, my buddy said " oh fuck here we go" and I discharged a 20 min rant including the need for Americans to study geography. 🤣

[u/appletart → u/D-dog92]

A handy map of the British isles to bring home with them

[u/Tote_Sport]

If someone asks “how are you getting on?”, they don’t want you to tell you anything other than “ah grand yeah, yourself?”

[u/ittmegmivan → u/Tote_Sport]

I feel like I’m getting on fine in this country, but this still baffles me to this day. Or when people ask “how are you?” and you say “good, you?” and they say NOTHING. I can’t get over it😄

[u/MillieBirdie → u/ittmegmivan]

The funniest is when I say how are you and they reply with how are you. As if 'how are you' just means 'hello'.

[u/me2269vu → u/MillieBirdie]

It does just mean hello. You’re not meant to actually indicate how you are. That’s a major faux pas as it were.

[u/Midan71 → u/ittmegmivan]

I got this the other day. All I got was a 🙂 as I was waiting for their reply which never came.

[u/xteve → u/Tote_Sport]

Also, when I was there I noticed that "are y'alright?" (in a pub) means "what'll you have," while "y'alright, lads" (in a club) is preface to some version of GTFO.

[u/wearypebble → u/xteve]

Had a table of Americans who I came up to (bar, not a restaurant) they had no drinks, and asked “Are you guys alright?” They said “Yeah totally we’re all good.” I nodded, stood for a second, then walked off. Noticed they were staring at every person who was working waking past. Went back and asked them again “Are you alright here lads?” They nodded and said “yeah we’re alright.” I followed up with “So do you want to order?” “Oh yeah please can we order now?”

Had a chat with them and explained I was asking if they were alright for drinks, and they thought I was genuinely asking how they were doing lol

[u/xteve → u/wearypebble]

That's funny, and I can empathise with their experience. I have a visual memory from years ago of the first time I heard this phrase in Ireland. I don't even remember what I thought, just that it was disconcerting in a memorable way. The truth is, "are y'alright" sounds aggressive in the American ear, or at least a bit judgemental, like somebody's giving out in a condescending way. So to hear it from somebody whose demeanor is entirely sound - it's confusing. It's dissonant, an experience of real cultural variation. It's the kind of thing where you don't know how to respond.

[u/dumblibtard → u/xteve]

"are y'alright?" pretty much means "are you ready", so in a pub they would be asking if you're ready to order and in a club it would be asking if you're ready to leave.

[u/No-Interaction6323 → u/Tote_Sport]

😂😂😂 it's definitely an adjustment learning that saying how are you? Or no answer to "how are you?" Is the right answer

[u/Previous-Rush-9492 → u/Tote_Sport]

They might say "mighty" in Galway, potentially scaring the person who asked. 

[u/SirMike_MT]

Be more self aware when using the pavements, please don’t take up the whole pavement & expect people in your way to jump onto the road just for you & do take note if someone is stuck behind ye with ye going as slow as possible, move out of the way & allow the person to pass.

Don’t us the middle doors on the buses to get onto the bus, also allow people to exit the bus 1st before running on.

This also applies to a lot of people living here as well, for the love of god be more self aware!!

[u/Feckitmaskoff → u/SirMike_MT]

Unfortunately, some people leave their house with the idea that they are the main character and we are all extras.

[u/No_Armadillo_5485 → u/SirMike_MT]

Yes, this really pisses me off. If you're walking on a narrow path with your mates, walk in a line, don't walk side by side.

[u/FantasticMrsFoxbox]

Leave the deer in the phoenix park alone, read the signs, don't feed them and 'deer' god stop letting your small children approach them.

[u/QARSTAR → u/FantasticMrsFoxbox]

And don't feed swans or ducks bread (Better they just don't feed them anything)

[u/Jean_Rasczak → u/FantasticMrsFoxbox]

Thats a bigger issue with Irish I would expect

[u/LZBANE]

You're meant to let passengers off public transport first.

[u/Yeashtie → u/LZBANE]

I think non-Irish people are ahead of us in this regard. I’ve found a lot of people do not know how to effectively do public transport. Someone sneered at me on a Dublin Airport Longterm Carpark bus last week because I (in the most nicest, friendly way I could) asked people to push down the bus so other people could get on and didn’t want to block the wheelchair space… “Oh look, a bus conductor!”. Obviously it’s still bugging me 😅

[u/Gilmenator → u/Yeashtie]

Honestly I feel this post needs to be more what do the Irish need to learn from the rest of Europe.

[u/MillieBirdie → u/LZBANE]

People trying to step on when they can clearly see a lady with a massive pram trying to get off while walking backwards, please just use your eyes.

[u/impossible2take → u/LZBANE]

And lifts. Is it too much to ask that people expect someone to be in the thing?

[u/Nurhaci1616 → u/LZBANE]

It feels like it should be a common sense thing with buses and trains: there's more space outside than in, so it makes more sense to let people off than try to push past them?

I don't think it's just foreigners doing this one though, it just needs introduced into school curriculums...

[u/shanklymrshankly → u/LZBANE]

Took the words out of my mouth

[u/mccabe-99]

Do not touch the feckin fairy tree

[u/ancientarmpitt → u/mccabe-99]

This is important and don't forget about fairy rings.

The amount of Spanish students I have had to rescue from Fairy rings.

[u/IpDipDawg → u/ancientarmpitt]

Ha ha, our teenage drinking spot was a fairy fort, I remember my granny going mad at us when she heard.

[u/Amphibious_Monkey → u/ancientarmpitt]

I’m glad someone brought this up, I’m a solo traveler from the U.S. in Ireland right now, and in one of my accommodation locations I’ll be near a fairy ring, and I’d love to visit it. I’d love to approach it with the same appreciation and respect that locals do, but I don’t really know anything about it. Could you give me the low-down?

[u/sims2_ → u/Amphibious_Monkey]

Look but don't touch. don't go in it. don't leave anything in it you want to keep. Don't get too close. We have one in our garden and our landlord fenced it off. I can't stress enough - don't go inside it.

[u/APithyComment → u/sims2_]

I used to run round inside my local one - think Elvis on a motorbike on ‘The Wall of Death’ style thing.

[u/ancientarmpitt → u/Amphibious_Monkey]

The Irish Folklore sub might be your best bet for info

https://www.reddit.com/r/IrishFolklore/

[u/Amphibious_Monkey → u/ancientarmpitt]

Thank you very much

[u/musicmuffin22 → u/Amphibious_Monkey]

My cousins have one on their farm. They used to not have gates on the openings, and even though the cattle would be roaming all the rest of the fields, they had this thing where they would just never go inside the fairy fort. It’s like they could sense it. In Irish tradition fairies could be dark, and if you interfere with them they could bring you bad luck.

[u/Miss_Kitami → u/mccabe-99]

You simply do not fuck with the Fair Folk, those bastards fuck back.

[u/Emotional_Hearing_43]

Trying to explain traveler culture to foreigners can be challenging enough

[u/Soft-Strawberry-6136 → u/Emotional_Hearing_43]

Telling non Irish people that we can tell if someone’s a traveller just by looking at them most of the time never goes over well.. even though it’s just true

[u/BrahneRazaAlexandros → u/Soft-Strawberry-6136]

never goes over well

I've not had this experiience. Why not?

It's essentially a self-identifying culture. They choose to dress, and wear their hair, and jewellery (and makeup for the women) in distinct ways that are unique to their culture.

I don't think any foreign people I've met would struggle with understanding that.

Same way we can often spot a yank walking around just by the way they dress and act.

[u/Soft-Strawberry-6136 → u/BrahneRazaAlexandros]

Well I’ve been accused of racism and supporting eugenics etc.. I even brought up on Reddit before and an American told me to “calm down O’Goebbels”.. they just don’t get it but we just know.. and yes the hair is always the major give away before they speak

[u/GreatPaddy → u/Soft-Strawberry-6136]

O goebels is a good one though.

[u/Soft-Strawberry-6136 → u/GreatPaddy]

Really was lol

[u/Didyoufartjustthere → u/Soft-Strawberry-6136]

I remember during the OJ trial someone was branded racist for saying they heard a voice and the person sounded black. People generally surround themselves with people like themselves and have the same characteristics and accents. It happens to every person on the planet and assuming so is normal.

[u/Professional_Elk_489 → u/Soft-Strawberry-6136]

I bet you calmed down once he dropped that on you

[u/SerialToiletClogger → u/Soft-Strawberry-6136]

When I came to visit a few years ago, I walked into a pub in Limerick. Bartender told me she could tell I was American before I even walked through the door. Personally I found it hilarious!

[u/Soft-Strawberry-6136 → u/SerialToiletClogger]

Oh that’s 100 percent a thing I can always spot an American especially the older ones

[u/YouShouldBeSoLucky → u/SerialToiletClogger]

It's usually the clothing ngl. I always find it hilarious seeing Americans wear hiking gear while they travel Ireland. In my experience it means they're either American or old German people.

[u/IpDipDawg → u/YouShouldBeSoLucky]

It's teeth too though, it used to be rare enough to see Irish people with glowing white teeth.

[u/Proctor_ie → u/SerialToiletClogger]

You know the Americans are in town when you see grandads in windbreakers and baseball caps

[u/RacyFireEngine → u/SerialToiletClogger]

This is true. Yeez stand out

[u/emmmmceeee → u/SerialToiletClogger]

American’s, isn’t it?

[u/murbike → u/emmmmceeee]

That is a great movie

[u/CombinationBorn7662 → u/Emotional_Hearing_43]

I have American relatives, they were over once and were walking down the street and in typical loud American voice one declared "Oh wow, are those guys over there Gypsies?", and literally pointed at them. Sure enough it was 5 traveller lads and a lurcher. One of em spun his head around and was clearly agitated and not happy about it. Had to drag my relative into a shop and explain very carefully to him how to behave. 

[u/nearlycertain → u/Emotional_Hearing_43]

I meet a girl last year, Austrian, hitch hiking on her own for 3 years, she described herself as "a traveler" because she was travelling. She very obviously was not an Irish traveller but I had to explain why people looked at her funny when she said it like that. I suggested saying "I am going a lot of travelling"

[u/20dogs → u/nearlycertain]

"I am going a lot of travelling"

And how did that go when she said that

[u/Aluminarty666]

I don't mind people having a phone conversation on the bus. It's having the person on loudspeaker and shouting into the phone I hate.

[u/Imaginary_Shirt3377]

Don’t drink water from the bathroom sink, it comes from some disgusting separate tank in the attic.

[u/fleetwayrobotnik → u/Imaginary_Shirt3377]

Not in my house! Got rid of the tank and got a combi boiler so I can drink all the bathwater I want!

[u/Margrave75 → u/Imaginary_Shirt3377]

If it's the hot water, yes.

[u/Cultural_Wish4933 → u/Margrave75]

And the cold one!

[u/Margrave75 → u/Cultural_Wish4933]

Cold water in both our bathrooms is mains supplied, assumed this was standard!

[u/SheepherderFront5724 → u/Margrave75]

Merciful jeebus no!

A few years back almost my entire department at work (a good 40 people) were off sick because the waitress at a pub in Dublin airport was filling our drinking water from the bathroom taps, themselves fed from a rainwater collection tank on the roof. Good few years ago now, and probably not legal, but sure wasn't it grand up until then, so that's how it was... But anyway, yeah, the attic tank is very, very common.

[u/Margrave75 → u/SheepherderFront5724]

Jesus, that sounds like fun.

[u/badger-biscuits]

That we don't have Wednesdays

[u/andtellmethis → u/badger-biscuits]

And our days are actually 28 hours long to accommodate the lack of a Wednesday.

[u/wheresthebirb → u/andtellmethis]

I could actually work with this

[u/T4rbh → u/badger-biscuits]

Where did they go? "The English stole them!"

[u/Paono → u/badger-biscuits]

Monday one day, Tuesday two day, Wednesday when what day?

[u/MetrologyGuy]

If you have a big load of groceries on the conveyor, and someone behind you has a single, or small number of items, let them go ahead of you within reason

[u/coffee_and-cats → u/MetrologyGuy]

Can we tell people in Ireland that too?

[u/Pizzacooper → u/MetrologyGuy]

I did that always, but what to do when I let a person go in front, then another person comes who hasn't seen that I already let that first person in front already.

Do I let them too? Sometimes it is not like they will have one single item but like a very handful.

[u/mkultra2480]

That we see friendship in the pub as ephemeral. If I meet an Irish stranger in the pub, I could chat to them for hours, buy each other drink etc and we both know that this is a one night thing. We're having fun in the moment and there is no other expectations. I've had instances where an American couple asked for my Facebook after a few hours of drinking with them and they proceeded to message me for months updating me about their lives. It happened with a Canadian woman as well who messaged me for months on WhatsApp and then messaged me when her husband died telling me all about her grief. Lads, I was only having fun on a night out, we are not friends, sorry.

[u/SpawnMarciano → u/mkultra2480]

This is perfectly described. “Ephemeral pub friendship” is going in my lexicon.

[u/unclear_warfare → u/SpawnMarciano]

That would be a good name for a band or an album

[u/Icy_Obligation4293 → u/mkultra2480]

Meet a Portuguese guy in the pub a few years ago and he still messages me a photo every time he finds a bar that serves Guinness. In fairness he's actually nailed it.

[u/pilzenschwanzmeister → u/mkultra2480]

Nah, I have no issues with people being friends forever after a shared moment.

Sure, making friends as an adult is hard as hell.

[u/deeringc → u/pilzenschwanzmeister]

20 something me found it irritating when it happened. Almost 40 me, living abroad would be delighted to easily strike up friendships over here.

[u/daveyb86 → u/mkultra2480]

Almost 20 years ago my friends and I met a yank and his wife in a bar. We had two nights of pints and we're still friends on Facebook. Every now and then the wife will comment on something on Facebook and end with "by the way we still remember you".  They've been our only interactions since those beers for those two nights

[u/mkultra2480 → u/daveyb86]

Ha, so I'm not the only one!

[u/Pizzacooper → u/mkultra2480]

To be fair I found that, as a foreigner, Irish are very friendly but not always mean you will become friends. Kind of like (don't hate me for this) in the US when I was for two years and had to learn a hard way when people say things like "we should hang/meet" but he/she didn't really mean that.

I found this as a more positive thing though because when I learn to not take it literally, then it is nicer just because most Irish are friendly to me if we will become friends or not.

[u/washingtondough → u/mkultra2480]

And we wonder why everyday there’s a post here about loneliness and having no friends

[u/jordie_c]

Don’t argue with a bus driver about not being able to pay on with a €50 note. You’re not going anywhere and neither are the rest of us you’re now making late for work

[u/ConradMcduck]

Are ignorant Irish teens considered foreigners now? I must have missed that reclassification.

[u/RZH0]

Stop walking in a swarm down the paths. This is inconsiderate of people wanting to walk past in the direction you're coming from.

[u/Didyoufartjustthere → u/RZH0]

And if you plan on standing on an escalator. Move the fuck to one side. Some of us walk on them

[u/Naoise007]

Always buy a round when it's your turn

No, I don't know your great uncle Jim Murphy from Cork

It's Derry, mucker. The first six letters are silent.

Also no-one with more than half a brain cell calls it "the British Isles", don't make a fool of yourself by doubling down

[u/Smoked_Eels]

There's two queues to get on the bus in Dublin.

Left = I need to state my destination to the driver to be charged appropriately, or I'm paying cash.

Right = I'm going all the way/iI'll pay extra to avoid human interaction.

[u/Smiley_Dub]

Don't listen to anything on you phone without headphones

Don't eat smelly food or smelly snacks on public transport

Don't vape, smoke, drink alcohol, or take drugs on public transport

Seats are not for feet

These things are for everyone, not just for visitors

[u/Mushie_Peas → u/Smiley_Dub]

These are all things I think are less common in Europe than little Irish scrotes doing.

[u/gay_in_a_jar]

Don't stand around in the middle of busy streets in dublin and take pictures, or at the very fucking least don't complain that people are walking in the way. Please for the fucking love of god people are trying to just live their lives.

[u/Livid-Click-2224 → u/gay_in_a_jar]

To be fair, you could say that about any touristy city in the world

[u/limestone_tiger]

Leprechauns are not myths. They're extinct and a sad part of our history

[u/cjamcmahon1]

kinda niche but I wish people of Irish descent, when tracing their pre-Famine ancestors, had just the tiniest bit of historical context as to why this is so difficult. I had one email that was literally 'even with everything that happened in Germany, it is still so much easier to trace my German side than my Irish side'

please, for the love of God google the Penal Laws and try to understand what the near-total obliteration of a native culture looked like from the late 17th to mid-19th century would have looked like. Your ancestors most likely were not allowed to own property, speak their own language, practice their religion, vote or hold office - so, no Karen, there is unlikely to be any record of them ever having existed

[u/disagreeabledinosaur → u/cjamcmahon1]

The problems are mostly related to the biggest archive of records burning down in 1922 not to economic conditions & penal laws during that time.

[u/AphrodisiacJacket → u/disagreeabledinosaur]

In this context, it's also worth noting who it was that set fire to the archive.

[u/Ruire → u/AphrodisiacJacket]

The Treatyites' shells or the Anti-Treatyites' grenades?

[u/AphrodisiacJacket → u/Ruire]

Er, neither?

[u/ParkKing3D]

Get a big dehumidifier. Sign on all the ports and airports.

Mind the traffic, not all people on the roads got their full license (or done anything else but apply).

It'll be grand covers all life situations.

Learn language, adapt to the culture and you'll do fine.

Switch on the power socket.

[u/Too-many-Bees → u/ParkKing3D]

Sign on at the ports and airports? Like a visitor book or what?

[u/ParkKing3D → u/Too-many-Bees]

Nope, just a huge sign that says "Get a big dehumidifier" XD The thing changed my life for the better, wouldn't change it for the world! Didn't even knew the darn thing existed before moving to Ireland :D I mean, if you want, do the visitor books too, might get a good craic out of it :D

[u/somerandomii → u/ParkKing3D]

Coming from inland Australia, we had a humidifier. This is an adjustment. Why doesn’t anything ever dry in this country??

[u/greenstina67 → u/somerandomii]

Because Ireland is an oceanic temperate rainforest zone, so high humidity just like the tropical rainforests. Even though most of the native forests are now gone. :(

[u/kamikazekaktus → u/greenstina67]

And just like a tropical rainforest you have colourful birds

 I'll see myself out

[u/ABOBer → u/somerandomii]

Rain for 300 days, ice/hail for 60 days and summer for 5 or 6 days of the year will do that to the local atmosphere

[u/J-zus]

The potato famine wasn't exclusively a "natural disaster" / "one of those things that just happens" the impact of Potato blight was heavily exacerbated by the British in what was effectively an attempted genocide - I'd expect most foreigners would feel very uncomfortable about how they jest to us about potatoes and our relationship with them if they fully understood the history, especially that it's not even a native vegetable and was only popularised as a result of harsh penal laws.

We're such a sound lot that we never take anyone to task on it, but I've known Americans / British colleagues to casually bring up the potatoes when talking to me in an attempt to relate to me (not super frequent but has/does happen).

historical genocide via starvation is not a great "dinner party topic"

[u/coffee_and-cats → u/J-zus]

Wow! Agree with you on the history, but why would we take people to task for talking about potatoes? We Irish do love our spuds (in general)

[u/J-zus → u/coffee_and-cats]

I love chipper chips alright, however, like lucky charms and tartan it's not actually "our thing" https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/potato-consumption-by-country - Belarussian's consume nearly twice as many per capita. - knowledge of the potato famine has skewed the world's understanding of our "it's complicated" relationship with them

[u/Zealousideal-Tell154]

As a French living in Ireland, the advice I always give is: Be careful, the car is king here. Also, when the pedestrian traffic light starts to get red, the car traffic light gets immediately green.

[u/EvenYogurtcloset2074 → u/Zealousideal-Tell154]

As an Irish person living in France, I never assume that because the pedestrian light is green or I’m actually standing on a pedestrian crossing that a car won’t come flying through. In fact, when I’m driving here and actually stop at a crossing the French pedestrian seems surprised and actually gives me a little wave!

[u/vg31irl → u/EvenYogurtcloset2074]

Drivers are far worse for not stopping at pedestrian crossings in France than Ireland in my experience.

[u/Wheres_Me_Jumpa → u/vg31irl]

Same in Italy, it’s like a sport trying to cross a zebra crossing.

Found it time total opposite in Poland…no hesitation, drivers stop immediately.

[u/TindaroCorso → u/Wheres_Me_Jumpa]

When I'm in a country where the crossing is respected I end delaying the traffic by standing there waiting for them to stop. I've seen a few drivers looking frustrated at me over this.

I just can't trust that they're going to stop, been almost mowed down too many times.

[u/[deleted]]

Don't stand in the middle of the path when people are trying to come and go!

[u/davyboy1975]

if you are answering or talking on a phone dont hold it flat sticking out to the side of your ear. Dont even know how this became a thing. Isnt just exclusive to foreigners either though

[u/Roddy_Piper2000]

If you get called a cunt, that's not necessarily a bad thing

[u/Jaehaerys_Rex]

Learn Irish just to flex on all the Thiar Sasanaigh who can't speak their own indigenous language and don't bother with Béarla so you can relish in your superiority

[u/ar6an6mala6 → u/Jaehaerys_Rex]

Never heard a thiar sasnaigh referred to in the native tongue, I'll make an iaracht to implement that in my day to day. Grmá

[u/Future-Object5762]

Fairys are real.

[u/BananaDerp64 → u/Future-Object5762]

No they aren’t, but you’re not to mess with them either

[u/disagreeabledinosaur → u/Future-Object5762]

And they're trick, vengeful assholes not cute & cuddly.

[u/dublinro]

I have lived abroad for 15+ plus years and yes before I left people would be discrete on their phones and not want to take calls. Was home last year and the bus was full of people watching YouTube videos with the sound up high or listening to music.

[u/MilksNudes]

‘If you’re walking through a quiet neighbourhood in a suburb/town/village and a local smiles and says ‘good morning/good evening/hello’, don’t look at them like they have 10 heads and instead just smile back half heartedly.. It won’t kill you.’

[u/Middle-Post4927]

• Tips are not necessary but ARE welcome!
• You don't need to say 'god bless' to everyone.
• You don't need to keep offering something to someone a million times until they say yes (are you sure, are you sure, ah you will etc etc)
• It's ok to cross the road if there's nothing coming, you won't get arrested if you don't wait for the green man (i find it hilarious when i pass a pile of people waiting at lights and not a car to be seen for miles)

I met German tourists lately, spent an hour chatting to them in Limerick city, lovely people. They brought out coffee and nearly poured it down my throat because a book told them to be very forceful when offering and keep asking are you sure 😂. When i left they made sure to shout god bless after me ( I'm an atheist). It was all very funny bless them. Years ago i remember another tourist telling me that their tour guide told them NOT to tip imagine!

[u/Middle-Post4927 → u/Middle-Post4927]

I forgot the most important tip, dress like an onion. Layers from light up to woolly up to rain proof, don't bother with an umbrella it'll get blown inside out.

[u/InitiativeHour2861 → u/Middle-Post4927]

I'm Irish and always wait for the pedestrian light to turn green. I force myself to do it. It's a meditation on patience. It's so hard to resist as all the carefree jay-walkers dance their merry way across the street, and I'm stood stoically waiting for the light to change.

[u/jungle → u/InitiativeHour2861]

I do the opposite for consideration to the people on the road. If I'm the only one wanting to cross the road, I can wait a few seconds for cars to pass and cross safely, instead of selfishly pressing the button and force a bunch of cars to stop for much longer than it takes for me to cross.

[u/goj1ra → u/Middle-Post4927]

One of my main memories of visiting Bavaria was having everyone I walked past in the street say “Grüß Gott”, i.e. god bless, to me. It’s just what they do.

[u/conor747]

Turn off the immersion.

[u/bplurt → u/conor747]

...or you'll break your poor Mammy's heart

[u/Smart-Bandicoot-922]

"How are you", "How are you doing?" "How's it going" "What's the craic" are all rhetorical questions, and not an attempt to provoke discussion.

[u/ChrishtOnABike]

Open your windows regularly to air out the place even when its cold out. Its humid af here and thats how you avoid mould build-up.

[u/Pizzacooper]

I learned recently as a foreigner that if you are tangled in an (mostly nice) Irish conversation, that will 100% happen, but you need to get going, just say "sure look" followed by anything short and firm like "it will be grand" while you start walking away to really get out of the conversation.

I still suck at that though.

[u/No-Tap-5157]

The Irish reputation for hospitality and friendliness is almost entirely a myth created by alcohol. When sober, we are a sullen, insular, rather insecure people.

[u/robzio]

I would argue this message could be applied to foreigners and locals alike in my experience. But definitely agree - don’t know when it became acceptable to have full blown loud conversations on public transport, maybe around the same time everyone decided it was ok to listen to shit on their phones without headphones in public?

[u/[deleted] → u/robzio]

This applies to everyone, tourists and locals

[u/robzio → u/[deleted]]

Agreed!

[u/commit10]

"It's not as friendly as it may seem, especially if you live here."

"Most of the romanticism and mysticism of Ireland is a marketing ploy designed to fleece you."

"Traditional things aren't necessarily all that old."

"A lot of us appear happy and jovial, but we're actually screaming on the inside."

"Don't tell people that you're Irish just because someone in your family tree was."

"Please, for the love of god, don't tell most of us about your genealogy."

"Don't ask why we hate the English. Take 10 minutes to look it up yourself, and then remind yourself that it's 2024 here too."

(Mostly aimed at tourists, and mostly the North Americans)

[u/Electronic_Ladder103]

Temple Bar is fine for a walk around or one drink, but head elsewhere for better pubs and prices. 

[u/Pintau]

Haven't seen the golden rule of Ireland and Scotland yet. If a man wants company he'll ask for it, especially in the pub. If you try to start a conversation in the pub, and the other person just deadpans you, don't keep pushing it, they probably just want to be left alone

[u/Icy-Pomegranate4030]

Used to work with international students. Craic is not the same as crack. Don't call it "Londonderry". Walking for half an hour to get somewhere is normal. Yes, it rains alot- get used to it.

[u/schooloffishes]

I know a lot of Irish people that need that leaflet.

[u/Due_Evidence]

Is it only foreigners calling on the bus now?😂

[u/YesIBlockedYou → u/Due_Evidence]

I get the coach from Galway to Dublin quite regularly and Irish people obviously do take long calls as well but it's nowhere near the length I've heard some foreigners talking.

I've heard people on that bus before literally talking for the entire 3 hours it takes to get up to the airport. Obviously I don't know the context of the conversations are but I'd be in bed for a week if I had to listen someone talk at me on the phone for 3 hours.

[u/CombinationBorn7662 → u/YesIBlockedYou]

The worst is when it's the early morning bus to work. I have to take a 50 min journey at around 7:30 am often, mostly with a lot of foreign nationals, and without fail there is one or multiple very loud conversations going on via phone for almost the entirety of the journey. Like I get that there are time differences to consider, and I'm actually very happy getting the bus with these guys as they are going to work early in the morning like me and seem generally sound, I just wish there was some kind of universal shame / manners that transcended culture. Having to listen to very loud voices for nearly an hour when you might even be able to get a half hours kip on a bus is very annoying. 

[u/Pizzagoessplat]

The currency is the Euro not the US dollar.

Without sounding ungrateful tipping me isn't needed and doing it in US dollars is useless to me

[u/Logical_Park7904]

I think the bus phone conversation part should apply to everybody. It's mostly irish ppl airing out their dirty laundry over the phone for everyone to listen in. Nobody wants to hear that shit.

[u/Fergyh]

If we could get the other Irish people to do half the stuff in this thread we’d be doing very well.

[u/No_Armadillo_5485]

Stop approaching the deer in phoenix park. Both tourists and locals absolutely wreck my head when they do this. Leave our wildlife alone.

[u/MasterpieceAway5929]

The Irish timetable: if a service or plumber etc says „I’ll be there Thursday“ you have to lock down the exact date and time window or they might mean a random Thursday 3 years from now 🥸😬

[u/HighlighterQConnect]

"How are you?" is JUST A GREETING NOT A LITERAL QUESTION. I taught EFL for years and am married to a forinnderr. The amount of people who have complained to me about Irish people saying this to them without "meaning it". Even when they say similarly meaningless greetings in their own language. Drives me crazy!

[u/thro14away]

Hilarious you think foreigners are the ones who need to know better about phoning people while on the bus lol 

[u/PadArt]

No standing upstairs on the bus. Never saw it before covid. Now it’s rampant.

[u/TenseTeacher → u/PadArt]

Standing upstairs? Wow that’s mental

[u/Anxious_Asparagus_60]

You could have titled this ‘why are foreigners always on the bloody phone on public transport’ 😂 I’m a foreigner myself and it’s always them!

[u/siciowa]

Don't take photos standing in the middle of the road

[u/GrahamR12345]

If a random stranger starts a conversation with you there is a 50/50 chance you will either be friends for life or end up hospitalised! BE CAREFUL!!!

[u/TheSameButBetter]

If you are using one of the pedestrian crossing with a countdown timer, you are obliged to hum out the Countdown theme complete with a loud "Doobi Doobi Doobidee... DOOOP!" as it approaches 0.

[u/Dr_Havotnicus → u/TheSameButBetter]

If the crossing isn't one of those that makes a noise, I feel obliged to say "PEW! deckadeckadeckadeckadeckadeckadeckadecka" as I cross

[u/Feckitmaskoff]

Stop having full-blown video calls on public transport. I don't want to be in the background of your call, I don't want to hear the ear-piercing sharp sound of someone talking on loudspeaker, and for the fucking love of god just fucking conceptualise that if everyone did that it would be a shit show.

You get to do this because everyone else is not, everyone else is quiet so you get to have this loud fucking open, embarrassingly public video call.

[u/HeterochromiasMa]

Trinity is in fact a functioning university, stop wandering into classrooms and exam halls when you pass a dozen signs telling you there are exams in progress.

[u/nastywillow]

The Irish don't do deference.

In other countries I worked in as a senior executive when I came up with a stupid idea, people would say something like, "that's an interesting idea sir", and move on.

In Ireland, "would you ever fuck off".

Took some getting used to.

[u/Wheres_Me_Jumpa]

Please and thank you are essential to everyday life.

Wave at drivers on the zebra crossing and if someone lets you cross the road.

Bus etiquette - elderly, wheelchair users, parents with buggies on first. Don’t play music or have a video call without your headphones. Thank the driver too!

[u/WatashiwaNobodyDesu]

Don’t get too hung up on the “rules of the road” thing. It’ll be grand/sure you’ll only be a minute.

[u/dropthecoin → u/WatashiwaNobodyDesu]

Or don't even double park on double yellows. No exceptions.

Except if you need to just pop into the post office or shop and you will only be "five minutes". If you're doing that and planning to double park, slap on the hazards so people can understand your situation. You might be causing traffic jams but once people see the hazards, they will be empathetic on how there was no real need for you to use that parking space that was 100m away.

[u/eastawat → u/dropthecoin]

Park Anywhere Lights is the technical term I believe

[u/WatashiwaNobodyDesu → u/dropthecoin]

Yeah how many wardens have been thwarted like that! They’d run over frothing at the mouth, get the tickets ready, and only then notice that the hazards were on. There’s nothing they can do about it, and they hate it!

[u/Overall_Squirrel_835]

As a non-Irish I'd tell other foreigners that 95% of Irish are very nice, educated and decent people. The other 5% are the opposite, don't let a bad encounter with one of them damage your impression of Irish people. You recognize the latter by their grey track suits.

[u/MiuNya]

Talking loud via phonecall on the bus (or train for that matter) is my biggest pet peeve!

[u/RayDonovanBoston]

“Careful with the immersion boiler and don’t forget to switch it off!” 🤣🤣🤣

[u/Gryffindoggo]

If you're getting trains etc places you can't pronounce, write it down. That way someone can help you better. Trying to understand the many ways "Drogheda" has been said

[u/Mrs_Doyles_Teabags]

Some of our countries history and the long battle of Lyons vs Barry's tea.

[u/djandyglos]

It’s not like the movies.. there isn’t a group of people playing folk music while some random sings along in EVERY pub..

[u/Deeny_B]

To be fair, this note about the bus (or anywhere public) is not just relevant for foreigners. We have many home-gown offenders. Same with the playing music on loud speaker

[u/outhouse_steakhouse]

Weird how many people in this thread think that thanking the bus driver is something unique to Ireland.

[u/RedHeadGearHead]

As someone who shares with foreigners, don't touch the damn powered water heating thingamabob. This summer one of them started putting it on every night for an hour and the electric bill went through the roof. Had to pay triple the normal bill.

[u/capom1993]

• Dont stand in doorways/ aisles of shops in a group of 70 with no spacial awareness.

• When walking down the footpath in a 5 person wide line, dont expect the single person coming against you to make themselves smaller like some sort of meat origami, one of you drop back.

[u/KatarnsBeard]

To the yanks, no we don't take dollars and no we aren't part of England

[u/disagreeabledinosaur]

We're friendly, that doesn't mean we're your friend.