Quirk(e)s of Ireland

Ireland undoubtedly has a lot of quirks. Besides Seamus Quirke Road that displays my last name for all to see, there are things that make me tilt my head and wonder “what in the world is that all about??”. It has been a special experience being in a new country and learning more about the culture of Ireland with all the peculiarities that make it unique. Here I’d like to share some of the top things that make me look extraordinarily like this pug here.

Firstly, have you heard of a Tayto sambo, otherwise known as a Tayto sandwich? I hadn’t either until one of my classmates told me that I had to try it and that everyone our age loves them. What is a Tayto sambo you ask? It is a sandwich made of the classic, white pan bread that is so popular here smothered with Irish salted butter (preferably Kerrygold or the like), filled with Tayto Cheese and Onion “crisps”. That’s it folks. 

I was so bewildered at the idea of this carb-filled sandwich that one exciting lockdown day I decided to try it. Let me tell you… It tasted exactly like a white bread, buttered, potato chip sandwich. If you would like to see a fun video on how to make one of these delicacies for yourself, click here.

Secondly, there is such a thing as an Irish goodbye. Two types to be exact. The first is in a social gathering or party context when a guest will quietly leave without saying goodbye to any of the other guests. This leaves everyone else looking for said person until realizing… they just went home. 

The other Irish goodbye can be illustrated by sharing a brief conversation with our postman that I had last week. When I heard knocking at the door, I opened it to find our postman with a package for me (thanks mom). I quickly grabbed the parcel and said my thanks as he turned and exclaimed a long string of bye bye byes all the way from our front door to the front gate. In fact it is common to hear a long string of byebyebye when saying goodbye to someone in person and on the phone. Reminds you a wee bit of a NSYNC song am I right?

Speaking of our postman, he is a really kind guy who says hello to me and Justin by name when we see him on our walks in the surrounding neighborhoods. The mailmen here have brilliant memories and know pretty much everyone by name in their assigned neighborhoods. This served an important purpose 6 years ago. Before 2014, Ireland did not have postal codes (called eircodes) and an address only gave postmen information about the neighborhood one lived in. In those days, the mailmen had to know everyone in their assigned areas in order to deliver their post. Our pastor who is originally from Texas once told the story of how, when they first moved to Ireland, the postman had a package for him and his wife but the senders neglected to put their names on the parcel. The only clue the postman had was the return address which noted it was from Texas, and the rumors that a certain house in the neighborhood had Texans who recently moved in. Pretty crazy. 

It’s been a wild ride learning to navigate grocery stores here. Instead of Safeway, Trader Joes, or my favorites, Lunardis or Zanottos, we have Tesco, Aldi, and Dunnes. It seems as if everything has different names compared with stores at home. From courgettes for zucchini, aubergine for eggplant, coriander for fresh cilantro, and my favorite, gherkin for pickles, I found myself running laps to find everything on my list. I also remember being very confused outside various “veg” stands when I would see an advertisement for “roosters sold here”. No not the chicken, just a type of popular, Irish potato. 

Everything is very seasonal here too. You are out of luck if you want to find pumpkins outside of a short window surrounding Halloween. It is also nearly impossible to find canned pumpkin; the only store we can find it at is a small specialty store in Dublin. We are also unable to find fresh cranberries and cookie cutters if not around Christmas time. It’s very competitive as well and even though there had been a week and a half before Christmas the five stores that Justin visited all ran out of cookie cutters. But no matter, mason jars, a knife and a little creativity would do.

So many things at the grocery store make me look twice. Take this coupon for example. 

We received it in the post and Justin and I both scratched our heads when trying to understand it. Anyone want 1 euro added to their bill? Don’t worry, after we read the back we realized it was for a good cause, specifically to donate money to Tesco’s chosen fund. 

Another thing. The Weather, with a capital “W”. The weather here is alive, with a personality of its own. When we moved here, I was incredibly intimidated by the damp. People here talk of it as if it is this unslayable foe that you must look out for at all times. I received so many warnings from people in Galway about mould, mildew and water damage and rightly so for Ireland is extremely humid and every apartment we viewed had a damp, mildewy smell. When we moved into our cottage, the damp was everywhere, curling book pages and photographs, and our clothes and towels were always slightly wet. It felt like a foe I had to conquer. We quickly learned that dehumidifiers were lifesavers and mould spray was king. I think we are incredibly fortunate with the home we have; all mildewy smells have since retreated and we thankfully don’t have to deal with mould all that much. 

If you are wondering whether it rains in Ireland as much as you think it does, trust me, it rains more. I had a true ROFL moment this summer when I found out that Ireland banned the song “Rain on Me” by Lady Gaga because it rains so much here that officials were worried the song would rain on people’s mental health. Believe it or not, it rains whether or not there are clouds above your head and both Justin and I have learned to carry rain jackets with us wherever we go (we would just settle for an umbrella, but it is too windy here). It is not uncommon to get a very random, 10 minute downpour that gets you drenched in mere seconds. During these bursts, Irish people will run towards a storefront awning or a nearby tree to have a chat with their neighbor until the rain subsides and they can continue on their business. 

You would think that people here would be totally accustomed to the weather and not pay it any mind. But on the contrary, most Irish people you see on a given day will comment on the weather. Every time we see our landlord, he will exclaim, “terrible weather, isn’t it?” as a greeting.

The weather seems to change a hundred times a day. Peep this weather forecast for December 30th in Galway from the Met Eireann, the Irish Meteorological Service.

“A cold start to Wednesday with rain, sleet and snow clearing in southeastwards during the day. A few bright spells and scattered wintry showers following from the northwest. A very cold day with highest temperatures of 0 to 3 degrees. Winds will be generally light or moderate, varying in direction but becoming northerly later in the day.”

Met Eireann

All over the place, isn’t it?

And lastly, the slang. Words such as wee, lass, and lad are common. When you see someone on the street you will commonly hear a howaya as a greeting, an I’m grand (I’m fine/good/okay), and a crack at the weather if you’re lucky. And speaking of crack, people will often ask, “what’s the craic?” (pronounced crack) or “that party was good craic”. If you have an idea of what it means, you’re probably wrong as craic simply means fun or a good time. Also, pretty much everyone, from a teenager to your local Irish grannie seems to swear here and you’ll often hear the F-bomb casually show up in everyday conversation, except here the “U” is replaced with an “E” and pronounced accordingly. If in a professional setting or around young children, many individuals will substitute with a polite, “Oh, Sugar!”, which I have found hilarious.

Well, there you have it. I could keep going on, but these are the main Irish quirks that have given me a good laugh the past year and a half since moving to Ireland.

Thank you for reading! I hope all of you are doing well and have a blessed New Year filled to the brim with good craic.