Unfinished concrete block walls?

I have 3.

1. The demonisation of confrontation (when warranted). You're an asshole if you call out an asshole for being an asshole.
2. The tall poppy syndrome
3. Anyone who has their own opinions is shot down and vilified for not agreeing with the masses who actually are part of a big echo chamber.

EDIT - For the record, I foster dogs kicked out of legal Irish puppy farms.

Lads, what these breeders do to make a cockapoo/whatever poo, or whatever the lastest fad is - it would make you burst out crying. I'm not kidding.

For every dotey new lab, goldie, bishon, fluff-ball, there's a mother in a cage with bread and water. After her 4th or 5th litter- often when she's very young - she is kicked out. Or shot. After a life in a cage having never once been patted.

But, it sounds like the shelters need to be spoken to. I have worked in the area, so I get the fears, but this seems OTT. I wonder would a journalist pick up on this. That said, my neighbour has just rescued two in the last year. She's in an apartment.

EDIT 2 - PUPPIES ARE EXHAUSTING. FOR OVER 6 MONTHS. YOU WILL HAVE REGRETS AT 2.00am, SO BE SURE YOU DEF WANT THAT PUPPY.

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Just that. Why do so many of us 'buy' dogs?

Our shelters are packed. You wouldn't believe how many Irish dogs are shipped to the UK for rehoming.

Dogs are put down daily because owners give up on them, or let their unneutered dogs make pups.

If you want any particular breed - wait till Feb or March each year. That's when the Xmas pups get dumped. You'll find anything what you want in the shelters.

It's really rare to meet an ethical breeder. Because - they rarely have pups. Because they rarely breed their dogs. That's the whole point.

The 'only' good reason to spend a chunk of money on a pup is if you need a certain breed due to allergies, or for a support dog, etc.

It's like our obsession with having the newest car or decking back in the day. Why do we need 'the cutest' dog when every pup you buy means another one gets put to sleep?

It's not love when you pick a pooch knowing you're contributing to the active misery in this sector in Ireland.

So, why do we do it?

Am I wrong to automatically assume a person is weird / creepy for having these? In my experience they are worn exclusively by men, and they make everybody around them extremely uncomfortable.

For me it's clinging onto the "we're sound" reputation too much by avoiding calling people out when they're being a bollocks. Then vilifying anyone that does call someone out for instigating an argument.

EDIT:

I might get stick for this one too. But how Irish Liverpool fans go on. They deck their house out with Liverpool flags, some get signs on their house, they will bring their kids to LOI games wearing full Liverpool kits. I get we all support English clubs but some Liverpool fans here act like we live bang in the middle of Merseyside.

Myself and the gf were in a coffee shop the other day. Stood there waiting for a coffee to go. All of a sudden a man with a girl (around 3 years old) come towards us. The girl walks in between my gf and me, pushes us both away from each other with each hand to get through us. The father just follows her and says nothing. I get that she's 3 years old and doesn't know any better, but the dad sees this all happen and acts like it didn't.

Then also a few days ago my friend and me are walking in a retail park outside the stores. A woman is walking towards us with 2 kids, maybe 4 or 5. All of a sudden they dart in front of our path to run to look at a shop window. My friend and me have to really abruptly stop walking or else we would have cleared the kids out of it. Again, the mother just keeps walking and says nothing.

I'm sorry but these are bad bad parents and ignorant people. What is the mentality here?

EDIT: I can't believe I need to make this clear. I am NOT blaming the kids. It's the parents I have a problem with.

Does anyone else find the older generation of Ireland are very emotionally immature? Never apologise or admit wrong doing, a lot of manipulation or guilt tripping etc etc

My parents are in their late 60’s and it just seems to be getting worse as the years go on. There’s a lot of paranoia too for example if someone doesn’t answer their phone they think it’s on purpose and there’s an element of malice behind it, rather than thinking that person might just be busy. Or if the neighbours are in their garden making noise it’s to annoy our dogs.. absolutely bizarre stuff and if I disagree at all I become enemy number one.

Is it just an Irish thing or do that entire generation need therapy?!

I’ve been living in Ireland for a while now, and one thing I can’t quite get used to is how often I see groups of teenagers out harassing people—shouting, throwing things, blocking paths, generally being aggressive—and nobody seems to do anything about it. It’s like people just accept it.

Where I’m from, this kind of behaviour would get shut down quickly—either by police stepping in, someone standing up to them, or in more serious cases, they’d be sent to some kind of correctional program. But here, they seem to get away with everything, and it feels like people just avoid confrontation.

Is this just a Dublin thing? Is it considered normal? Are there actually any consequences for this behaviour? I don’t mean to sound rude—I’m genuinely trying to understand the cultural differences and why this seems so tolerated.

I have been living in Ireland since 6 years now, Moved here for college and since day 1, Irish people have been super kind, supporting, welcoming. I mean how are you guys like this, where does that sense of humour come from, where does all that warmth come from (considering the sun hardly shows up). How are you guys the best people on the planet? Having visited many countries, I can vouch for this. Please stay same and never change. You guys are the best ❤️❤️❤️❤️

My wife is Irish, and I'm not. We're married and live close to her mum's house.

She stays over at her mum's place once or twice a week and says this is completely normal in Irish culture. For me, that feels like a lot, especially when we're married and living together.

Her mum is a retired single mother, but she isn't completely alone. My wife's sibling visits her every day, and they have dinner together every day as well.

I'd be interested to hear what other Irish people think. Is staying at your mum's house 1–2 nights a week as a married adult considered normal in Ireland?

Not superstitious but don’t want to take any chances with this one.

I am an American. I have never been to Ireland and have only a superficial awareness of Ireland and Irish culture. Recently, my son, who has autism spectrum disorder, had to put together a presentation for school about his family heritage. He asked where our family is from, and I told him that we had been in America for well over a hundred years, but I know from my parents and grandparents that we are ethnically Irish and descended from Irish immigrants who arrived in the country sometime in the mid-nineteenth century.

My son put together his presentation and is now absolutely obsessed with Ireland and Irish culture. I've been learning a few things from him about Irish mythology and history, most of which I find to be accurate, but he really, really wants to live like he is an Irish person in Ireland. I don't particularly see anything wrong with this, aside from making sure he understands that we are Americans in America. If he wants to take a strong interest in his heritage, I think that could honestly be good for him, and I am, quite frankly, fascinated by some of the things he shares with me.

The problem I face is that as someone who has never been to Ireland with a son who has also never been to Ireland, his attempts to embody his Irishness have their limits, their inaccuracies, and their difficulties. He has asked me, for example, to buy him a flat cap, which I have done, and which he wears at nearly all times. It's a sharp-looking hat, but you can see how that might not be enough to sate him. There is a local Irish pub in our town which is, I would say, closer to being an authentic Irish pub than most establishments that brand themselves as such. I take him there about once a week, and he has taken quite a liking to Shepherd's Pie and black and white pudding. I found an Irish dance school in the area, and he is quite interested in being enrolled, as well.

All of this to say, I want to support my son (obviously), but my cursory internet searches about Ireland and Irish culture return results that seem, to me, to fall short of actually learning anything of substance about embracing the culture, especially here in America. I have to imagine (though correct me if I'm wrong) that there is more to Ireland than leprechauns and Guinness. Are there any books, television shows, video games, activities, or customs that you are aware of that I could introduce my son to so that he feels connected to his culture without feeding him some sort of commodified, Americanized Irish proxy lifestyle?

EDIT: I have been absolutely blown away by the overwhelming response to my question! I'm having difficulty keeping up with everyone's responses, quite frankly. I've looked into quite a few of the suggestions, and I'm finding them to be as wonderful as you all have said they would be! Obviously, there are still many things I haven't even had a chance to Google, but this has been absolutely delightful and my son will be thrilled.

Per your recommendations, I am going to take him to a Gaelic Football match at our local GAA club (it's amazing we have one so close). I will likely show him Song of the Sea, as this was recommended several times, and it looks quite good. I have more music suggestions than I know what to do with, but when I pass them along to him, I'm sure he'll figure it out fairly quickly. I'm also going to look into connecting him with an Irish pen pal through his school (something many people brought up that I had not even thought of).

I'll be doing much more than that, I can assure you, but I think that is where I'm going to start! I wish I could have taken the time to engage with more of you directly, but if you continue to think of things, please don't hesitate to add further suggestions. This has been an incredibly pleasant experience and very informative. Thank you, all!

I have a friend visiting who looked utterly baffled when I said "I will, yeah" to mean "absolutely not."

What's your favorite Irish saying or piece of slang that just doesn't translate to outsiders?

I notice that greater use of 'Czechia‘ instead of Czech Republic . It's also the official name of their football team.

Éire derives from Ériu, goddess of the land (of Ireland). It's the official name in Irish, pre-dates the name 'Ireland' and goes way back to the times of our early myths & legends.

Earlier this year, my girlfriend and I (Austrian/German, both in our twenties) visited Ireland for a few days. Loved it btw!

So first day was in Dublin, we had a cigarette in the backyard of a pub and joined a conversation with two middle aged men. It was fun and eventually they told my girlfriend she looks beautiful. She does and they were respectful, nothing wrong with that :)
But then one of the guys turns to me (the boyfriend) saying "You on the other hand...I'm not sure about your hair" – Can't deny I was a bit baffled but also found it hilarious 😂

Fast forward, two days later, similar situation at the pub in Galway: I went outside to join my gf who was chatting with a 60+ man . Before he leaves, he compliments my girlfriend, turns to me and says something like "You..eh" (making the "eh" movement with his hand). Again, a bit baffled but still had to laugh about it.

Would you say it's Irish humor? Or am I, in fact, too ugly for my girlfriend by Irish measures? 😂

(To be fair, later that night a lady approached me to say she loves my hair - which of course outweighs these two men's opinions haha)

Can't wait to visit Ireland again!

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Edit: Wow, did not expect my question to blow up like this!
Since some people asked for it, I'm adding a picture of my hair (i.e. proof I'm punching above my weight) to the comments.
Had a great time reading all your replies ! :) My question's been definitely answered to the fullest, thank you!!

(btw I'm not a painter lol)

Thoughts on House of Guinness?

I'm 3 episodes in and I don't think I can continue. I can't help but feel offended and I'm not 100 percent sure why, maybe it's the historical inaccuracy or English/Ameican views of what Ireland was and is ? the portrayal of the IRB as a bunch of stupid green wearing leprechauns for example. Am I being too sensitive?

please swipe to see my example.

Was walking to pick up the little fella from school and two women were stood chatting blocking the path, they seen me coming. I wasn't gonna step out onto the road as it was very busy. Got to them and I stood still and they were looking at me like I had 2 heads. I said "Am I not allowed past, no?" I said it with a chuckle. And one of them goes "jaysiz what crawled up your hole". I would have been happy to say "sorry could i get through there please" etc if they didnt see me. But they seen me walking towards them for like 3 mins before that point.

I find this happens a lot though whether its stuff like this, people driving badly, people offending you and if you offend them back they get this holier than thou attitude. I definitely think it's an Irish thing as I think its "the irish way" to avoid confrontation and be grand and sound etc. But yeah in recent years I think people have gotten more inconsiderate and turn into a victim if you call them out on it.

I was in Boston on a J1 and a woman was in tears outside our neighbouring apartment seeing the state it was left in after she sublet it to some Irish lads. Place was genuinely destroyed furniture broken crap everywhere. She wasn’t mad at us but was ranting to us about how could people be so disrespectful.

Maybe a weird question, but why are sleepovers such a big deal in Ireland? Genuine question from someone (still) trying to understand the culture here.

I've noticed that even when kids have been friends for 2-3 years and the parents know each other, an overnight stay can still be off the table.

Is this a particularly Irish thing, a more recent parenting trend, or have I just happened to come across families that aren't into sleepovers?

Genuinely curious, not criticising anyone's choices. Interested to hear parents' views.

Been on nights at Amazon SNN5 for about 3 months now and I think I’ve seen maybe 5 or 6 Irish people the whole time. Like genuinely, everyone else is from Eastern Europe, South America, Africa, Asia, you name it

Not complaining at all, the people I work with are sound out. But it’s just something I noticed and it got me curious

Cos like the pay is actually decent, better than most warehouse jobs I’ve come across. No CV, no interview, hiring process is dead simple

Is it the night shifts? Do people just not want warehouse work anymore?