# Can't rely on those lazy, hard drinking Irish **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 20, 2008, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-rely-on-those-lazy-hard-drinking-irish/453547 "2008-06-20T03:03:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2008, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-rely-on-those-lazy-hard-drinking-irish/453547/1 "2008-06-20T03:03:33Z")
Even if that’s what you think[it’s not a good idea to say it to a reporter](http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080618/NEWS01/806180388) > [@](#): > > Pillas had been the Town of Ocean City Council liaison to the Seasonal Workforce Committee, a welcome wagon organization that helps seasonal foreign students get acclimated to Ocean City for the summer. She departed the committee in advance of the many comments sent to the Worcester County Times. > > Her comments first appeared May 29 in the Worcester County Times. She was quoted as saying, in her experience, some Irish students she hired for her Boardwalk store sometimes did not show for work after many consecutive weeks of “partying.” > > Her words were: “One of the reasons the Irish kids were not successful in our town is that they partied. A lot. Work requires energy. Somewhere in August, they would lose their focus, and it was very difficult for the business community to keep up with their partying. As a businessperson, I have three months to pay my bills, and I can’t hire someone who doesn’t show up for work.” ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2008, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-rely-on-those-lazy-hard-drinking-irish/453547/2 "2008-06-20T13:56:30Z")
I don’t see the problem with stating that a group of people that all came quite recently from the same place and were observed behaving in a reckless manner are just that. A group of kids that parties instead of working is not going to be a useful group of workers. Unless I’m missing where she made a comment about \*all \* Irish people or said they partied due to their Irishness, I can’t agree that her comments are bad, per se. ---
**Author:** ![Madd\_Maxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Madd\_Maxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Madd_Maxx)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2008, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-rely-on-those-lazy-hard-drinking-irish/453547/3 "2008-06-20T14:17:30Z")
Come on, it’s Ocean City. Everyone there parties during the summer, no matter where they are from. It starts during spring break and goes through Labor Day. It would be similiar to saying “oh noes, some people came to Las Vegas to work during the World Series of Poker and ended up staying awake for 48 hours gambling.” What the hell else is there to do in Ocean city after work but party? ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2008, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-rely-on-those-lazy-hard-drinking-irish/453547/4 "2008-06-23T17:59:48Z")
If I weren’t so drunk and lazy I’d write a letter complaining about her too. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2008, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-rely-on-those-lazy-hard-drinking-irish/453547/5 "2008-06-23T18:58:46Z")
[QUOTE=An Gadaí] If I weren’t so drunk and lazy I’d write a letter complaining about her too. [/QUOTE] Hey, I’m a 16th drunk and lazy on my mother’s side, thank you very much! ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2008, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-rely-on-those-lazy-hard-drinking-irish/453547/6 "2008-06-24T01:06:06Z")
It’s funny (not ha ha funny) how the Scotts/Irish are the only race/group that it is openly OK to stereotype and make fun of. Look at ‘Scotty’ on ‘Star Trek’ or ‘Groundskeeper Willie’ on ‘Simpsons’. Would have been as charming if ‘Sulu’ had coke-bottle glasses and buck teeth and went around saying “Meee sooo solly, mee sooo solly”? How about a black person? A jew? Anybody else’s stereotype? You guys keep doing that and we’re liable to beat the hell out of you and then get so drunk that we can’t remember it. That’ll fix ya, lass. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2008, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-rely-on-those-lazy-hard-drinking-irish/453547/7 "2008-06-24T01:48:16Z")
> [@](#): > > It’s funny (not ha ha funny) how the Scotts/Irish are the only race/group that it is openly OK to stereotype and make fun of. Look at ‘Scotty’ on ‘Star Trek’ or ‘Groundskeeper Willie’ on ‘Simpsons’. Would have been as charming if ‘Sulu’ had coke-bottle glasses and buck teeth and went around saying “Meee sooo solly, mee sooo solly”? How about a black person? A jew? Anybody else’s stereotype? You mean like Asian Reporter Tricia Takanawa? Or Amy Wong? Or Toshi? Or Ollie Williams? Or Hermes Conrad? Or Apu Nahasapeemapetilon? Or Cletus Spuckler? Or Herschel Schmoikel Pinkus Krustofski? Or Dr Zoidberg? Or Fat Tony D’Amico? Or Luigi Risotto? Or Rainier Luftwaffe Wolfcastle? Cartoons stereotype all kinds of ethnic groups. And I haven’t even mentioned any _South Park_ characters. ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2008, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-rely-on-those-lazy-hard-drinking-irish/453547/8 "2008-06-24T01:57:47Z")
[QUOTE=Little Nemo] You mean like Asian Reporter Tricia Takanawa? Or Amy Wong? Or Toshi? Or Ollie Williams? Or Hermes Conrad? Or Apu Nahasapeemapetilon? Or Cletus Spuckler? Or Herschel Schmoikel Pinkus Krustofski? Or Dr Zoidberg? Or Fat Tony D’Amico? Or Luigi Risotto? Or Rainier Luftwaffe Wolfcastle? Cartoons stereotype all kinds of ethnic groups. And I haven’t even mentioned any _South Park_ characters. [/QUOTE] I WILL FIX YA LASS… ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2008, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-rely-on-those-lazy-hard-drinking-irish/453547/9 "2008-06-24T02:20:55Z")
[QUOTE=Nawth Chucka] I don’t see the problem with stating that a group of people that all came quite recently from the same place and were observed behaving in a reckless manner are just that. [/QUOTE] Trying to find the original context of the remarks, I find that the article was apparently titled “Ocean City sees shift in heritage of foreign workers.” It has disappeared into the oubliette, though. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2008, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-rely-on-those-lazy-hard-drinking-irish/453547/10 "2008-06-24T02:43:59Z")
[QUOTE=chacoguy420] It’s funny (not ha ha funny) how the Scotts/Irish are the only race/group that it is openly OK to stereotype and make fun of. Look at ‘Scotty’ on ‘Star Trek’ or ‘Groundskeeper Willie’ on ‘Simpsons’. Would have been as charming if ‘Sulu’ had coke-bottle glasses and buck teeth and went around saying “Meee sooo solly, mee sooo solly”? How about a black person? A jew? Anybody else’s stereotype? You guys keep doing that and we’re liable to beat the hell out of you and then get so drunk that we can’t remember it. That’ll fix ya, lass. [/QUOTE] [An asian stereotype](http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Neimoidian)? [A black person?](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jar_Jar_Binks) [A Jew](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watto)? Inconceivable! ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2008, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-rely-on-those-lazy-hard-drinking-irish/453547/11 "2008-06-24T09:02:18Z")
Irish drinking joke: An Irishman is sitting at the end of a bar. He sees a lamp at the end of the table. He walks down to it and rubs it. Out pops a genie. It says, “I will give you three wishes.” The man thinks awhile. Finally he says, “I want a beer that never is empty.” With that, the genie makes a poof sound and on the bar is a bottle of beer. The Irishman starts drinking it and right before it is gone, it starts to refill. The genie asks about his next two wishes. The man says, “I want two more of these.” ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2008, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-rely-on-those-lazy-hard-drinking-irish/453547/12 "2008-06-24T09:07:15Z")
I think the Irish make fun of _themselves_ more than any other ethnic group, which is why the drunk-Irishman stereotypes and characters are so common. Which is a good thing (being able to make fun of yourself.) ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2008, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-rely-on-those-lazy-hard-drinking-irish/453547/13 "2008-06-24T10:13:09Z")
Yes, playing the celtic clown to the sober saxon has been a hobby of ours for many years . ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2008, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-rely-on-those-lazy-hard-drinking-irish/453547/14 "2008-06-24T10:31:49Z")
I suppose I ought to find most of the Scottish stereotypes deeply offensive, but I don’t in the least. I’d rather be thought of as one of the Nac MacFeegle than lots of other possibilities, and Pratchett’s characters and Iain Banks’ characters have lots in common. Groundskeeper Wullie could be any one of my uncles. I just find it strange that the Scots are supposed to be hard-working drunks and the Irish lazy drunks. My experience says it ought to be a lot more even than that. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2008, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-rely-on-those-lazy-hard-drinking-irish/453547/15 "2008-06-24T10:52:47Z")
Having worked in Ireland for ten years, I’d say that yes, many native Irish people drink a lot and party hard (Ireland has one of the highest per-capita alcohol consumption rates in Europe, but also the highest level of teetotalism - you do the math) but they work equally hard, certainly in the industry I was in. Tremendously productive, but a fun working atmosphere too. A little more hangover absence tolerance was evident than in the UK, but it was also seen as a mark of esteem to haul one’s arse into work on time, red-eyed and stinking of booze, even after a massive night out. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2008, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-rely-on-those-lazy-hard-drinking-irish/453547/16 "2008-06-24T12:24:42Z")
[QUOTE=chacoguy420] It’s funny (not ha ha funny) how the Scotts/Irish are the only race/group that it is openly OK to stereotype and make fun of. Look at ‘Scotty’ on ‘Star Trek’ or ‘Groundskeeper Willie’ on ‘Simpsons’. Would have been as charming if ‘Sulu’ had coke-bottle glasses and buck teeth and went around saying “Meee sooo solly, mee sooo solly”? How about a black person? A jew? Anybody else’s stereotype? You guys keep doing that and we’re liable to beat the hell out of you and then get so drunk that we can’t remember it. That’ll fix ya, lass. [/QUOTE] Don’t forget to write a heart-rending ballad about it afterwards! ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2008, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-rely-on-those-lazy-hard-drinking-irish/453547/17 "2008-06-24T20:14:20Z")
Let’s think… These are probably uni students on [J1](http://www.j1online.ie/) visas. They have 2 months before they get back to lectures, so they figure on seeing the world, earning money and then blowing it on drink, drugs and sex before the “real” work of college begins. Going to the USA on a J1 is the Irish equivalent of an extended Spring Break with added jetlag and menial labour. These kids see the jobs as a way of paying for the partying and the airfare, they are a necessary evil rather than the primary reason to go to America. Much as working in a bar is a byproduct of Antipodean Gap years. I get the lady’s point, but these guys are putting money into the American economy (admittedly in a few very specific, often illegal and all very enjoyable areas). You do them a favour by hiring them, but they do you a favour by coming over. Better they blow their wages in Wisconsin than Wexford, eh? ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2008, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-rely-on-those-lazy-hard-drinking-irish/453547/18 "2008-06-24T21:10:08Z")
[QUOTE=irishgirl] Going to the USA on a J1 is the Irish equivalent of an extended Spring Break with added jetlag and menial labour. [/QUOTE] Would that be an [Irish Spring Break](http://images.acehardwareoutlet.com/getimage/getImage.aspx?Path=products/9032707-05-14-07-i-rs.jpg&height=200&width=175)? Couldn’t help myself, sorry.