This one just turned up in my inbox. Hope it isn’t too long.
**IRELAND FOR BEGINNERS
Pub etiquette:** The crucial thing here is the “round” system. To the outsider, this may appear casual; you will not necessarily be told it’s your round and other participants may appear only too happy to substitute for you. But make no mistake, your failure to “put your hand in your pocket” will be noticed. People will mention it the moment you leave the room. The reputation will follow you to the grave, where after it will attach to your offspring and possibly theirs as well. In some cases, it may become permanently enshrined in a family nickname.
Woolly jumpers: Ireland produces vast quantities of woollen knitwear and, under a US/Irish trade agreement, American visitors may not return to the States without a minimum of two sweaters, of which one at least must be predominantly green. Airline staff may check that you have the required documentation before you are allowed to disembark. Note: under no circumstances will you see an Irish person wearing a woollen jumper. These jumpers are worn solely by Americans to identify them to muggers, thieves and knackers.
Irish people and the weather: It is often said that the Irish are a Mediterranean people who only come into their own when the sun shines on consecutive days (which it last did around the time of St Patrick). For this reason, Irish people dress for conditions in Palermo rather than Dublin; and it is not unusual in March to see young people sipping cool beer outside city pubs and cafes, enjoying the air and the soft caress of hailstones on their skin. The Irish attitude to weather is the ultimate triumph of optimism over experience: Every time it rains, we look up at the sky and are shocked and betrayed. Then we go out and buy a new umbrella.
Ireland has two time-zones: (1) Greenwich Mean Time and (2) “local” time. Local time can be anything between ten minutes and three days behind GMT, depending on the position of the earth and the whereabouts of the man with the keys to the hall. Again, the Irish concept of time has been influenced by the thinking of 20th century physicists, who hold that it can only be measured by reference to another body and can even be affected by factors like acceleration. For instance, a policeman entering a licensed premises in rural Ireland late at night is a good example of another body from whom it can be reliably inferred that it is fact closing time. When this happens, acceleration is the advised option. Shockingly, the relativity argument is still not accepted as a valid defence in the Irish courts.
The wearing of the green: Strangely enough, Irish people tend to wear everything except green, which is associated with too many national tragedies, including1798, the Famine and the current Irish soccer team. It’s possible that green just doesn’t suit the Irish skin colour, which is generally pale blue (see Weather).
Gaelic games: St Patrick’s Day brings the climax of the club championships in Gaelic games, which combine elements of the American sports of gridiron and baseball but are played with an intensity more associated with Mafia turf wars. The two main games are “football” and “hurling", the chief difference being that in football, the fights are unarmed. There is also “camogie” which is like hurling, except that in fights the hair may be pulled as well. Hurling was best described by a Cork man to an American tourist when he said “its like a cross between ice hockey and murder”
Signposting: In most countries, road signs are used to help motorists get from one place to another. In Ireland, it’s not so simple. Signposting here is heavily influenced by Einstein’s theories (either that or the other way round) of space/time, and works on the basis that there is no fixed reference point in the universe, or not west of Mullingar anyway. Instead, location and distance may be different for every observer and, frequently, for neighbouring road-signs. The good news is that Ireland is officially bilingual, a fact which is reflected in the road-signs. This allows you to get lost in both Irish and English.
Clothes: Visitors to Ireland in mid-March often ask: What clothes should I bring? The answer is: All of them!
Religion: Ireland remains a deeply religious country, with the two main denominations being “us” and “them”. In the unlikely event you are asked which group you belong to, the correct answer is: “I’m an atheist, thank God". Then change the subject.
