MPQuestionIMAsk: Irish Dopers, can you name the 32 counties?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Not looking for a factual answer, I can easily look up the 32 Counties of Ireland.
Not asking for a Humble Opinion of should Irish folks be able to name all 32 Counties. . .

waitaminute . . . O.K. I guess I’m technically polling the Irish Dopers. So, I’ll not put this in MPSIMS as I originally thought I would. But I’m keeping the Thread Title!
On a recent visit to Ireland, after a friend’s wedding in Cork I was riding back to Dublin with a bride’s maid, her husband, and their young son. Passing the time on the long road trip, I awarded points to the young boy every time he spotted a cow, a sheep, a tractor, etc., etc., etc.

Since spotting cows, sheep, and tractors on the road from Cork to Dublin is actually very very easy, I had to come up with more difficult challenges for the adults.

“One hundred points to anyone who can name all 32 Counties!” I announced.
The two Irish grown-ups looked at each other, decided to take a crack at it, and with their combined effort could only come up with 26 (they got all 6 from the North, there were 6 from the Republic that they missed).

That night we went out on the town in Dublin. I offered to buy all the drinks for the entire night for any of the Irish who could name all 32 Counties. Only one, the bride’s cousin, a Dubliner, was confident enough to attempt it. She took a napkin and a pen and started writing them out. She burned through about 20 with no problem, then spent quite a long time struggling and came up with another ten. Finally, after stalling at 30 she gave up- but I did buy her one consolation prize drink. (She missed Armagh and Laois, we all had to drive through Laois from Cork to Dublin- even my American self knew she missed Laois- before she had given up, I hinted that she was missing one she had driven through that very day- still she couldn’t come up with it).

With an entire evening of FREE DRINKS being offered, she was the only one of several of our Irish friends who had the nerve to attempt it- and even she couldn’t do it.

I’d have been buying a lot of drinks had I made the same offer to the Americans if they could name all 50 States.

So, Irish Dopers, if asked in a bar- having no opportunity to study beforehand- to name all 32 Counties, could you do it???

2

Is there a definitive list? Perhaps that’s half the problem. Have the counties of Ireland undergone a lot of redefinition in recent years, like the counties of England?

3

I think we (Americans) have an advantage in that we have a song. I know many Dopers more erudite than I can list them without the song, but still, the song helps (especially if I’ve already been drinking). Maybe the Irish should write a song about their counties.

4

Maybe we should write a song about their counties!

5

I’ll have to start a poll as to how many Americans know the song- I don’t think I’ve ever heard the 50 States song. Should this be cultural common knowledge?

6

Hmmm . . . seems that administratively there have been some changes, but when the number 32 is thrown out it seems that it’s clear what 32 are being considered.

(bolding mine)

7

That would be an interesting poll. I sang that song for my friends the other day at trivia night and they thought I was nuts.

8

Given that I don’t live there, I think two-thirds wasn’t a bad effort. Better than I’ve done with American states in the past!

Missed out on Wexford, Carlow, Kildare, Louth, Offaly, Waterford, Tipperary, Clare, Mayo, Leitrim, Tyrone

9

The only song I know was by the Warner Brothers and their sister Dot. I’m assuming that this is a different one?

10

I missed Laois I always do - Ive done this before and I always manage to leave it out.

I never knew that Ireland technically had 29 counties in the Republic - have heard of the places, but didnt realise they were counties too.

11

bienville, I wish I had been there, I’m nearly entirely I can name them all. I can just visualise the map in my head and name each one in each province. We learned all 32 when we were in school. There are the newer county councils but they don’t count. :stuck_out_tongue: I could give a crack at the 50 states of America too by visualising. I’ve been really into maps since I was a wee fellah.

12

I did it just as I was falling to sleep. The last one I could recall was Leitrim, lovely Leitrim.

13

I would guess that a large majority of us had a 50 state jigsaw puzzle growing up as well. And then you’d stop in at Denny’s and there they’d be on the place mat.

Plus the states aren’t as splotchy as Irish counties which probably makes them easier to visualize. Not only could I name all 50 states but I could draw them fairly accurately, individually or as a whole.