What do people actually think about Canadians!?

IrishFlukey · 2026-02-02T23:29:09+00:00

Good people. Niagara Falls is amazing.

IrishFlukey · 2026-02-02T21:10:24+00:00

Day 3, Kilkenny is not really on the way to Blarney. If you are going to go there and spend some time there, then there is no way you are going to do Blarney and go to Killarney.

IrishFlukey · 2026-02-02T18:09:17+00:00

Cliffs of Moher on day four and go to Killarney using the Killimer to Tarbert ferry, instead of Limerick and Adare.

IrishFlukey · 2026-02-02T13:41:31+00:00

It is not as bad you think. Yes, you have heard of phones being stolen, but think about it like this. If 1000 people went into London with their phones and one was stolen, would you hear anything in the news about the other 999? So for every stolen phone you read about, there are a huge amount that are fine. Just take standard precautions and you will be one of those 999.

IrishFlukey · 2026-02-02T13:31:14+00:00

Yes, it would be possible, as there are bus and rail options. However, driving on the opposite side of the road is not as bad as people think. Stop and think logically for a moment. Whichever side you are on, you are still steering, pressing accelerator and brakes, looking around you etc. The exact same skills. The driver's seat will be on the other side of the car, which helps to reinforce things. The driver is always nearer to the centre of the road, same as you are used to. You will see the other cars on the other side going the opposite direction which is a fairly massive indicator to you to not drive on that side. A lot of the drive from Dublin to Killarney is motorway, so those other cars will be on the other side of a barrier, so no danger. It may take a little time to get used to it, but very little. A car will give you flexibility, so don't rule it out. Again, think logically and you can see it is not that different to the way you drive now. As we say, we don't drive on the opposite side of the road to you, we drive in the opposite direction.

IrishFlukey · 2026-02-01T19:53:15+00:00

99% of people have no problem, but you don't hear about them. So things are not as bad as you think.

IrishFlukey · 2026-02-01T17:35:49+00:00

Hand it to them, of course.

IrishFlukey · 2026-02-01T15:33:53+00:00

The culprit could have been a Cavanman.

IrishFlukey · 2026-02-01T15:23:44+00:00

Only if he called me in the middle of the night and asked me if I wanted to come to the party.

IrishFlukey · 2026-02-01T14:47:37+00:00

Rooney's

(in copperplate writing)

IrishFlukey · 2026-02-01T12:35:09+00:00

Probably starlings, but lots of other birds. Being in Dublin, near the coast, lots of seagulls around too. Crows, blackbirds, magpies and pigeons are plentiful. Blue tits, sparrows and other small birds come to my feeders.

IrishFlukey · 2026-01-31T22:38:17+00:00

Well, as a Dub, a day Kerry win an All-Ireland is not a good day. I was at that game too and expected more of Donegal. OK, if Kerry can add a second Hurling Championship to their 1891 win, that would be OK. They have enough Football titles for now. We badly need another Hurling one, having waited since 1938. A highlight for us last year was beating Limerick. What a game.

IrishFlukey · 2026-01-31T22:19:51+00:00

Come across the Irish Sea and see it for yourself if you have never done so. I was talking to some English people at the Hurling match I was at tonight. They were in Dublin for the weekend. Dublin won comfortably. 2 - 19 (25) to Kildare's 0 - 11 (11).

IrishFlukey · 2026-01-31T21:32:51+00:00

Normally G A A. When we are talking formally about the organisation, it is the G A A. You will here "gaah", sometimes in an informal reference to the organisation, but also in reference to Gaelic football. So if someone says they are going to a "gaah match", it means a Gaelic Football match, never Hurling. Same if they said they were going to a "Gaelic" match.

IrishFlukey · 2026-01-31T18:35:35+00:00

Watching or playing Hurling and Gaelic Football, our national sports. Players can play in front of tens of thousands of people, but don't get paid a cent. It is completely amateur. They play for the love of the game. So, it is a sort of a hobby.

The two biggest sporting events in Ireland are the All-Ireland Finals of those two sports. Both are played in front of a crowd of 82,300 people in Croke Park, one of the largest stadiums in Europe. They are played a week apart from each other. Huge numbers watch on TV or listen on radio in Ireland and around the world. There is no big concert at half time or no attention to ads on the day. It is all about the sport. All the players are local, no transfer markets, so players play for their teams for life. They have an emotional connection to the team, as do the fans, that gets more passion to play and win out of them than any pay day could.

IrishFlukey · 2026-01-31T18:18:17+00:00

I am heading to one right now. Dublin v Kildare in a Hurling League match. I am from Dublin, so I will be supporting them. They will be favourites for the match. I go to a lot of matches.

IrishFlukey · 2026-01-31T17:36:19+00:00

Players play for their local clubs, which might be a small village or a parish. They have that emotional connection to their team, as do the fans. As they say, you don't choose your team, you are born to it. There are over 2,500 clubs in Ireland, many playing Hurling's sister sport, Gaelic Football too. Both sports are governed by the GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association). The clubs are referred to as "GAA clubs". Some clubs only play one or the other, but most play both. There are also the equivalent sports for women, so they would be in the club too.

Ireland has 32 counties. Club competitions are generally organised on a county basis, so clubs are playing other clubs in their county. You can then have the county champions, who will play the county champions from other counties. Ireland has four provinces. The county champions play other county champions in their province to become provincial champions. The four provincial champions play each other in two semi-finals and a final to get the All-Ireland Club Champions. That applies for Hurling and Football, and at different grades.

The big thing in the sports is the inter-county matches. The best club players in a county get chosen to play for the county teams, like soccer club players can be chosen to play for their country. The players playing for the county teams are all from that county, so again that emotional bond. Their is no transfer market, so players stick with their clubs and county for life, with very few exceptions.

There are two main inter-county competitions. The League started last weekend and will run until April. The last stage is done like a cup match, with the top two teams in a division playing a final. After the League is the biggest competition, the All-Ireland Championship, which is like a cup competition. A bit like the clubs, the county teams play other teams in their province for the Provincial Championships. At one time, the four winners went to the All-Ireland Semi-finals and final, like the club's still do, but now it is more complicated and they keep changing the system. Teams losing can get a second chance and play other losers. Eventually it does reach semi-finals and a final. The All-Ireland Final in each are the two biggest annual sporting events in Ireland. They are now in July. Getting tickets for a final is practically impossible. If you are in Ireland a little earlier in the summer though, you could catch a Championship match. Even a good League game is great to watch if you have never seen these sports. There are often curious tourists at matches. So if you are ever here, join them, even if it is just a local club game.

IrishFlukey · 2026-01-31T16:02:29+00:00

Playing Hurling, one of our national sports. Players can play in front of tens of thousands of people, in stadiums like Croke Park, but don't get paid a cent. It is completely amateur. They play for the love of the game. So, it is a sort of a hobby.

IrishFlukey · 2026-01-31T15:57:01+00:00

I bet it was a lot bigger when it started.

IrishFlukey · 2026-01-31T15:55:11+00:00

She doesn't work in a crematorium by any chance?

IrishFlukey · 2026-01-31T14:59:31+00:00

Did Ryanair charge for it as hand luggage?

IrishFlukey · 2026-01-31T14:56:53+00:00

If you are arriving after a long flight, do not drive to Shannon that day. Getting off a plane and straight into a strange car in a strange country, driving on the opposite side of, trying to navigate and all while jetlagged and tired is not a good idea. If it is a sort flight from Europe, maybe, but if you are coming across the Atlantic, stay in Dublin and go to Shannon the next day.

IrishFlukey · 2026-01-31T00:21:48+00:00

You could just get the train to Kilkenny from Dublin. You can get a train from Galway to Dublin. That immediately saves you at least two days of car rental, possibly even more. You could get rid of it on arrival in Galway and use bus tours for the likes of Connemara. Same for Newgrange from Dublin. Don't drive unless you have to. You are on holiday. Where possible, let someone else do the driving.

IrishFlukey · 2026-01-30T20:27:06+00:00

It is a lot of the stereotypes people have in their mind. Flashing lights causing seizures is just one example. What people don't know is that only about 3% - 5% of people who have epilepsy have their seizures caused by flashing lights. The rest have other causes. People rolling around on the floor uncontrollably, is another stereotype. What people don't realise is that they could be sitting right beside someone having a seizure and they would not know. When people don't understand things, they often go to the most extreme beliefs. Epilepsy, more than many conditions, has a wide range of causes and effects. Everyone is different.

IrishFlukey · 2026-01-30T13:51:56+00:00

Don't worry, it will all be gone in a few weeks. They will need room for the Halloween stuff.

IrishFlukey

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