12 Things I love about being Irish

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone... In honour of our national holiday St. Patrick's Day here's a list of a few of my favorite things about being Irish...In no particular order:

1 The Common Lizard: Our only native reptilian species I adore these little guys, they are the ultimate cold blooded survivors. How can we complain about the miserable weather when even they've gotten used tho it!

2. Salt and Vinegar Tayto's and Cadbury's Dairy Milk Chocolate. These are my favorite treats and the trick is you have to eat them together! The flavours work perfectly with one another. Tayto is an Irish company and although Cadbury is originally British, the Irish branch was established in 1932 and has produced it's own Cadbury products using only Irish ingredients since. Personally I think Irish chocolate is the nicest in the world! I'm off chocolate for Lent so I'm really looking forward to a Cadbury Chocolate egg come Easter.

3. GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association). The GAA is an amateur sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders. Pride in your county is of the utmost importance. No matter were you live, who you marry...where your children are born - an Irish man/woman will always support the county they were born in. No matter were I've lived I am and always will be a proud Galway man! 

4. The wave: In the country, when you are either walking or driving and you pass an oncoming car or fellow walker they will ALWAYS wave "hello". It doesn't matter whether or not they know you -  it's a matter of habit and country courtesy

5. The Irish International Football/Soccer team: I love my football. If I had three wishes, chances are I'd wish for world peace, an end to hunger and for Ireland to one day win the World Cup!

6. Travelling oversea's: Neen and I have been to quite a few countries at this stage. No matter where we are, the minute anyone finds out we are from Ireland their mood immediately changes...everyone seems to love the Irish!...Everyone we've met anyway!

7. "Sorry"....Let me explain: In Ireland if you bump into another Irish person while walking down the street their response will nearly always be "Sorry". In which you reply "Sorry" back. It doesn't really matter who's at fault. "Sorry" is used in place of "excuse me" For the most part we are very much a non-confrontational people. Something I really like. On a much larger scale that's partially why we as a country have remained neutral military-wise. Something else very important to me.

8. Green: I love the colour green, I love the fact that for ever more Ireland will be Internationally represented by such a beautiful shade. It may seem a small, insignificant and mundane thing to love but I do... I love the fact that we are the "Emerald Isle".

9. Farm Animals and the countryside: Ireland is such a small country. No matter what town or city you live in you're nearly always just a stones throw away from a green field full of cows or sheep.

10. Stone walls: Wobbly weathered stone walls line the entire Irish countryside. Like drunken old men staggering gingerly home from the pub they precariously line every field and country roadside.

11. Tea - In Ireland tea is more than a beverage it's a way of life. For most the day revolves around the act of continually reboiling the kettle. You will never ever arrive at a house without being offered a cup of tea a couple of rich tea and maybe even a ham sandwich. 

12. The smell of turf: Nothing in the world smells better than a turf fire...unfortunately the only way to experience it is first hand...a picture really doesn't do it justice. So what are ya waiting for? Book those plane tickets and drop by for a visit.