Sorry, what did you say?

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We don’t always travel to countries where we speak the local language, but Ireland proved to be a real treat. Although the Irish accent is sometimes so strong it might as well be a foreign language, we thoroughly enjoyed listening to the locals on a trip to this magical country in April 2015.

There is something to be said about sipping a whiskey in a little Irish pub in Killarney and hearing the banter between the natives. Granted the banter is not always ideal for those who are too sensitive and politically correct, but if you can sit back and relax it can be very entertaining.

The one-man-band in the high street pub asked if we had a request, shouting loudly ‘because no one else is Fookin listening’. When the lass came back from her smoke outside she enquired from the musician ‘you still Fookin here?’. And although it might seem like insults were been thrown around, it was all said with much love and affection.

Not all nations may be as humorous as others, but it does help if you understand what is being said. So we enjoyed our one-week driving tour of Ireland more than some of our other short trips because of the Irish sense of humour we were exposed to everywhere we went.

Early in our holiday we went to see the Neolithic circular mound and passage tomb of Newgrange. Running late for the bus to the ancient site, us two very unfit tourists needed to sprint in an attempt to not miss our ride. Seeing us wheezing near the end of our charge, the bus driver stood with his hands out indicating we should stop. Thinking we had missed our opportunity we drastically decelerated, when the driver shouted out ‘Slow down, we don’t have a defibrillator on the bus!’.

At this point, we definitely needed this life-saving device, since laughing is almost impossible when you already can’t breathe!


There are still many tales for us to tell about our visit to Ireland — all the wonderful castles and ruins we saw and scenery that took our breath away. But even if you exclude all of that, meeting the people and sharing the laughs made it all worthwhile.

Interesting beers available on tap in Galway, Ireland

In the pub again! (Killarney, Ireland) 
One of the oldest pubs in Ireland, Kytelers Inn in Kilkenny dates back to 1263

Photo opportunity at Newgrange

Entrance to Newgrange passage tomb (older than Stonehenge FYI)


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