Ireland About Ireland
Sex in Ireland - Part 2
This is the second in a two-part article on sex in Ireland. Read the first Sex in Ireland article here.
Let’s get right down to it.
*insert 70’s wah-wah guitar sound here*
Last fall the Irish government published the Irish Study of Sexual Health and Relationships. It basically indicated that Ireland is undergoing a sexual revolution. Sure, there may not be flowers in their hair, but just 6 percent of today’s Irish population feel that pre-marital sex is wrong.
If that doesn’t sound so odd to you, consider that when the same question was asked of Irish people in 1973, 71 percent said it was wrong.
Yeah, I gotcher generation gap right here, chachi.
And, just like the San Franciscan hippies in 1960s, there has been a flourishing variety of sexually transmitted infections. How much? Well, between 1998 and 2003 the incidence of STIs in Ireland increased by 243 percent.
Holy crap.
Date: August 26th, 2007 |
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Sex in Ireland - Part 1
Things sure have changed in the aul emerald isle since the celtic tiger came along. The chaste masses of churchgoing Irish are now having unprotected sex out of wedlock at a rate that could give a migraine to a Thai health official.* Let’s step back in time - there once was a time in this fair country (most of the past century, actually) when there was no such thing as separation of church and state.
I’ll give our US readers a second to catch their breath there.
No, but seriously, when Ireland gained its independence they turned to the people who had stood by them as they were killed for using their language and religion: the Catholic church. When the people who dictate your morality also make your laws it really stifles any ribald behavior.
For example, here in Ireland - and not so long ago - you couldn’t even purchase a condom. Families were big, marriages were made young and, let’s face it, Irish weather has never encouraged miniskirts or midriff-baring tops. But despite the priests in political power, rampant morality and layers of clothing, any visitor to Ireland in the past century could tell you that flirting has always been the national past time.
Date: August 23rd, 2007 |
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Irish Slang - Blackguard
You speak English. You’ve heard most of Ireland does as well. You may have heard the Irish speak the best english in the world. In any case, the last thing you may be expecting is communication difficulties on your visit to the emerald isle.
Most of the potentential pitfalls in your conversations may come from the slang used here. This is the thirty-seventh in a series I’ve been publishing of some common Irish slang that used to confuse us when we first arrived.
Date: August 19th, 2007 |
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An Viking apology 1,000 years in the making
So a great big viking ship sailed into Dublin harbour yesterday.
6 weeks at sea and a bunch of salty Danes rowed up to Irish shores for the first time in centuries. Their ship was a replica of one built in Glendalough, Wicklow (Ireland) in 1042 AD. Rather than leap from the ship and begin a bloody campaign of rape and pillage, they instead formally apologised for the Viking invasions of Ireland.
Date: August 16th, 2007 |
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Wage war in Ireland
Welcome to the war zone. There you are, staring across the battle plain somewhere in Athlone (Blyry estate, actually). Ancient, gnarled oaks punctuated the horizon as if they had been placed there purposefully. Bright, roughly-painted shields dangle from soldiers’ arms, as if a giant’s brush had done the artwork. Suddenly, huge gemlike cubes fall from above, striking the ground violently and tumbling toward your armies, knocking the first few rows from their feet.
Yes, Warhammer has come to Athlone in the form of Valhalla Games.
Date: August 11th, 2007 |
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Irish Slang - Porter
Of all the countries in the world that commonly speak English, the Irish are known particularly for their deft command of the language.
What you may not know is that the language arrived on some strange shores when it crossed the Irish sea. While visitors may understand most everything that’s said (aside from a few extremely thick local accents), it’s usually the little bits of slang and mild differences in certain words that confuses visitors.
This is the thirty-eighth in a series I’ve been publishing of some common Irish slang that used to confuse wifey and myself when we first arrived.
Date: August 26th, 2007 |
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Sushi in Ireland, a dó!
(that’s “two” in Irish, by the way)
What you see there is the proud new table setting last Wednesday before we all tucked into some scrumptious sushi. The cause of the swanky table setting is the arrival of sushi place settings in our local Lidl (just €7!). Ever since our first attempt at sushi we have been heartened and make the attempt at least once a month.
Date: August 19th, 2007 |
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Roma if you want to - Roma around the town
They’ve arrived.
Or maybe it would be more accurate to say that Ireland has arrived.
Yes, there was a time when no one who didn’t have to came to our little rain-soaked island and the locals were all dying to get out to places more prosperous. In today’s celtic tiger world, however, Ireland is becoming a destination for anyone looking for a better life . . . or, in this case, a better hand-out.
Date: August 18th, 2007 |
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Irish Slang - Cute Hoor
Begorrah! Top of the morning!
Yes, two phrases you may have heard on Darby O’Gill and the Little People but that you will never actually hear spoken in Ireland. Most people have heard the Irish speak, but there are a lot of little things about their slang and turns of phrase that are often misunderstood by visitors.
Irish slang is definitely the thing that tickled our ears the most when we first moved here and that frequently tends to confuse our stateside guests. Below is the thirty-sixth in a series I’m publishing of some common Irish slang that used to confuse us when we first arrived.
Date: August 12th, 2007 |
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The Irish hate Guinness?
No they don’t. With 10 million pints poured a day, Guinness is still very popular.
However, many younger tourists get this impression when visiting Ireland and drinking with the 20-something Irish population. I was reading today on vagabondish.com about an experience blogger Mike had when visiting Ireland a couple of years ago that gave him the impression the Irish hate Guinness.
In his blog, Mike says, “One night, we met a couple from Belfast. An odd thing happened each time we stepped to the bar. First, I suggested beers. Much to my horror, Stephen said he’d have a Budweiser (foreign, American beer to him). I ordered a Guinness (foreign, Irish beer to me).”
I hear ya, brother. I had a similar shock/horror experience in England during a visit in the early 90s.
Date: August 10th, 2007 |
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