Stuff Irish People Love - A Hilarious and Slightly Terrifying Look in the Mirror

Colin Murphy and Donal O’Dea appear to have dream jobs.  They sit down (occasionally with a pint) and discuss and debate all the weird and wonderful things about the Irish, about being Irish and the weird and wonderful things that we Irish love.  Stuff Irish People Love is their latest book on the topic of uniquely Irish things and their inherent humour; a slight deviation from their ‘Feckin’ series.  Reading it can be a frightening, as well as hilarious experience, as you realise how many of the examples apply to yourself.  Kevin Massey spoke to Colin Murphy about his latest book and how it all started with a wagon called Fiona.

In 2003 Colin and Donal were having a pint surrounded by a diverse of Irish people and tourists.  It was a comment from two Dubs at the bar, ‘‘Did ye hear that wagon Fiona got rat-arsed and ended up in a mill? It was deadly!’, that sparked their interest and that of a group of American tourists seated nearby.  Colin and Donal realised that the sentence, completely understandable to them, had completely baffled the American visitors, despite the fact that we share a language.

‘So the idea occurred to us to put together a light-hearted dictionary of Irish slang, which led on to Irish sayings, history, insults etc. And ‘feck’ was such a uniquely Irish word it seemed like a natural title for the series.

While Stuff Irish People Love is not strictly part of the Feckin’ series, they share the same origin.  Having spent years looking at aspects and applications of language by the Irish, Colin and Donal decided to expand on another idea they had on that same day. Stuff Irish People Love looks at our unique quirks and idiosyncrasies, which are often hilarious.

Given how central pub culture is to Irish culture, it is unsurprising that it was in conversations over a few pints that the idea grew.  Ireland’s drink related quirks were the first to be recognised and debated for Stuff Irish People Love.  ‘Irish people will brag about how long their local serves drink after last orders or the number of times they’ve been locked into a pub’.  From there, they moved onto to discussing our food oddities and how we interact.  It really took off when people started phoning, emailing and texting in suggestions, all of which they agreed with and identified with.  Colin rates ‘Your Ma reading the death notices in the paper as his favourite’, an easily relatable entry as Ireland seems to be the only country in which ‘You won’t believe who is after dying’ is a perfectly acceptable substitute for ‘Hello’.  He also gives mention to ‘Changing into your swimming togs under a towel on the beach’, an entry that owes as much to the quality of the Irish summer as it does our national modesty. 

One of the benefits of Stuff Irish People Love is that it can appeal to Irish and international readers for different reasons.  For readers in the international market, it can act as a cultural guide and translator.  They can find out what the difference between a culchie and a jackeen as well as being forewarned about our tendencies toward slagging and begrudgery.  As for Irish readers, ‘the universal reaction has been to keep turning the pages, nodding their heads and chuckling at the familiarity of the subjects. Almost without exception, Irish people can identify with 99% of the topics’.  We can all see bits of ourselves, our parents, siblings and friends in this book.  Given the current dominance of American culture, with children in particular, this book will be an excellent accompaniment when you are having one of the many ‘When I was your age’ chats with kids who don’t know who Bosco is, what red lemonade is, or understand the concept that a TV station would stop broadcasting at between 11.55pm and 9.00am. 

Regular Facebook users will find the entries in this book recognisable.  Facebook groups give a similar output to show that ‘the best humour doesn’t come from invented jokes, but from everyday life. In fact this is something Irish people have known for centuries and one of the reasons we’re such legendary talkers! Once a topic like peculiar Irish quirks comes up, media such as Facebook and Twitter allow people to very quickly share their own take on the subject or their personal experiences.’  Finding humour, that small spark of levity, in every bad situation is another uniquely Irish trait that helps us deal with any disaster that befalls us. 

The research for this book was particularly enjoyable for Colin and Donal, they got to talk to countless people about their Irishness.  ‘We asked, via email, every Irish person we knew to contribute their particular ‘loves’. We had literally hundreds of responses. In fact the enthusiasm was incredible. Many of the suggestions came up again and again, everything from ‘Claiming you’re related to someone who fought in the GPO in 1916’ or ‘Eating hard boiled eggs mashed into a cup with a lump of butter’. We eventually pared it down to the most popular contributions’.

Given the universal understanding that Irish people have with the book, it is easy to forget that, amid all the nationalism, the Irish are very local at heart.  An important part of compiling the list was to ensure that, while not everyone will recognise their own traits in every entry, they will have, at least, witnessed it. Also there were some subjects that had more of a rural flavour like ‘Herding sheep with a hurley’ and some with an urban or Dublin theme, for example ‘Jackeens saying ‘that’s a grand healthy smell’ when they get a whiff of cowshite in the countryside’.  Entries such as these transcend Ireland’s rural/urban divide as the country is small enough and intertwined enough that there is a consistent mix of both communities.  Then the editing process began.  ‘In general we omitted items that were only known in a particular county or area of the country as we wanted all the topics to be ones that would be universally recognized by Irish people everywhere’.

So, with a hilarious look at the Stuff Irish People Love finished for now, what is next on the agenda for Colin and Donal? What are the plans for the next in the series?  ‘The next Feckin’ book (Number 15, I think), comes out in spring, hopefully before St. Patrick’s Day, (especially as he’s in it!) It takes a humorous look at the classic Irish clichés like Shamrock, Leprechauns, Aran Jumpers, Red Hair, The Little People and so on. In fact we slag them to bits!

(c) Kevin Massey, November 2011. 

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