Irish Flirting 101: The Strange Lines The Local Fellas Use To Chat Us Up

Ah Irish flirting, it can be a mind-boggling thing. Rather than just coming out and admitting that he fancies you, the Irish male has a unique way of registering his interest and, more times than not, it involves messing with you, asking about your da and being a bit cheeky.

We don’t know about you, but there genuinely is nothing better than watching an Irish fella trying to charm you and chat you up. God bless them. They’re charming, a bit divilish and we admire their determination.

Given that it’s a Friday, we thought it’d be fun to decipher some of the most common chat up lines used by Irish men across the country. If you think of any more, let us know – we’d love to hear them!

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The line: Will you shift my friend?
Translation: The Irish male is a proud creature and doesn’t tend to deal too well with rejection. This is why he sends his friend over to see if you’re interested in him and if there’s the possibility of a shift. He will try to act cool (and fail miserably) as his friend approaches you, asks the question and then points towards him. Is it immature? Yes, but you have to admit, it is a little cute as well. We just feel for the poor friend who’s been tasked with the job of helping him to secure a shift.

The line: Are you from [insert random county here]?
Translation: This is a common conversation starter. He’ll pick a random county (regardless of whether you have a specific accent or not and ask you if you’re from there. When he finds out where you’re from, he’ll then start to tease you mercilessly because your hurling team hasn’t won an An-Ireland in years. He’s also likely to try and imitate your accent at this point too.

What's the best chat up line an Irish fella has used on you?

The line: Who does your da know?
Translation: The Irish man is all about finding connections. He feels that if you have some friend in common, his chances of shifting you will immediately get better. We all know that Irish dads are extremely well connected (they all know each other) so he’ll start off by seeing if you have any common friendships on that front. If that fails, he’ll ask you where you went to college, if you have a brother or if you know such-and-such from that place down the country.

The line: Your dress is nice but it’s a bit mad like!
Translation: Ah, the back-handed compliment is the trade mark of divilment. He’s trying to get a bit of banter going with you so you can see how funny he actually is. He’s also likely to tease you about your hair, your job, your taste in music and basically anything else you mention.

The line: I can show you how to play hurling
Translation: This is his way of impressing you. He’ll challenge you to some kind of sporting activity, a bit of harmless trash-talking will ensue and then when you admit you’re crap with a hurl, he’ll offer to show you because he has some mad skills, don’t ya know?

The line: Can I buy you a bag of chips?
Translation: Get your coat, you’ve pulled!