12 Ways… To Keep Irish People Happy

From cheese and onion crisps to shopping trips in Penneys, there are a number of little things that Irish people get a special delight from on a daily basis. With a cup of tea in one hand and a packet of Rich Tea in the other, we’ve picked out just some of our favourites... ________________________________________________ Tea Is there anything that can’t be solved with a good cup of tea? Be they Lyons or Barry’s lovers, you’ll win the affection of any Irish guy or gal in your life if you can make a good cuppa! Penneys It’s become an Irish institution and a trip to Penneys or better yet, a voucher for Penneys so we can go get lost in a maze of tops, skirts and shoes is a definite winner! Sunshine Irish people love to complain about the weather and can you blame us, we do live with rain most of the year round! If you can convince the sun to come out, even for an hour, we’ll love you forever. Tayto For the love of all things Irish, there’s nothing like a good bag of Tayto. Preferably with two slices of bread and a lob of butter. Heaven. A session And we don’t just mean of the drinking kind (though that’s definitely a mood-lifter), but rather Irish people are a musical lot and love nothing more than taking in some live craic agus ceol in the local pub. Gift of the gab Most Irish people like nothing more than a good natter. Be it about the aforementioned weather, the latest drama in the area or reminiscing on what happened out on the town on Saturday night - if you’re good to talk, the Irish will love you. Weddings We love a good wedding here in Ireland, particularly one with a serious knees-up afterwards that will have us belting out Galway Girl to our heart's content and crawling into bed at 7am after a sing song in the resident’s bar. Play the guitar? You’ll be accepted immediately. GAA It’s hard to avoid the GAA in Ireland and pretty much everyone has some opinion on the local and inter-county GAA teams. Read up on your hurling, know who's who in football, or better yet, grab some tickets to Croke Park to see what all the fuss is about. There’s a reason we love it so much – and no, it’s not just for Aidan O’Shea… though this picture does help.   Fashionable timekeeping No Irish person likes to be annoyed about their timekeeping so if you can figure out that nine o’clock usually means at least 40 minutes later (if you’re lucky), you’ll fit right in. Be a gent Irish women are known for abandoning their high heels after a night out and then have to navigate wet ground, dirty roads and bits of glass. You’ll keep the Irish lady in your life VERY happy if you do the gallant thing and carry her shoes… or better yet, carry her! An Irish mammy dinner There’s nothing that will put the smile back on our faces more than a hearty Irish mammy dinner. Spuds, meat and a lot of TLC make this one of our favourites. The Underdog The Irish love an underdog and there’s nothing that makes them happier than seeing the underdog winning. Supporting any hurling team beating Kilkenny? A must. A team losing to Kerry or Donegal by 10 points at half-time? We’ll start to roar.