Are you sitting down? You probably should…
Folks, we’re not entirely sure how to break this to you but some of your favourite Irish things ever, aren’t exactly Irish.
Prepare to have your whole world flipped upside down and your mind blown…
Here are 10 thing that you probably thought were Irish but aren’t really. (We’re still claiming a few as our own though).
1. Lyons Tea
In a 2012 survey carried out on 1,000 householders by Love Irish Food, it was discovered that 77% believed Lyons Tea was produced in Ireland.
Sorry folks, they’ve been Lyon to us all along, (too easy), however it is actually packed in England for Dutch firm Unilever.
2. Danny Boy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSjvLG7IJAI
His pipe, his pipes were calling, from Glen to Glen and down the English mountainside… Yes, Danny Boy, a song that has been in the repertoire of some of the greats, was penned by an Englishman. Frederic Weatherly wrote the lyrics, which was then paired with the melody of the Derry Air. Many argue over the sentiments behind the song, but we’ve claimed it as our own.
From Johnny Cash to Sarah Vaughan, Eric Clapton to Tony Bennett, Elvis Presley to Sinead O’Connor, they’ve all shown a lot of love for Danny Boy, and we will continue to, even if it isn’t our own.
3. Daniel Day Lewis
The Academy Award winning actor has worked in Ireland many times and aced the Irish accent as Christy Brown in My Left Foot and Gerry Conlon in In The Name Of The Father. Many believe that Daniel was born here, however that is not the case.
Daniel Day Lewis has dual citizenship. The actor was born and raised in London and became an Irish citizen in 1993.
4. Michael Flatley
For those of you who have mistaken Flatley and his feet of flames as Irish, you’re incorrect. He is in fact American.
Rumour has it that Gerard Butler listened to Flatley as inspiration behind his character in P.S. I Love You, which would explain the dodgy accent perfectly.
5. HB
Hazel Brook Farm is a real place, however HB hasn’t been made there since 2005. The HB brand is also owned by Unilever in the UK.
6. Stew
Sorry lads, it appears the Romans and French got there a few thousand years before us… Grand, we weren’t huge fans of it anyway.
7. St. Patrick
Sound man for chasing the snakes, any chance of him coming back and banishing the spiders too?
St. Patrick may have his own day, which we look forward to celebrating each year. But it is believed Patrick himself was born in the Roman Britain, part of the Roman Empire. (We had to look that up too.)
8. Boyne Valley Honey
Most of Boyne Valley’s honey is imported from Europe and South America because of the wet climate, lack of beekeepers and demise of Irish bees, something that chairman of the company said is well documented.
Our porridge will never taste the same again.
9. Michael Fassbender
Don’t let Fassy’s pale skin, freckles, auburn locks and love for the craic fool you, he was born in Heidelberg, Germany.
His mother hails from Antrim and is reportedly the great-grand-niece of Michael Collins. Fassbender’s parents relocated to Killarney, Co. Kerry at the age of two… He’s still ours.
10. Pint
‘Going for a pint’ is one of our favourite phrases but did you know the word Old French word pinte.
According to Wikipedia, pinte is derived from the Latin word ‘picta’ meaning ‘painted’, which represents the line painted on the side of a glass marking a one-pint volume of ale. If this ever comes up on a pub quiz while you’re out for a pint, you’ve nailed it.
How do we feel about this? Mind = Blown
