One of the things I (Pip) am really enjoying here in Ireland is the Irish sense of humour. It’s frequently self-deprecating and often with a keen sense of the ridiculous.
An example or two is in the article below, on green energy generation and the need for more of it. It was headed “The green, green gas of home…” and contained these suggestions. “We may not be suited to wind power, but here are some other ways we think Dublin could produce green power: 1) harnessing the wind created by seagulls who have ‘lost the run of themselves’ (I shudder to imagine exactly what is meant here). 2) Somehow utilising the Irish process of alcohol assimilation (there has to be a better by-product than a hangover). 3) Harnessing the static electricity created by the many lycra-clad leg-pumping cyclists. 4) turning begrudgery into power – if we could do it in Dublin alone, the whole world could stop burning fossil fuels.”
Another example came when I shared with my most recent class that I wanted to understand the rules of hurling, a national game of considerable speed and energy. One of these days I’ll have to bite the bullet and go to one at Croke Park nearby. The numbers of folk attending are enough to drive an agoraphobic spare but the sound when someone scores is amazing, even from our apartment several blocks away, and with double glazing! So one of my students, in the spirit of helpfulness, posted the two videos below In his introduction online. The first is standard Sky TV who does what, how you score etc, but the second is a send-up that is peculiarly Irish. Warning: crude language!