Did someone just tell me (an Irishwoman) an anti-Irish joke?

[Decaffstilltastesweird]

I was sitting in a cafe with DD earlier today. We sat down next to a man who was on his own. He said hello to DD and then chatted to me a bit about the weather; how it was too warm last week.

Me: well, being Irish, I'm not great with hot weather (ho ho)
Him: did you hear about the Irishman who was on Mastermind recently?
Me: [thinking he was actually going to tell me about a Mastermind contestant] oh no, I didn't
Him: they asked him his name and he said "pass"
Me: oh... oh... em, no, no

We went back to eating lunch and he left.

So, maybe I'm misunderstanding, but I am guessing this is supposed to mean he's so thick he can't even remember his name? Because he's Irish? Is that what he meant? I'm genuinely confused ! If that's what he meant, did I just confirm his prejudices by looking like this at him?

He seemed a pleasant enough man, so I don't think he was being intentionally hurtful to me. Maybe I'm missing something or being over sensitive, (although actually I feel more confused than outraged about it).

Lucysky is probably too thick to know how it sounds, so I'll spell it out. What you wrote Lucysky was like a red rag to a raging horny Irish bull who hadn't seen a cow in 3 days.

Do the Irish write dissertations nowadays? Well I never!

Lucysky, is this you?

m.youtube.com/watch?v=72BrqGNvaT0

Shocking I know user! They even let me into an English university to do it .

Just to add, in case anyone misunderstands; I am in no way anti-English. My frankly spectacular (no bias ) husband is English and my equally spectacular dc is half English. I want her to be proud and educated about both sides of her heritage.

She'll get her brains from the British side Decaff ;)

That the Lord may help us.

I am English and I have not once heard a stupid Irish joke and didn't know it was a stereotype fortunately.
Hopefully this sort of thing should be forgotten soon as past generations of daft and stupid bigots die out!

Have you never heard an 'Englishman, Irishman and a Scotsman' joke, Ktown?

Apparently my dad used to tell Irish jokes (which I'm shocked by because he's always very clear about challenging racism). He hasnt told any for 40 years, since an Irish man overheard him in a pub and asked 'whats black & blue and floats in the irish sea? An englishman who told too many irish jokes'. Somehow that clued him in that the jokes were offensive.

Any time I've ever pulled anyone up on it I get told I'm uptight, take myself too seriously. It's done in 'polite' company, where making corresponding comments about people of virtually any other nationality would be rightly slammed.

Lots of people will now say "I've never seen/heard that"; I have, from many types of people over the past 20 years and it gets very tired very fast

Yes to this. I've lived in England since 1997, and while it's a from a minority of people, it hasn't gone away, and nor can I limit it to a particular age group or social class, so everything will be perfectly normal, and suddenly, wham, some people you thought were perfectly nice are all 'Oh, here's a good one!' with the anti-Irish stereotype 'bantz'.

Over the last few months, I've had a colleague in my university department describe my struggle to unclip a famously finicky type of clip-on microphone as 'a bit Irish' in front of a lecture theatre of students. I've had 'Isn't it lucky that your [English-born] son hasn't picked up your brogue?' I've had, from a total stranger at a bus stop in our nearest city who'd heard me speak on the phone, 'Your lot bombed that', pointing at an army recruitment office.

At a village committee meeting, which I rushed to after a quick family-emergency trip to Ireland, I had comments on my accent and how I'd 'gone native' in only a few days. And yes, I do challenge on all of these, and frequently get charges of being uptight, and having no sense of humour.

When I was younger and shyer, I used to get total incredulity that I'd first come to the UK to study at Oxford -- literally, at dinner parties friends of friends (whom I'd met at university, hence it came up in them asking me how I knew So and So) would say 'Oxford? Do you mean Oxford secretarial college? Or Oxford Brookes?' And when assured that no, I meant the University of Oxford, I'd get head-shaking, and 'Gosh, you're not really the type I'd have associated with the place...'

It is so cathartic reading these messages!

I get the potato thing all the time from my FIL. I thought he'd get tired of it, but 5 years later he will still offer a bowl of crisps around and say, "EMMELINE! You'll LOVE these! They're made from POTATOES!"

It's tedious and unoriginal but doesn't bother me like the "stupid Irish" stuff does. Especially as anyone who ever says it with a big stupid smile on his big stupid face is not exactly giving away spare brain cells. It is always men, come to think of it. No woman has ever done it to me.

but probably thought it was banter in his own head It's all about the bantz

derxa, was that eyeroll directed at me? I did say that it was absolutely no excuse for Cafe Guy to say what he did.

Well, put it this way... last night on Big Brother, the American guy asks 3 other British housemates what the capital of Denmark is. After a thoughtful pause from the three English geniuses, "Sweden" was the response.

I rest my fucking case.

Correction. One of the geniuses was Scottish.

There is not a hope in hell that I would allow my daughter be educated in England. They are miles behind the Irish.

Always have been. Used bullying and violence for 800 years. Doesn't make them any cleverer. Thankfully we got to ltb 100 years ago. Or fucked them out of our house more to the point.

It's all banter unless it's not. Context is everything. My partner is Scottish and an über Protestant. I'm Irish Catholic. Neither of us has any respect for the values we were brought up with and delight in taking the piss out of them at every opportunity, although an onlooker might be at us.

The boy in the OP was a roaster / gobshite etc etc

derxa, was that eyeroll directed at me? No. 'Banter' is often just bullying in disguise though.

I fucking hate the word banter.

Banter is different when it's someone you know. It's not good between strangers, or if people don't like it.

It would be a shame for this thread to descend into a bunch of English/British bashing. It doesn't have to be tit-for-tat.

The English people I know would be mortified to be in the same room with that sort of 'banter' going on.

I thought the joke was that there is an Irish name that's pronounced "Pass". That would be, well, actually funny.

I knew immediately that OP was not British when she said "I was sitting" instead of "I was sat".

Jokes at the expense of any culture, religion, ethnicity, race whatever are totally unacceptable.

I knew immediately that OP was not British when she said "I was sitting" instead of "I was sat".

I'm British, but would use 'I was sitting' rather than 'I was sat' it varies from region to region.

I knew immediately that OP was not British when she said "I was sitting" instead of "I was sat".

I'm Scottish British and I would say I was sitting.

Is I was sat even gramatically correct??

**

I think that was soda's point. I was sat is becoming more common, but isn't Standard English.

Lucysky - government statistics show that Irish children gain better results than white British children in English schools.