Calling all rep-of Ireland Mumsnetters!! Main differences between Ireland and UK??

[Neighbour1]

Just that really, posting here for traffic!

What are the main differences that you can see, about lifestyle, wages, attitudes, work, education, people?? In general I can see a few on here so thought I’d ask, as the two countries are so close (and were once 1) there seems to be a lot of differences!!

NHS

I've noticed that when it comes to family time that is sacred, excluding friends, whereas that would never happen in Ireland

Yes I always find the threads on MN about having 2/4/6 weeks of no visitors when a baby is born so the parents can “bond”, baffling! It simply does not happen where I am. People turn up at the hospital to see you and the same once you’re home. Word just spreads and people come. My babies were both pre Facebook so there was no announcements of birth, just word of mouth and for the first week or so after they were born every evening involved a stream of visitors. All babies perfectly well bonded with me

Leo is pure notions.

I’m Irish but have lived in England since university (now mid thirties). I think it’s easy to make generalisations but there are some differences that do stick out.

• Tribalism as my (also Irish husband) refers to it. Which county you’re from (purely for GAA reasons), which tea you prefer (Barry’s or spits Lyons), the same with crisps. I never known anything like the pub rows I’ve seen over which tea bags people prefer.

• Education is expensive, it was quite something to realise that I didn’t have to pay for every copy book and text book (which change every two years at home) for my children.

I do think Irish education is more rigorous and my old university and current work place are always very keen to take Irish people.

• We (as a nation) have a lot of pride in our culture. Music, story telling, myths etc. are prized and interwoven into our lives and society in a way that just isn’t present in England in particular.

• A similar thing go the U.K., we are very good at building famous people up to knock them down. “Pure notions.”

• Ireland has lovely boutiques even in the most unsuspecting of places, these tend to be only in upper middle class places and big cities in England.

• As someone mentioned above not every person in Ireland has a great sense of humour, we aren’t all the same but what I will say is Irish humour does tend to lean to the more brutal side and tests you a bit. I do generally find if someone likes you they are more likely to insult you with their humour in the hope you’ll do it in return - I’ve offended many an English person with that.

We are thinking of moving back home because of Brexit but the area we work in (healthcare) frightens is a bit as we have been trained in the NHS.

Im curious as to whether many of these comparisons are Ireland vs England rather than the UK? Many of the differences eg.around stiff upper lip, funerals, nhs etc. seems more focused to England so does that support some posters arguments that its near impossible to paint the differences with a broad brush?

Are there still a lot of powercuts in Ireland?

@Snog 😂😂 that is so weird that you asked as there was a power cut in my city today!! In Ireland 🤣

the republic of Ireland sent condolences to Germany after hitler killed himself the uk did not.

In the UK you regularly get asked 'what does your father do?' In Ireland it isn't really an issue.
Harder to make new friends in Ireland. More C sections in Ireland.
Schooling in expensive but good state system.
Shopping good old Dunnes is hard to beat and everyone loves Penneys.
Weddings are bigger and more expensive in Ireland.

In Ireland, they have Tayto.

And we were never one country, OP.

This is also something that interests me and I have had a similar thread which didn't end too badly! Will try find link...

I think that from an Irish perspective we're more surprised by the differences as there's so much "British" influence through tv etc that we don't expect it to be any different there!

The usual funeral/wedding thing is always covered on these threads. Big differences there!
I suppose that the difference in the populations of the countries is also going to skew perceptions. Also, different laws/benefits etc changes situations.

Are we famed for our power cuts snog

I can’t scroll back but a pp said we love to praise ourselves and talk about how great we are. This is what you call notions 😆
Why is it that as an Irish person I can’t say sure aren’t we great?! As someone else said we build up a famous person just to tear them down. We do it to each other too. Can’t see your neighbour doing better than you...

themmatricc I’d image it was the Irish government who sent condolences not the Irish people...

As an English person married into an Irish family and regularly visiting, my observations are:

Strong sense of cultural identity (language, music, sport) Strong local identities.
The national news feels like British regional news (not surprising as British regions can have more population than Ireland) Good geographical awareness people will know of small villages/ towns around the country. The English have a bit of an identity crisis from having exported/ imposed/ globalised so much of our heritage and moving with fashions rather than maintaining folk customs and identities as normal aspects of life. Morris dancing is a little bit niche compared with folk dancing

Stronger communities. The local GAAs are well supported by the pubs decorated in their local colours. The GAA reinvests back into grass roots sport so sports facilities are comparatively disproportionately grand compared to British grounds. A Sunday League level of club would have its own modest stadium rather than playing on pitch 4 of the park with minimal facilities.
West/ rural Ireland: you can get drawn into lengthy conversations with strangers. Only ask for directions if you have an hour to spare. Rural signposts will be covered in an extensive array of signs for local businesses.

Urban Ireland, much more similar to the UK as they have globalised similarly. DH finds the differences much less stark now than he did when he first moved 20+ years ago. Urban lifestyles have changed the culture so it is busier and less obviously "Irish" More standardised than the rural areas.

Generally looks more European with things like road signs... with some British looking twists. The big clue that I'd gone from NI into the Republic was that the road signs had changed on the other side of the bridge.

My ILs care about social status and the value of education for self improvement. I suspect that there is a strong general cultural memory of Ireland being a poorer country and being affluent as a nation is comparatively recent. There seems to be a lot of focus on the right points in the right subject to get on the right degree. Because education is generally valued, quality entry level jobs are very competitive and even "lower valued" work like shop work will need a degree.

I'm not claiming these as absolute truths, but I have visited the majority of the country over the years (and got into some very lengthy conversations with Kerrymen )

Irish people sit side by side with supporters of the opposing team at Gaelic matches unlike the segregation at UK soccer matches.

Moved from NI to Dublin via a stint in Scotland in the 90s and the things I noticed were:

The GAA and the depth to which it is discussed

The county allegiance

The depth of interest in politics

The cultural importance of the Leaving Cert, and that year in year out is makes the news, always about what came up on English Paper 1 on the first day.

That secondary schools finish at the end of May because given the importance of the Leaving there is no way the rest of the school could continue to be educated in June!

TY and the weird optionality of 4th year in secondary school.

Paying the GP who used to put his hand out at the end of the consultation and give you change from his fat wallet.

There’s a greater sense of community in Ireland:good in so many ways but works against people not in that community including people arriving from abroad. I have lived in Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales. These are all different countries OP!
Protestants keep toasters in cupboards. There are no swedes in Ireland, only turnips

What a pointless thread - there are so many differences - they are two completely different countries & cultures FFS - i'm from UK - lived in Ireland 23 years - one thing's for sure I'd never move back 😆

The friendliness and hospitality of the people in Ireland. When I visit Britain I forget that people don’t say hello to strangers or wave as you pass them in a car. Likewise when I have visitors from Britain they always remark on the friendliness of the people. Even teenagers....I think it just gets passed down from the parents.

The influence of the Catholic Church is decreasing. Like churches in Britain it has been tainted by abuse scandals and cover-ups. There is still a lot of cultural religious practice e.g. the majority of a class will take their first communion.

Social attitudes are liberalising away from the conservatism of Church teachings.

Large scale immigration wasn't much of a feature of Irish life until the EU expansion of 2004. Like the UK, Ireland opened up free movement to new members in 2004 when many countries had a delay creating new diasporas of Eastern Europeans, a new experience for much of Ireland.

Haha at swedes wurlycurly

I'm Irish and lived in England (SW) for a few years. I didn't find it a huge culture shock at all; it was easy to find friends with a similar outlook on life. The Irish and British sense of humour is very alike.

One thing that was striking was bureaucracy - dealing with state bodies, big firms, etc. In the U.K. those things were invariably more efficient, there was more cohesion of services and homogeneity of online platforms and that sort of thing. But they were also much less flexible; any request even slightly outside the norm was likely to be met with "Computer says no". The person at the other end of the phone was typically unfailingly polite and completely unhelpful. In Ireland you're much more likely to have to dial three numbers before you get through to the office you need, but equally likely to find that the person who picks up the phone will go above and beyond to help you out. There is also, I think, a more pragmatic, case-by-case approach to things like safeguarding etc. in Ireland, rather than the very rigid adherence to all-encompassing rules that you tend to get in the UK. There are pros and cons to both those attitudes, I think.

To the PP who talked about the amount of family alienation you see in the U.K., I'd agree with that. DH worked in palliative care in England, and was really struck by the number of elderly people who just seemed to have no family at all, or none who played an active role in their lives, anyway. You just don't see that here; I've worked in the same field in Dublin, and I don't remember a single patient who didn't have regular visitors and a definite network, even if it was nieces and neighbours rather than their own children.

No airing cupboards, they're a hot press and much more valued as a feature of a family home... unless that's just my IL's

dreamyspires not true - in some parts of UK people are very friendly - mainly in the North 😆

SudowoodoVoodoo haha - hot press - one of the first terms I learned - that & "runners" for trainers 😅

I think Ireland and Scotland are very similar. My friend from Ireland lived in London before she moved to Glasgow, she loves scotland as it seems more like home. w, funerals, you name it and we’ll turn it into a party till the wee hours. We love stories and you’ll be brought right back if you get ahead of yourself. You great your best pal with insults ’awright bawjaws’. The weather is continually discussed and rain is something you just expect. Billy Connolly one made a joke ‘a Scottish guy spots Ireland through his telescope forbthe first time.....haw chief there’s a place....Rainier than here.....fuck me they’re all more mental than us!’ I think the Gaelic language in both countries are similar. It must be the Celtic genes!