Quote Originally Posted by vetdrm:
Planning on going to the Rory Gallagher Music Festival in Ballyshannon at the end of May.
Ballyshannon is roughly 2 hours from Dublin.
Thought some on the board may have some insight as I have never been there.
Relatives there also that Ive never met.
After talking with one stranger from Ireland whom I met here in the states , when telling him my last name he proudly told me and my group, "there all locked up".!
Good joke I suppose but it has me wondering what Im in for.
Any help about the customs, money , weather,people, is appreciated.
I have friends over there and I'm over there every other year for St. Patricks Day. It's a beautiful country, and everyone there is very nice
as long as you don't do dumb American things.Don't wear stupid green shirts with Shamrocks. Nobody over there does that. Don't try and talk with a fake Irish accent, even if you're joking. Don't tip the bartenders. If you do, it's a sign you have no idea what you're doing over there and you'll get the "American tourist" treatment. You don't want the "American tourist" treatment.
Clothing: Do's: jeans, button up shirt, hoodie, khakis, jacket, casual shoes.
Dont's: jeans with white tennis shoes, american football jersey's, goofy tshirts with dumb or immature jokes on them. DON'T WEAR A GUINESS T-SHIRT
Weather: It's normally around 50-60 degrees Farenheit...but remember they do Celcius over there so it's smart to know how to tell the temp with Celcius.
THIS IS A BIG ONE: I'm not sure how you're traveling, but save all your receipts when you're buying things (not beer or bar tabs). When you leave the country, you can turn your receipts in to one of the exchange places and they will give you the money back that you spent in taxes. If you're buying souvenirs, clothes, gifts, etc...it can end up being a substantial amount of money. Just look into when you get to the airport, or just ask someone who lives there. They'll know where to go.
People: You will be shocked about how much they know about the United States. Most of them know more about our political system then a lot of Americans. They know a lot of our sports teams, culture, etc. Irish people love traveling, so most have them have been to the US. If you travel a lot, you can have a lot of fun trading stories with Irish people. Also, if you get into conversation with an Irish couple or a group of people...DON'T IGNORE THE WOMEN. The women are very independent thinkers (even the married ones), and they have their own opinions and stories. Include them in the conversation. They are very friendly people, very knowledgeable, and most of them in Dublin are pretty educated. I don't know about Ballyshannon. Most people in Dublin are easy to understand, but when you get out to the smaller towns, the accents can get difficult to understand. There are parts of the country that even my Irish friends can't understand.
Money: They are on the Euro obviously. Right now the dollar to Euro ratio is around 1: .73. Trust me when I tell you this...no matter how much you plan, no matter how much to try, no matter how cheap you can be...it's going to be more expensive than you think. It always is. A beer in the pub is around 4-5 Euro. So you're spending about 5-6 bucks for a pint. Trust me...in an Irish bar, it will add up quick.
Food and Drink: The food is really bland. They don't like spicy, however in Dublin there are a ton of different types of restaurants. Mexican, Thai, American, etc. However all of the flavors have been dumbed down a bit. Lower your expectations for the food...except for the breakfasts. The breakfasts can be awesome. Portions on food are also smaller than over here. But it does make you realize how much we overeat over here.
If you end up hanging out with Irish people at a bar, understand this custom...it's very important.
Someone in the group will say "Who wants a drink?". If there are 5 people that say yes, the person will go up and bring all 5 of those people their drink. It is now understood, that all 5 of the people now owe that person a drink. It's called a "round". If you don't want to be in the "round", politely decline, and say you will get your own. It's not offensive. However, if someone buys you a drink, and you don't buy them a drink back...that's rude, and someone will probably say something to you.
Shots: At some point, someone may say "who wants a shot" or "who wants a jagerbomb". Take a look at how many people say yes. Everyone that says yes is now in another "round". That means that it is understood that the first guy will buy everyone a shot. Then in a little bit the second guy will buy everyone a shot. Then the third, and so on. If you say yes, and there are 8 people in the "round"...be prepared to take 8 shots...and at some point buy 8 shots. I accidentally got into a 9-person round of jagerbombs once. It was an interesting night. If you try and get out of the "round" of shots...you will have problems. It's a great way to get a group of drunk Irish guys mad at you.
The Drinks: Beer over there is fantastic, but it's more thick than American beer. The Guiness is like butter, but it will spoil you for the rest of your life. You'll never find Guiness over here like the Guiness over there. Heineken is popular. Smithwicks as well (they pronounce is smidicks), and they do have good ciders. Mixed drinks aren't super popular, but they do drink vodka and cokes sometimes (which tastes awful to me). Believe it or not, you will see some Irish guys drinking bud light...but don't be the American drinking bud light in Ireland. They also have "hot whiskey". They drink it if they aren't feeling good, but want to still have a drink out at the bar. It's whiskey, hot water, sugar cubes, and a lemon with cloves. It's freaking delicious. You may see that around, and if you order it in a bar it's not a girly thing. Perfectly acceptable. Make sure you pace yourself...don't be the drunk American guy making a fool out of yourself.
The Guiness plant is in the middle of Dublin. It's the one touristy thing I recommend. The tour is boring, but it's cool to be there and at the end you get to go up to the glass bar. It's a bar at the top of the plant and you get a fresh pint of guiness and the whole thing is windows. You can see the city, hills, etc...it really is beautiful.
Last really random thing. Sometimes in bars, you'll hear a group of guys singing. Sometimes it's a national anthem, sometimes it's Sinatra. They love Sinatra...they love their anthems.
Don't know if this helps at all, but if you're going up to Dublin let me know. I can have my friends pass some things along to you about the train system, busses, things to see, etc.
Have fun when you go over there!