Paddy

Hi Bex,We lived in Newtown and Neutral Bay.Hubby is from the Hunter Valley.Whereabouts in Ireland do you live?

Such a small world, isn't it? I live in Ennis :) BTW I also lived in Newtown - LOVED it. Very colourful.

As Barry says, we have a double standard approach to it.

Some people can be a bit sensitive to being called a Paddy by another nationality while if someone Irish says it, it's ok.

It's a bit like you slagging off your family but when someone else does it, it's offensive.

You would rarely hear Irish people actually refer to themselves as paddys and is more likely to be used as an insult or in a derogatory manner.

Hence your line: 'I think paddies must be supersitious' could sound a bit derogatory.

I

No Paddy is a no no was overused by the Brits, just slag him from whatever town he is from

Your 'good friend' sounds mental.

I would never get insulted if an Ozzie called me a Paddy. If an English guy said it, I would be. That's what history does :)
You need less sensitive friends.

And yes, the number three is extremely significant, in old Gaelic understanding the world was in 3 parts, the borders of which get fuzzy on the Autumn solstice (and thus we have Hallowe'en). Some of the bog bodies recovered have signs of ritual murder using three methods (IIRC one body was hit with 3 blows of an axe, and then strangled using a cord with 3 knots in it).

But not just in Gaelic beliefs - St. Patrick used a shamrock to explain... the Trinity.

Hi Bex,

I'm an Australian who has lived in Ireland for the last 15 years (from Glebe Point originally - small world)
At one stage I only had my Irish citizenship as my Australian citizenship had lapsed - but I only ever considered myself Australian (just got the official papers back recently)
I imagine that to your Irish friends you will always be Australian too - it's not shutting you out but it's just the fact of where you were born
I agree it's a double standard - but it's one I have myself - an Irish woman I knew married to an Aussie and who had lived there for a number of years started slagging off Australia and I started bristling inside!
I suppose there are just some cultural sore points that will get a reaction from the majority of people - it's not you, it's just a sensitive and loaded word
Anyway that's my 2 cents, even though I'm not Irish! ;-)

Kate

practically all my Irish friends use the word "paddy" to describe the Irish and don't object to me doing same
I get called a lot worse than that by them!
however they're almost all "working class" or rural, since we mostly met working in industrial jobs offshore and all over the world where if you can't take rough banter you may as well give up

however I've noticed that more middle class Irish, particularly Dubliners, particularly on web forums, particularly if they're the kind of people who were never likely to have suffered anti-Irish discrimination except in their heads, are now stating that it's offensive

Tell Paddy to have a cup of tea (Irish brekkie?), a Bex and a good lie down

Here ya go....