[tdubhro1]

Yeah, maybe don’t. I’m Irish and I’m sick to death of the stereotype of Irish as jolly drunkards. I recently went to see “The Glass Menagerie” play and the biggest (maybe only) laugh of the night was when the mother expressed surprise that an individual was “Irish on both sides but not an alcoholic”. Ha fucking ha. If I could go to the theatre and not have my nationality be the butt of lazy racist jokes that would be great, thanks.

And this isn’t harmless. I’ve worked in tech all my life, mostly outside of Ireland, and the “jolly drunkard” is certainly not a helpful stereotype when you’re trying to be taken seriously and progress in your career, I’ve experienced the unpleasant labelling myself (despite I’m teetotal) and frequently seen it applied to other Irish people.

[tonyennis]

Irish also, but different perspective. (Have lived away for past 5 years & reflected from afar on our relationship to alcohol)

- Strongly dislike the cultural glorification of getting excessively drunk, but can't deny it's there - the stereotype is not based on fiction. - Also strongly like the international reputation we have as being hospitable, fun, and friendly (as evidenced by the comment above), which is essentially a positive stereotype. - In my experience when meeting new people, acknowledgement-that-the-Irish-are-drinkers (in a non-antagonistic way) is not in itself harmful, and can often be a good ice breaker and rapport builder. As in, the stereotype itself is not the harmful part. Most people I've encountered tend not to make negative assumptions, are smart enough to reason about group vs individual behaviour, and give the benefit-of-the-doubt, and those who don't have a being-an-asshole problem, not a infected-by-a-stereotype problem. - My reading of the comment above was that the spirit was non-asshole-y.

Just my two cents

[tdubhro1]

Maybe, but maybe rapport based on “I don’t know you but I’ve heard your kind are a harmless lot who are always up for a drinking party after work”, is useful in a very limited set of circumstances, such as meeting a new team of peers, maybe. I’d still argue not, since the point of rapport building is to get to know the person in front of you, not how well they fit your preconception / stereotype.

In a large majority of situations in my experience, like being a senior manager of a new team, the CEO of a company meeting clients or negotiating with vendors and partners, it’s utterly irrelevant at best.

Also, the fact that Ireland has a major, major alcohol problem is no justification for the stereotype; so do many northern hemisphere countries. London had its Gin Crisis of the 18th century, with huge death toll and virtual breakdown of society, and the UK still has astronomical alcohol consumption, but they don’t get labelled the same way as the Irish

[illwrks]

Irish also, twelve years to the day I've been living abroad. I'm not really interested in "drinking", I've more a European approach to it, enjoying a relaxed pint or a glass of wine etc.

I 100% agree with you though, part of the Irish culture people look to experience is the good times around a few pints and some traditional music, with the reward of a hangover in the morning to mark it as a successful night.

The few negative things I've ever experienced were off hand comments about the famine, and some nonsense about the North of Ireland.

[Macha]

Yeah, such stereotyping of other groups would not be tolerated, often including by the people doing the stereotyping.

[night-rider]

Wait until cannabis is legalized over there. Alcohol is such a crappy drug and is laden with so many problems. Not saying weed is better, but it's better than alcohol!