Best products from r/ireland

Firstly there is absolutely nothing wrong with being on your own. I'm from Ireland also and I'm on my own tonight also which is in fact the norm for me. I don't think I've gone out to anything in over a year and then it was probably another year before then. I just got fed up with the complete bullshit that goes with going out. There seems to be this necessity ingrained within every young person in Ireland that you have to go out at the weekend to enjoy yourself and that if you're not going out there must be something wrong with you. Nah boy. Absolute rubbish. Stay in. Download some great film you haven't seen in ages. Browse Netflx. Make plans for something you always wanted to do but never had the courage to see through. And you don't even have to see it through now. Just the act of seeing how you could feasibly go about doing something can make you feel better about yourself. Reread your favourite book. Don't read? Nows a great time to start.

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Secondly If you're not happy in your job see if you can make a plan for how to go about learning a new skill to get a different one. Theres loads of those MOOC's now. I'd recommend Udacity https://eu.udacity.com. All their individual courses are free and you can do them from the comfort of home without interacting with anyone. Or if you do want some interaction there are some message boards and facbook groups for Udacity courses. Or even see if theres some other career path you might be interested in. Nobody knows what they want to do when they're doing the Leaving. Heres the career guidance you get "Good at Maths and Physics? - Engineering for you, Good at Science? - Pharmaceutical Industry for you, Good at everything - off to medical school with you. Not sure what you want do? - Here's a business/computery oriented degree". Sheesh! Like whats even the point with all that? You don't figure out what you want to do until much later. Loads of people end up going back to College as Mature Students to do what they really want do anyway once they're sure they've got a plan of action to follow (which comes from making that plan I mentioned earlier). Like training to be a solicitor. Here's the Law societies guide on how to do that https://www.lawsociety.ie/Public/Become-a-Solicitor/

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And on the money side of stuff this book is great https://www.amazon.co.uk/Barefoot-Investor-Money-Guide-Youll/dp/0730324214 The guy tells you how to basically save the money you make in your normal job and put it towards pension funds and so on and how to get the best deals in super funds and online banks and stuff. And how to invest money wisely in things like property and shares. And when you realise that you can do all this too it will make you feel a lot better about yourself and your current situation (which there is nothing wrong with)

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And don't worry about that social aspect. People drift and friends move apart as you get older. In the end all you have is your family and they are the people that matter the most.

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I'm an American just back from a trip to Ireland. I'll just answer questions as a tourist.

Bring about $300 worth of Euro with you. Exchange rate is better if you get it in US first. Airport will either charge a fee or exchange rate will not be as good.

Bring about $100 US dollars, in case of dire emergency.

Find some way to keep your money well hidden and safe, also passport. We were in Ireland for 9 days and we did not see one police officer, even in Temple Bar on a Saturday night. Pick pocketing is a common crime and you may be a target. Consider those hidden belt things. Not attractive, but safe. http://www.amazon.com/Travel-Pouch-Compact-Security-Hidden/dp/B003YID7SC/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1410886428&sr=8-4&keywords=secret+belt+wallet

You don't need a Visa, just a passport.

Clothes: Long sleeved shirts, cardigan sweater, lined, waterproof rain jacket with hood. Also scarves to keep you warm. Consider light gloves for that time in November.

Shoes: Comfortable, leather, tie shoes or slip ons. Consider spraying them with waterproofing spray before you go.

Fun idea for Dublin. Do this early in trip. Musical Pub Crawl. Cost is $15, plus money for drinks but the two musicians talk about the history of pub music in Ireland and it is a good time. Our group was about 40 people, but it was a Saturday night. http://www.dublintours.net/?event=offer.detail&offerId=7337&startDate=09/01/2014&endDate=09/30/2014

Blarney Stone. The grounds and castle were beautiful, but the experience of kissing the stone was ridiculous. Seemed like a sham. We climbed up 6 or 7 stories of stone stairs that were in a spiral, and narrow. Some people bailed out because of claustrophobia. You don't kiss a stone, you kiss the top of the castle wall. Also it was over an hour just to climb to top. And scary inside spiral staircase. There is a rope to hang onto on stairwell. Ugh.

Cliff of Moher were gorgeous. Price was less than $10. Worth it.

I would recommend driving the highways as much as possible. The interior roads are really one lane wide, when another car comes, everyone just hugs the bushes or stone walls and passes each other. I don't know how they do it.

If it is not too late, consider a driver? And consider spending time in the great towns of western Ireland. Good choices are Kilkenny, Killarney and Westport. All had a nice selection of bars, restaurants and shops. So maybe don't spend every night in Dublin. Is it too late to change?

Irish fella here. Lived over there and now me and the Mrs living here. We do a thanksgiving every year. One thing to note, it is not a session. Few drinks at dinner and that's it. It's usually is a very respectful family event that is more about eating than drinking.

It is basically a big pot luck. You bring a cuple of dishes. Maybe a big bowl of champ mash or a salad, or even a cuple apple tarts. Bring a bottle of wine maybe too. You do not have to go all out buying all that but there is some ideas.Best thing to do is actually ask him. "Hey, I wanted to bring some food or drink over for celebration; Is there anything I can cook and bring to make your day easier?"

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If you're looking to bring him something from America, then order some of these. Of all the Americans I talk to here, this is the gold dust! Make sure you get the mix packet and not the bottle if you go this route.https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hidden-Valley-Original-Seasoning-Envelopes/dp/B003G9L1TQ/ref=sr_1_7?adgrpid=59082866795&gclid=CjwKCAiA8K7uBRBBEiwACOm4d0ZoaG-bp_fWfZGYm0KMC6QnZWvvbuvQ3619mw_21jwkbTNjrMA_LhoCrMcQAvD_BwE&hvadid=291461063033&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=20479&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=b&hvrand=5554114308059697605&hvtargid=kwd-295729881566&hydadcr=8469_1790195&keywords=hidden+valley+ranch+dressing&qid=1573674640&sr=8-7

Hit me a PM if you need any more info. Fair play in trying to make him fell welcome. Definitely bring something!!

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Edit: Americans fucking love sweet potatoes so bang up a few of those and mash em.

A few books I've enjoyed about Irish history:

The Isles: A History - a contextualised history of the nations of these isles. Hard to understand one without the others.

The Oxford History of Ireland - Wide ranging. Really enjoyed the last chapter on literature.

Ireland in the Age of the Tudors, 1447-1603: English Expansion and the End of Gaelic Rule - I've only read the earlier edition which some people had problems (pdf) with but I found very informative.

A History of Ulster - Localised but comprehensive and authoritative. Sorry about that. I'm a bit parochial as you'll notice as the list goes on.

The Siege of Derry - Great narrative to it. Easy to read, without sacrificing depth.

The Catholics of Ulster - A dense tomb full of fascinating history. With a title like that you'd be forgiven for thinking it is a one sided piece of propaganda for one side up above but it totally isn't.

The Great O'Neill - Fantastic read. Ó Faolain isn't an academic historian but he is a deeply gifted writer and very knowledgeable.

King of Beggars, A Life of Daniel O' Connell - Same as above.

> It disproves the theory that we’re all descended from the Celts

We are all descended from the Celts. As is pointed out elsewhere in this thread, Irish people have one of the highest rates of interbreeding in the world. The Celts came here thousands of years ago (more on that in a sec), and in a small country (geographically and in terms of population) that means that literally everyone whose family has been here a few generations has Celtic blood.

Now...

> We’re mostly not.

Absolutely not true, this statement is 100% not correct at all. Celts contributed the greater part of modern Irish genetic material. The fact that you say the following...

> We’re mostly cro-magnon with a little Viking and a good chunk of Norman and a fair bit of English.

tells me (and I'm not trying to have a go at you) that you have fallen for some of the urban myths about Irish genetics and don't really know much about it. No one who is aware of the current research on the subject would imply we're more Viking than Celt, or more Norman or English than Celt. You could simply google the more common haplogroups and see this isn't the case, but if you want the research directly:

From 2017: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-17124-4.epdf

> According to Edmund Gilbert (RCSI), first author on the paper, “Our work informs on Irish history; we have demonstrated that the structure emerging from genetic similarity within Ireland, mirrors historical kingdoms of Ireland, and that Ireland acts as a sink of ‘Celtic’ ancestry.

Here's a Guardian article about similar findings from 2015: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/dec/28/origins-of-the-irish-down-to-mass-migration-ancient-dna-confirms

> “There was a great wave of genome change that swept into Europe from above the Black Sea into Bronze Age Europe and we now know it washed all the way to the shores of its most westerly island,” said Dan Bradley, professor of population genetics at Trinity College Dublin. “And this degree of genetic change invites the possibility of other associated changes, perhaps even the introduction of language ancestral to western Celtic tongues. These findings,” the authors say, “suggest the establishment of central attributes of the Irish genome 4,000 years ago [...] And Lara Cassidy, a researcher in genetics at Trinity College Dublin and another co-author, said “Genetic affinity is strongest between Bronze Age genomes and modern Irish, Scottish and Welsh, suggesting establishment of central attributes of the insular Celtic genome 4,000 years ago.”

Another comment from the research of the first study I mentioned: http://www.thejournal.ie/ancestry-gaelic-irish-3744043-Dec2017/

> Broadly speaking, Ireland is quite preserved. The Celtic – that is anything that was here before the Vikings – that part of the Irish genome is still around 70%.

If you want more in-depth evidence, look at Celtic from the West by Cunliffe et al. (2012) https://www.oxbowbooks.com/oxbow/celtic-from-the-west.html or Blood of the Celts by Jean Manco (2015) https://www.amazon.co.uk/Blood-Celts-New-Ancestral-Story/dp/0500051836 ... but the quotes I've provided should be enough for you.

> Genetically, we’re very similar to the Basque, because they also had a higher proportion of the original cro magnon population remain.

If you look at the Cunliffe book I linked, you'll see that in fact there was as much celtic migration to and from the Basque country as anywhere else - as a result the Basques have a lot of Celtic genetic background too. This explains much of the genetic similarity between here and there, as well as the ealier stone-age migration.

> It doesn’t altogether disprove the theory of Celtic migration

Nothing you said disproves anything about Celtic migration. You're repeating debunked theories that were popular from about 1980-2000.

Here is another recent finding that has been borne out by both archeological, genetic, and linguistic research; the Celts came here even earlier than we thought. This is mentioned in the first link I provided (Guardian article) and the Cunliffe book - and implies that Celtic migration to here started as early as 2000bc. The Celts as a broad ethnic and genetic group were the predominant civilisation of central and western europe for 1000 years. It is obvious that they had a huge impact on Ireland (where siubsequent migrations have not affected as much).

> there are some newer theories that suggest the tall blonde Celtic figures from Celtic mythology were sort of an elite group who migrated with better weapons, art work, farming techniques.

These theories are not new, they have been completely disproven as the evidence above shows.

> The other theory being that Celtic culture merely spread and there was no migration at all.

This is obviously pure bollocks for want of a better word.

From a previous response:

Irish Mythology (as opposed to more recent Irish folklore) is divided into four 'cycles'. Each cycle contains tales dealing with certain subjects or characters.

• The Mythological Cycle deals with the foundation myths of Ireland; the Tuatha De Danann, the Formorians, etc.
  
• The Ulster Cycle deals primarily with the deeds of Cú Chulainn, which are encapsulated also in The Táin - the 'Illiad' of Irish mythology. It also, however, contains tragedies such as Deirdre of the Sorrows.
  
• The Fenian Cycle is like the Ulster Cycle in that it deals with heroes and their deeds, but has a distinctly less epic feel - usually concerning distinct incidents in the lives of heroes such as Fionn Mac Cumhaill or Oisín. It also relates another favourite Irish tragedy, Diarmuid agus Gráinne
  
• Lastly is the Kingly Cycle, short fables that impart the qualities of great kings in the face of difficulty.
  
  Pretty much any and all of these tales are available in academic form online, but it makes it much more enjoyable to find a good prose translation by a good author. You can buy The Táin on paperback here, and Jim Fitzpatrick (the artist behind that famous Che Guevara image) has made a living out of creating fantastically illustrated versions of the Mythological Cycle.
  
  
  There are literally thousands of collections of Irish folklore, most of which are decent enough. Original collections by W.B.Yeats and Lady Wilde are also available online

Did he take down your license details?

As was already said, try the local Super and take your chances in court. You'll not be a Novice driver by the time it gets to court so points won't be that bad (although admittedly a balls all the same as I presume you're paying a fair whack for insurance at 20).

Get a Google Maps printout showing where you were when he pulled you, and your intended route around the roundabout. Unless both the Super and the Judge are total cunts, you should be OK.

Oh, and get a dashcam. This is the one I have and it's brilliant quality and the app on your phone allows you to view the files immediately and save them to your phone.

That's not true. Many merchants simply use Amazon as a storefront and are responsible for their own inventory and shipping.

See this frying pan for instance.

THis is sold by a company called "firefly buys" and it clearly says:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/All-Clad-Stainless-Steel-10-Inch/dp/B004T6PRWM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1495655553&sr=8-1&keywords=all+clad

"Dispatched and sold by Firefly Buys in certified Frustration-Free Packaging."

Whereas this one:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004T6PRWM/ref=ox_sc_mini_detail?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

clearly says:

"Dispatched and sold by Amazon in certified Frustration-Free Packaging."

You can get vastly different prices on some items (as shown here) but i only trust items fulfilled by Amazon for the most part. Always look at the shipping price as well as yu can see while the firefly buys one is much cheaper, they charge €42 for shipping which brings it to basically the same price.


*edit: sorry, didn't realize you were the OP and were referring to all the items you ordered

I get 1kg bags of whole beans online, they're only €10-12 per bag. A few of the people I work with and I throw in a combined order every few months so we're getting enough to qualify for free shipping (www.discountcoffee.ie).

I have a fairly basic electric grinder, one of these - https://www.amazon.com/KRUPS-Electric-Grinder-Stainless-3-Ounce/dp/B00004SPEU - you can get very fancy ones with different settings for how coarse/fine a ground you want etc (generally it's fine ground for espresso machines, and coarser for french press/cafetieres) but you can just eyeball it if you don't want to splash out too much cash.

If you smoke weed, you can also use that grinder to blitz buds into powder in a few seconds.

Anyway, for easy real coffee at work, I can recommend one of these - https://www.amazon.com/Bodum-Insulated-Stainless-Steel-0-45-Liter-15-Ounce/dp/B008TYX1DW - I grind enough beans to fill a small tupperware container every morning, and take that and the travel mug to work with me.

Oh, one other damn nice instant to look out for - Lavazza Prontissimo. I wouldn't get it unless it's on special though.

\ Edit - changed "can't recommend one of these" to "can recommend one of these"

The claim originated from former TPLF member, Aregawi Behre. Behre was expelled from the TPLF in 1985, he was exiled to Holland. He became activitist opposed to the TPLF and wrote articles critical of his former party, he's not reliable.

He claimed that 95% of the money from Western charities given to REST, a Tigray relief agency, was diverted to the TPLF to buy arms ($95 million). Since Band Aid was a western charity, it got caught up in those claims.

Here's a recient news article about Behre returning to Ethiopia last year. When in holland, he founded the opposition party TAND.

>The party also became member of the Ethiopian opposition coalition the United Ethiopian Democratic Front (UEDF). Aregawi has written critical articles on organization that he broke up with, TPLF, including an acclaimed book, A Political History of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (1975-1991): Revolt, Ideology and Mobilisation in Ethiopia.

There's no evidence, apart from the word of Behre that money from western charities was diverted from REST to the TPLF to buy arms, certainly not on the scale he claimed.

https://web.archive.org/web/20101225034218/https://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/ecu/2010/11/101021_ecu_bandaidmoneydonatedtoethiopia.shtml

Edit: Here's Behre's claim...

>The worst part of the contradiction was yet to come and was in the allocation of
the relief aid collected from Western donors by the Relief Society of Tigrai (REST), the
humanitarian wing of the TPLF and now of the MLLT too. By June 1985, REST had
received more than US$100 million from donors in the name of the famine victims.
Abadi Zemo, the head of REST, handed the money to Awalom Woldu of the
TPLF/MLLT’s economic department who in turn reported to the CC that was in session
for budgetary planning. Meles’s proposal for the allocation of the relief aid money was as follows: 50% for MLLT consolidation, 45% for TPLF activities and 5% for the famine
victims.87

87: From opposition activist Giday Zeratsion who was purged from the TPLF in 1985.

See page 226-227 in: A Political History of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (1975-1991) by Aregawi Berhe http://www.harep.org/Africa/7219.pdf

You have to read Tour de Ireland by Emmet Ryan. You'll get it on Amazon. He rides around the country and it's very funny. Lot's of interesting bits of information about the country and lots of laughs along the way. You'll love it. It's a new book too. Just out! http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tour-Ireland-cycling-fans-around/dp/1502943069/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420315262&sr=8-1&keywords=Tour+de+Ireland

Drowsiness and slowed breathing aren't life threatening, except in the case of overdose. These are drugs which are frequently prescribed, like all drugs it has side effect, but these are remarkably minor compared with both its reputation and alcohol or tobacco.


"An individual tolerant to and dependant upon an opiate who is socially or financially capable of obtaining an adequate supply of good quality drug, sterile syringes and needles, and other paraphernalia may maintain his or her proper social and occupational functions, remain in fairly good health, and suffer little serious incapacitation as a result of dependence.(Julien, 1981 p.117)

http://www.amazon.com/Primer-Drug-Action-Robert-Julien/dp/1429233435

Yes I agree. Ive been reading a book called The Open-Source Everything Manifesto by Robert David Steele whos trying to lay the groundwork for a new type of governance. Its a radically different approach and idea but it covers the bases well on whats actually happening (clear definitions of why and how corruption happens and solutions to it in governance). You might like it:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Open-Source-Everything-Manifesto-Transparency/dp/1583944435

Yep,

"An individual tolerant to and dependant upon an opiate who is socially or financially capable of obtaining an adequate supply of good quality drug, sterile syringes and needles, and other paraphernalia may maintain his or her proper social and occupational functions, remain in fairly good health, and suffer little serious incapacitation as a result of dependence.(Julien, 1981 p.117)

http://www.amazon.com/Primer-Drug-Action-Robert-Julien/dp/1429233435

Industrial strength Ear Defenders. As a student it was the best thing i ever invested in. Earphones in then these over and you can literally only hear your heartbeat or music you have on.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/3M-Peltor-Optime-III-Defenders/dp/B000VDX18E/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1418135497&sr=8-3&keywords=soundproof+headphones

Micheal White's work from 1987 is pretty well regarded https://www.amazon.com/Working-Hours-Assessing-Potential-Reduction/dp/9221061515

This is a synopsis: https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_protect/---protrav/---travail/documents/publication/wcms_170702.pdf

Here's one that was looking into call-centre staff http://ftp.iza.org/dp10722.pdf

Another interesting read https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Lonnie_Golden/publication/256035039_The_Effects_of_Working_Time_on_Productivity_and_Firm_Performance_Research_Synthesis_Paper/links/5565456f08ae89e758fd9e48/The-Effects-of-Working-Time-on-Productivity-and-Firm-Performance-Research-Synthesis-Paper.pdf

One looking into the reduction of productivity that overtime brings: https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/01437720010378999?fullSc=1&journalCode=ijm

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You'll find plenty more in the references of those.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Peltor-Optime-Earmuffs-Headband-Black/dp/B000VDX18E?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_1

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(Edit: this as only partly a joke - OP you said you're using ear-plugs, these only work on low-range frequencies. Ear-muffs work on the higher-range - such as the yelps from a small yapper-type puppy. Best practice is to wear both plugs and muffs.

I really liked Kinsella's translation of Táin Bó Cúailnge (https://www.amazon.ca/Tain-Irish-epic-Bo-Cuailnge/dp/0192803735)

And if you're not in the mood for reading, Ronnie Drew has an "Irish Myths and Legends" audiobook that's on Spotify - it's pretty fun (bit cheesy, but that's fine, see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZwYtDAN0wg)

My gf has

A Handbook of Irish Folklore for college. I don't know if it is really academic or not.
She also has The Táin.

Hope that is useful for you.

I have these and they are pretty good. They also fold up and take up very little space in my bag.

I have these, no complaints, sound grand:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Headphones-TaoTronics-Waterproof-Cancelling-Travelling-Black/dp/B07VHQ4GBM/

I have these too, definitely recommend but they're a good bit more:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sennheiser-HD-4-40-BT-Headphones-Black/dp/B01MSZSJE9/

If you don't know anything on the subject then Atlas of the Celts is an easy introduction to the archaeology of the period, got it when I was a kid and one of my favourite books.

About the genetic stuff, this book from Jean Marco has a bit, the interesting but confusing Celts from the West is a good read too.

https://www.logicalincrements.com towards the bottom there a list of EU retailers.

Edit: OHHH! just found a "good deal"
ASUS GeForce RTX 2080 Ti model - 90YV0CC0-M0NM00

Amazon UK £1,163.02 -- €1352.56

Amazon DE €1,329.00

Alternate Belgium €1,299

There's a book on that

Mostly focused on Irish in America, mainly around Irish trade unions opposing Black workers rights

According to "How the Irish Became White" author Ignatiev , Irish people were basicially treated as an 'other' race in the US initially.

The Táin

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tain-Translated-Irish-Epic-Cuailnge/dp/0192803735/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1482052174&sr=8-2&keywords=T%C3%A1in+B%C3%B3+C%C3%BAailnge