Often the best tippers are the ones who can afford it least.

The people who inspire me most are not the rich and famous that I’ve met but ordinary people who struggle daily with the burden of sickness; their own, their children’s or their parents but can still manage to smile and ask about you.

Good manners are not dependent on higher social class, education and money. The most unmannerly people I’ve met often have all of these while the most polite often have none.

Nothing defines the Irish more than their sense of humour. All through the recession we never lost it.

A few hundred years ago somebody said of the Irish people that we suffer most from         “…..too much drink and lack of moral courage”. I think this is still very true today.

The Irish make great friends for at least two hours in a pub.

There is a significant number of racist Irish people. Most of them have never lived and worked abroad and know nothing of the difficulties involved.

The Irish love sport and sporting success whatever else is going wrong in the country it’s the great opium that soothes us all.

The golden unspoken rule of the Irish is never take yourself too seriously. If you do, you’re doomed to be a victim of your family, friends, work colleagues or worse still; Mario Rosenstock or Oliver Callan.

The new young Irish offer so much hope. They are so well educated, so creative, full of confidence and no longer carry the inferior baggage that previous generations carried.

From a Ranelagh rank regular