Beware ye Americans, here be Irishmen!

[Dilorenzo]

So, finally getting a few minutes to myself in the hecticness that is my work at the moment, I have news for all Americans. Watch out, cause Im comin over.
Yup, got the visa finalised on.... er, Tuesday, I think it was. Spent 3 hours on the American soil that is the embassy, got the sticker in my passport and the package of all the documents, handed in my notice in work and immediately booked tickets. As of the 26th of next month, I'm gonna be in the land of Neon signs advertising mattresses.
Mein gott it made me happy comin outta the embassy with that package- that all this time hasn't just been a waste and I'm finally gonna be with Shan.
However, this is more of a warning for Americans- watch out, for now I am amongst thee. I make it my own personal mission to morrally corrupt you all!
The only problem with that is, having read this forum, I don't believe it's possible to corrupt you more. But I shall try.
Damn, my head is buzzin with the things I'm looking forward to. Getting married. Mocking daytime telly as I wait for my work permit to come through. Ren Faires (not until next August though). Proper non over the phone D&D. Other things which involve marriage which aren't for your eyes.
So, yeah, here's hopping I get a warm welcome and cold weather, and good look to you America- your gonna need it now :twisted:

Edit to add: Never, ever say "now that it's quiet." You think I woulda learned by now...

[Insomniac]

Um...are you seriously talking about morally corrupting America? :shock: Ya got your work cut out for ya!
Congratulations on the Visa! Though if I were your girl, I'd probably be looking to move over there, rather than have you over here. After the 26th of next month, it shouldn't be too terribly hot, depending on where you're going. Good luck with the wedding plans, finding a job and all that!

[Breandan]

Though if I were your girl, I'd probably be looking to move over there, rather than have you over here. A) Dublin is not the best place to live, and B) far more job opportunities here than there, and generally better pay, depending on the field.

And Di, boyo, Irish folk have been coming here for years, and none of us have managed to bugger things up, so one more Éireannach expatriot will be welcome. We'll take everything over yet! :-D

[Dilorenzo]

He He, glad to see someone actually knows that the Baile Ath Cliath isnt the best place to be.
I might even look to going back to school and getting myself a more useful diploma than I have now, with any luck.

And I've been saying this for years, but the Irish are the only people on the planet who have sucesfully taken over the world. We're just sneakier and don't use armies.

[Coffee]

Well, they started taking over Scotland around the 5th century. They were so successful we don't even know what language the picts spoke or even what they called themselves.
I was hoping to move to Ireland, at least temporarily, someday. (And yes, "Na Píobairí Uilleann" did have something to do with that.)

[bob the goat]

Corrupt us??!? Surely you jest. Maybe I should remind you that we are the country that people flew airplanes into because they were so pissed that our society here on our half of the planet was corrupting them on their half of the planet.

That being said….please bring beer. That seems to be the one thing that America has not done so well in. I have allowed myself to switch to Miller Lite for economic and caloric reasons, but am huge fan of European beer. I am of the school of thought that if you pour beer into a shot glass, you should not be able to see through it, and if you drop a spoon into your beer, it shouldn’t tip over and touch the rim of the glass. To quote my best bartender, I like a good chewy beer.

So, once you hop across the pond, any idea where you are going to land?

[Da_Dude]

Hurry for the Irish!
:mrgreen:

[Dilorenzo]

Wish I could bring the good ol' thick and chewy ale with me, but as everyone knows, or should know, Guinness doesn't travel.
And I'll be landing in Willoughby, Ohio, in a nice, quiet, family suburb. For now.

[Breandan]

For the record, though I no longer drink due to religious reasons, I do remember Guinness. Irish Guinness is three times thicker than the horse whiz they sell in America, and it is so opaque you have to hold it up to a light to see through it. It is a meal unto itself :twisted:

[Ciarin]

O rly?

I've heard otherwise.....

[Breandan]

O rly?

I've heard otherwise.....I've drank it.

[Evil_Gondi]

O rly?

I've heard otherwise.....

SYMPATHIZER!

*Cough* Welcome to our land. Be sure to keep up with your green card and not end up like one of my friends step dad's whom is being deported to Australia because his visa expired (or something) expired 3 yeras earlier than it should.

[Ciarin]

O rly?

I've heard otherwise.....I've drank it.

I haven't. :twisted:

[Zarithar]

Well, you'll be in good company seeing how Irish have been coming to America for at least 300 years now (if not longer). Most of us can claim at least partial Irish ancestry (for me 50 percent).

Anyway, welcome! 8)

[Dravvan]

Personally, I'll drink a Guinness over anything else but oddly enough, only draft (or draught, for those of UK birthing). Just haven't been able to get used to Guinness in a bottle or *shudder* from a can.

[Gramorn Soulaxe39]

My Gramma's Grampa came from Germany so Dereuben est uncle! sp? Anyone who could decipher this gets a cookie :D

[Dilorenzo]

Guinness in a bottle is so very, very wrong. There should be a law against it, in fact.
And the visa won't be running out, since it's a marriage Visa, which opens up the whole "able to get a citizenship" thing. I don't know if I wanna give up my Irish Pasport though. It's all purple and has a harp on the front.

Edit to say: Also just got news that my girl is gonna be running a D&D thingy from our place when I get over. Should be fun, mostly cause I'm gonna be a Half Elf who has a problem with Orcs, another is gonna be a Half Orc who hates humans, and a third is gonna be a Rogue human who just wants to steal everything. *joy*

[Soria]

.... Why do I suddenly feel cold...:: hides::

[Nymph]

Ummm actually the fact that you think the Irish are sneaky jus goes to show that Celts are sneaker......mhu ah ah ah .....Not only is she the Queen of Chaos but a Celt to boot !!!! That's right Fear ME !!!! And everyone knows that the Celts were famous for fighting in their birthday suits !!!

Now you see why everyone was afraid of them. LMAO !!! Welcome to America hope you like your stay !! and dinna mind the fashing, if ye get it ,it's cause yer a good beastie ...:twisted:

[Tathaur]

I'm like... 1/6h Irish. But so are 95% of icelandic people.

Does that count? :P

[Nymph]

Heck I just wanna hear your accent !!! I love the Irish lilt and a good scots brogue....*sheivers*

You should also come visit us in the Silly Thread :twisted: Its wicked fun !!!

[Gavin Darkhart]

errr, Pict (sp?) faught naked as did nords. Celts wore clothes.

[Korkskrew]

You might wanna check your sources on that. Almost all people fought naked back in the day before proper surgery techniques were developed because if you got hit with an arrow or other pointy object, etc, the clothing it took in with it would fester and kill you. Even if you could get it out and stop the bleeding.

[Dilorenzo]

Well, I can quite honestly say *I've* never fought naked.... er, that I can remember. There we're a few nights that were little more than a blur.

Okay, okay, a LOT of nights.

[Breandan]

errr, Pict (sp?) faught naked as did nords. Celts wore clothes.The Cruithniu (aka the "Picti" or "Picts" fought shirtless, with plaid trousers, much in the vein of the Brythons (British Celts). The Gaesatae of the Gauls were the ones who ran naked into battle wearing nothing but a torc, swordbelt, shield, and spear. They were a form of berserker noted for their ferocity, fearlessness, and unstoppability (they are referred to in several classical historical documents as pulling spears from their own bodies and hurling them back at the Roman and Greek soldiers who threw them).

You have to remember that saying "Celt" is like saying "American Indian", it is a broad term that covers many peoples who, while loosely related by culture, art, language, and religion, were also distinct from one another much as the Amerindians are. There are as many differences between the Gael (Ireland, Scotland, and Mannan) and the Gaul (mainland Europe) as there are between the Sioux (Lakota, Dakota, Oglala, etc.) and the Athabascan (northern Alaskan tribe). The Celtic nations were the Gauls (France, mainland Europe), Iberians (Spain and Portugal), the Gael (Ireland, Mannan, and Scotland, as well as Nova Scotia and parts of America and Australia), the Galatians (Turkey), the Brythons (Britain and the Cruithniu, who were later absorbed by Gaelic settlers from Ireland to create the Albanach, or Scottish Gael) and their relatives the Cymri (Wales). The still-existing Celtic peoples include the Gael, the Cymri, the Galitians (remnants of the Iberians, not to be confused with the long-extinct Galatians), and some remnants of the Brythons in Kernow and Breizh (Brittany).

The Gauls were veritable savages by Brythonic standards, and the Brythons were considered backwards by Cymric and Gaelic standards. The Gael and the Cymri were far more advanced militarily, both in technology and tactics, than the Brythons, who were, in turn, more advanced than the Gauls. Rare was the Gaul who wore armour into battle, and the tactics of Gallic troops until the time of Vercingetorix were akin to the K'Zinti scream-and-leap tactics. Because of their immense size by comparison (being a head or more taller than their classical enemies, and a lot beefier), and their more advanced long iron slashing swords, they succeeded in many battles in spite of their simplistic military tactics. However, the Romans, after watching Gallic warriors obliterate their military and sack the ever-loving snot out of their city, built a massive and well-disciplined war machine that eventually, combined with a lot of bribes buying out many Gallic tribes and adding them to the Roman military, led to the "conquest" (more like "merger", considering how many Gallic chieftains became governors after bribery) of Gaul. Brython was a bit more of a challenge, and the Romans got their butts handed to them by Boudicae, queen of the Iceni, after raping her daughters and flogging her in public for having the audacity in their eyes to be a ruler and a woman (BAD idea, never mess with a Celtic woman, period.) Well, after erasing their three largest cities in Britain off the map, sacrificing every Roman woman that she found to Andraste, who is the Brythonic goddess of vengeance, war, victory, and doily-knitting (kidding), she finally was defeated by a massive force of Roman troops who had been rallied by timely application of the "OH S**T!!!" button by the Decurio of the next city on her waffle-stomping list. Thus went the Brythons. The Gael in Scotland and the Cymri in Wales repeatedly handed the Romans their heads on a platter with a side of apple sauce, so they decided to claim the territories on paper and leave it at that, building two big walls between them and the Gael in Alba (Scotland). The Albanach didn't like one of the walls, and erased it (and the garrisons on it), but were happy with the southern one (Hadrian's Wall) as the folks there were a bit more willing to buy them off rather than fight.

The Gael in Ireland were much more organized, being the only Celtic peoples know to keep and regularly field standing armies in the tens of thousands, and being able to build up forces number 100,000 or more for the Bi-Annual Inter-Kingdom War and Monster Truck Rally. The Irish invented the concept of the special forces, starting with the Brait Glais (Green Cloaks) of Connacht, the warriors of An Craobh Rua (The Red Branch) in Ulaid, the Fianna (which is still the name of the Irish military's special forces to this day), and so on. The military tactics and capabilities of the Irish were on par with those of later Medieval militaries, which is why not even the Vikings or Normans could conquer the island. Thus, it was a lot more common to see warriors of Irish militaries in more uniform equipment, wearing armour, and being organized into cohesive units.

Thus, you'd not find an Irish warrior fighting naked :-)

[Korkskrew]

I'm only half Irish, can I run into battle with nothing but my undies on?

[Soria]

O_O Kork... Don't you EVER give me that mental image AGAIN!



Outta curiousity, what;s the other half?

[Dilorenzo]

I suppose it all depends on what kinda underwear. Silk boxers with hearts on may not inspire fear.

And, I gotta say, it's makes me mildly ashamed when someone from abroad knows more about my country than I do- but hey, I know lots about the more modern era- specially about 1916 onwards.

[Korkskrew]

To be honest Soria, I'm a mut.
Lot's of Irish blood down both sides of the family, but my ancestors were promiscous ones, and thus I have a bit of everything in me. Wee bit of Cherokee, some Norwegian, some English, Scottish, and surprisingly enough, Swedish.
I also have a weird name...
William(English) Braziel(Irish) Munroe(Scottish)

And yes, I'm very comfortable telling people my full name. The worst that could happen is Nymph hunting me down and giving me a flogging....

[Soria]

Ah... Neat.. I'm bit of a pure bred myself, Scottish and Irish. My name kinda reflect that too..


Shanon ( Or Shannon, an Irish river.) Whyte ( One of the many names the Scottish clan McGregor, I think, took to escape the English.)

[Dilorenzo]

Bwahahaha
Got ya both beat.
Mark Gareth Siegfried Luciano Lucherini.
1st was agreed on by both my parents, second was my mother, third was my father, 4th was my confirmation name, and Lucherini, well, it's my surname :p
What freaks me out is that my father gave me the name of a German hero who killed his father in a fit of rage. Wonder what HE was thinkin there.

[Breandan]

And, I gotta say, it's makes me mildly ashamed when someone from abroad knows more about my country than I doDon't, remember, we just got off the boat :-)

Besides, we're Sinsearach Traditionalists (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaelic_Traditionalism), we're obsessed with our history and keep genealogies that go back thousands of years, so it shouldn't be a surprise :-)

Got ya both beat. Mark Gareth Siegfried Luciano Lucherini. Breandán Uí Ciarraide :-)

[Dilorenzo]

No wonder....

[Breandan]

You say that like it's a BAD thing LOL :P

[Dilorenzo]

He He, nono, not meant that way amigo, just explains your knowledge :p

[Nymph]

Pffft !!! Try Melanie < GREEK which i don't have any in me at all, came from a big busted girl in my dad's high school class.....wow i lived up to that name> Kay < not sure> Hughes < Welsh > and man you say it all together it sounds so vey SOUTHERN...which I am , but still. Actually from what my dad has found out, we are Irish, Scots, Sarmation< sp? > Welsh, and Indian....lmao and I decend from a small line of druids too....LOL not sure THAT one counts though. So go ahead and laugh...KORK < billy> you and I have a head bashing date later :twisted:

[Tathaur]

errr, Pict (sp?) faught naked as did nords. Celts wore clothes.

Um, no?

That is a myth. The nords did not fight naked. Given the climate of Scandinavia and Iceland, that would be very impractical except in the summer. :lol:

There is also the "Berserkur" myth (the word itself is assembled from "Ber" (naked) and "Serkur", meaning shirt or gown.), which had some basis in reality - But they would not fight naked, but rather barechested, after driving themselves into a frenzy convincing themselves that they'd go to Valhöll after their glorious deaths in battle.

However, that, along with most of the raiding (which also was greatly exaggarated - the vikings were mostly traders, though they did do a bit of raiding now and then, mostly in Ireland and northern Scotland - hence the 1/8th irish part of the icelandic genepool, accumulated from Irish slaves. :P ) stopped when scandinavia and iceland were christened.

[Breandan]

one word- Clontarf (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Clontarf):twisted:

Here's some info on Berserkers- "The earliest surviving reference to the term berserker is in Haraldskvaedi, a skaldic poem written by Thorbjorn hornklofi in the late ninth century out of honour for King Harald Fair-Hair, the infamous ruler of Norway. The poem was preserved by Snorri Sturluson. In this poem, Harald's army includes a warrior gang of berserkers fighting under his name at the battle of Hafrsfjord. In it, they are described as Ulfhednar = "men clad in wolf skins". The grounds a connection between bears and wolves in Norse warrior culture and the common assumption that the word "berserker" itself originates from men wearing the skin of the bear. Snorri Sturluson goes on to mention berserkers in the Ynglinga saga: "his [Odin's] men rushed forward without armor, were as mad as dogs or wolves, bit their shields, and were as strong as bears or wild bulls, and killed people at a blow, but neither fire nor iron told upon themselves" (Ch. 6). Berserkers appear prominently in a multitude of other sagas and poems including The Saga of Hrólf Kraki, many of which describe berserkers as ravenous barbarians who loot, plunder, and kill indiscriminately."