We're all having the craic whilst drinking tea! Meteor Announces The Top 99 Irishismsâ??!
Meteor Announces The Top 99 Irishisms'!
Meteor, one of Ireland's best loved brands and now with 99% population coverage, today announces the top 99 Irishisms' which discover what it is that makes us all typically Irish!Meteor conducted a survey of 990 people to find out the top 99 Irishisms' - everything from our definition of 'having the craic' to 'the full Irish', and from childhood memories of growing up in Ireland. According to Meteor's Top 99 Irishisms' survey, our most commonly used Irish phrase is the word 'craic', with more than half of respondents claiming to use the term regularly. And not only do we love to use the word 'craic'; it seems we enjoy 'having the craic' too - this was voted the second best thing about being Irish.
Topping the polls of the best thing about being Irish was our cultural heritage, demonstrating how much we treasure our distinctive Irish qualities. Speaking of the announcement of Meteor's Top 99 Irishisms', Meteor's Head of PR, Amanda Carroll said "Given that Meteor now has 99% population coverage and is one of Ireland's best loved brands, we thought it would be a quirky idea to collate a list of 99 'Irishisms' to help celebrate the distinctive and wonderful qualities that make being Irish special - everything from having the craic to uniquely Irish phrases, experiences and childhood memories. There's a great list already in place but we'd love for people to add their own Irishisms' at www.facebook.com/meteor."
The survey also found conclusive evidence of our national obsession with tea - it was voted our favourite drink, just ahead of Guinness. The 'Irish Mammy' dinner is also a true Irish experience, with bacon and cabbage topping the polls as our favourite, followed by Irish stew. Some other interesting Irishisms' revealed in Meteor's Top 99 Irishisms survey include the following:
- Having the craic in the best Irish bars in the world - 42% of those surveyed said a night in the pub was their definition of having the craic
- Our unique take on the English language - our favourite 'Irishism' was the word 'deadly' (when something is brilliant), followed by 'session' (a prolonged drinking bout), 'cat' (when something is terrible) and 'the business' (as in when something is cool, it's 'the business')
- 'An bfhuil cead agam dul go dti and leithreas?' topped the polls as our most well-remembered Irish childhood phrase, followed by 'Cuinas' and 'Suigh Sios'
- Making a small fortune on your Communion Day - 42% of those surveyed made between £50 and £150
- We collected some crazy stuff when we were young - 35% of girls collected fancy paper as kids and 40% of the boys collected premier league stickers
- We still remember the excitement of the 1990 World Cup Penalty Shoot Out - this was voted our most memorable Irish moment, followed closely in second place by the first performance of Riverdance at the Eurovision
- Our celebrities - Liam Neeson is our favourite and U2 topped the polls as our favourite Irish band
- All things GAA - Croke Park was voted as Ireland's most impressive stadium (56%)
- Our obsession with The Late Late Show - it topped the polls as our favourite Irish TV show
- Having our accent butchered on the big screen - Tom Cruise in Far And Away was voted as the actor with the worst Irish accent in a film and Julia Roberts in Michael Collins was voted as the worst actress
Meteor's Top 99 Irishisms' survey was conducted by Direction Research Group in August 2010. For a full list of Meteor's Top 99 Irishisms' visit www.facebook.com/meteor.
With over 1 million customers, 20% market share and 99% population coverage, Meteor has 40 retail stores nationwide and an online store at www.meteor.ie.
Last month, Meteor celebrated another significant milestone with the arrival of its super fast 'Broadband to Go' mobile broadband service in Clonmel, marking the 100th location in Ireland where customers have access to Meteors 3G high speed data network.
