| Irish pub’s
online quiz causes outcry
by Grainne McLoughlin
PUB chain O’Neill’s has landed itself in hot water over a quiz
aimed at celebrating St Patrick’s Day.
The questionnaire aims to discover just how Irish customers are while
getting them to embrace the festive feeling of Ireland’s national
holiday.
But the 17 questions have been condemned as being ridiculous and offensive
by Irish people in Britain.
They include: ‘Say 333,333 and a 1/3 out loud — is there bellowing
laughter around you?’
Another one asks: ‘Can you say 120 words in one second and can you
understand Shane McGowan?’
The quiz has been posted on-line in the run-up to St. Patrick’s
Day. But those who have seen it said it was an insult to the Irish.
Second-generation Manchester teenager Paul Brady said: “It is just
repeating the age-old stereotypes of the Irish.
“O’Neill’s claims to be an Irish chain but they obviously
know very little about us. It seems they just want to make fun of being
Irish.
“If they’d done this about any other nation there would have
been an outcry.”
Another 28-year-old Irishman living in London said: “When I saw
the website, I immediately thought: ‘Are they serious?’
"There's taking the mick and taking the mick! I honestly thought
that this type of thing had gone out with the Famine — to use the
term loosely.
“A company like O’Neill’s tries to portray itself as
Irish when nothing could be further from the truth.
“I have yet to see a pub in Ireland that has wheelbarrows hanging
from the roof.”
One Kerry woman who logged on to the site said: “I can take a joke
and at first the website does appear amusing but are Irish people living
in Britain doomed
to be forever reduced to idiotic leprechauns dressed from head-to-toe
in green suits endlessly searching for a pot of gold?
“I know the site is meant in a tongue-in-cheek fashion but the deep-rooted
implication of this is far more serious.
“An embedded view of Irish people as simple or stupid with thick
country simpleton accents is a worrying position to be in the 21st century.”
But a representative of O’Neill’s said the website was created
as a light-hearted means by which to show that everyone is welcome
to celebrate Ireland’s national day — whatever their nationality.
They said: “O’Neill’s is passionate about its Irish
roots and we set out to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in our usual
energetic manner. The Irish are a nation known for their sense of humour
and, as an inherently Irish brand, we celebrate that spirit and everything
it represents.
“We do hope Irish Post readers accept our apology for any offence
we may have caused and that we wish them all a fantastic St. Patrick’s
Day wherever they choose to celebrate it.”
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