Quick poll.... is the word 'Paddy' offensive to the Irish?

PinkTulips

Just wondering what the general consensus is as i've had a rather 'interesting' discussion today on this topic :rolleyes:

seanybiker

I dont find it offensive.

genericguy

no, personally I find 'Cunt' works perfectly well for me though.

jumpguy

Nah it's grand.

cherryghost

my friends name is paddy and it isnt offensive to him. unless he's hiding it inside?

Whiskey Devil

No. I doubt a Joe Duffy listener could even find that offensive.

TheInquisitor

don't give a crap The world is already too PC as it is

PinkTulips

This was an English woman, who classes herself Irish due to having Irish family :rolleyes: who said 'What is it with the feckin' irish?' and then refered to her relatives as the 'paddy aunties'

phasers

No

Latchy

No , any UK irish I know have no problem with it either .

Daroxtar

I've worked on quite a few building sites in ireland, england,germany holland and australia and and as soon as someone calls me paddy i call them whatever term is applicable to them, be it wog, pommie, n*gger, abbo, coconut, paki, hun, wife beater,...whatever. If they dont mind that then i dont mind paddy.

Whiskey Devil

PinkTulips wrote: »

This was an English woman, who classes herself Irish due to having Irish family :rolleyes: who said 'What is it with the feckin' irish?' and then refered to her relatives as the 'paddy aunties'

And this offended you, or not?

Super-Rush

No. That is all

Abi

Nope. Stupid thing to get offended about.

ScumLord

Foreigners couldn't be any more offensive to the Irish than we are to ourself's. When ever anyone starts insulting the Irish when I'm abroad I agree with everything they say and start adding to the list. Throws them all a scupper so it does.

Wurly

I would find it a wee bit offensive.

I was called a 'paddy' a lot of the time in Oz. It seemed to suggest that Irish people were backward and inherently stupid. That was the context it was always said in.

PinkTulips

The tone of her post offended some other posters, yes (see how i'm not swaying the vote by giving my opinion on it )

I just wondered what the general consensus was...

itouchmyself

Daroxtar wrote: »

I've worked on quite a few building sites in ireland, england,germany holland and australia and and as soon as someone calls me paddy i call them whatever term is applicable to them, be it wog, pommie, n*gger, abbo, coconut, paki, hun, wife beater,...whatever. If they dont mind that then i dont mind paddy.

I done the exact same a few times with the "N" word when in London... the look off shock on there faces was great!!!
I know it should'nt really offend me but when an English person says it, it just really does!!!

ScumLord

Trí wrote: »

I would find it a wee bit offensive.

I was called a 'paddy' a lot of the time in Oz. It seemed to suggest that Irish people were backward and inherently stupid. That was the context it was always said in.

But we are backward and inherently stupid.

Latchy

ScumLord wrote: »

Foreigners couldn't be any more offensive to the Irish than we are to ourself's. When ever anyone starts insulting the Irish when I'm abroad I agree with everything they say and start adding to the list. Throws them all a scupper so it does.

Agreed , there really is not much difference between an irish person calling another irish person stupid and a forigener doing same .Stupidity runs in all races .

Whiskey Devil

PinkTulips wrote: »

The tone of her post offended some other posters, yes (see how i'm not swaying the vote by giving my opinion on it )

I just wondered what the general consensus was...

Was this on Boards? I'd actually like to read it now.

_blank_

It does if it's some cockney wide boy who thinks he's superior to me, and calling me a "faacking paddy caaant"

Then, yes, it's offensive.

Also, someone who is too lazy to find out my name, and just brands me as "Paddy" because of my accent, that is offensive.

Wurly

ScumLord wrote: »

But we are backward and inherently stupid.

Speak for yourself.:p

I dunno - personally that concept annoys me.

Hagar

Yes, it's intended to be offensive and it succeeds.

Otis Driftwood

I think like every word with a derogatory meaning,it depends on who is saying it and your relationship with this person.

Wertz

I'd have no problem with it, especially when used in a self deprecating manner by Irish themselves...mate of mine with republican leanings takes great offence though, even when it's the Irish themselves using it.
What's in a name? I'll happily call the english and other nationalities all manner of things so it's fair game IMO...if you've lived in the North though and ben called it by british soldiers, then it's a bit of a different manner because it is being used solely as an insult.

Dudess

Totally depends on context, but yes, there are certain contexts in which it is intended to offend. Yeah I'd freak over some yobbish British soldier **** using the term.

I remember doing a training course attended by people from various companies which was being given by an English guy who worked for British Airways. Some silly bint (Irish) said to him "So, what do BA staff think of Willie Walsh being their boss... *simpering look* Are they a bit pissed of that, you know, the paddies are ordering them around, hee hee "... in her best "let's act subservient to the British - shur we're only Irish; I'm kinda embarrassed to be Irish" way.

The guy looked a bit surprised and just said "Eh... no."

I found that putting-down of her own nationality just pathetic.

Latchy

Dudess wrote: »

I found that putting-down of her own nationality just pathetic.

As you say , why worry about any other race slagging us off if we are doing a good job of it ourselfs ?

Maddison

No....I could think of a lot worse things to be called in fairness

G_R

Whiskey Devil wrote: »

No. I doubt a Joe Duffy listener could even find that offensive.

wanna bet?

Wertz

Dudess wrote: »

I found that putting-down of her own nationality just pathetic.

There's something in our national psyche that does that, maybe it's the whole 800 years and such...we (generalising here) seem to consider ourselves the underdogs or something...I think it's only the bit of confidence injected during the boom years that has started to put that attitude to bed somewhat...

Manic Moran

Probably would depend on if the person using it was trying to be offensive or not.

I'm a little strange, I know, and definitely in a minority, but I don't believe that words have intent. They tend to be somewhat inanimate, actually, and lack the ability to be offensive given their lack of cognitive ability. What's more important is the user's intent.

NTM

AckwelFoley

I dont get offended with words. But of course if an englishman referred to me as a paddy in a futile attempt to annoy me, my retort would be swift and lvoid of any regard for their feelings.

sparkzter

I was raised in England and my name is Patrick, This led to being called paddy since being about 7 years old. My parents are Irish and our neighbours were Irish decent too. There was 7 brothers in that family and patrick was a name of one of them. He was also nick-named paddy. I was fine with my nick-name and prefered it to Patrick, Paddy round the corner liked his name, as did his parents. However, my dad despised it passionately, this meant that when mates called to the house and asked for Paddy they were told 'no paddy lives here' and the door slammed shut. mates who rang me would say to me the next time they saw me ' I rang your house and some fella said you don't live there. bit embarrassing to say that my dad hates my nick-name but that was the truth. He would say if anybody calls you Paddy, tell them your Patrick. I didn't as i prefered Paddy just for the fact it was a nick-name. Paddy round the corner had no such stigma, to the point his mum and dad called him paddy and indeed probably started calling it him first. My dad and his dad were both from Limerick yet had differant feelings towards paddy. this was very confusing but I wouldn't querie my dad for the fear of a hurly wrapped around the head so it went on for years. in fact since we moved back to Ireland my name has been shortened to Pat, but I am always Paddy to mates in England.
Sorry for long winded post.

Dudess

Wertz wrote: »

There's something in our national psyche that does that, maybe it's the whole 800 years and such...we (generalising here) seem to consider ourselves the underdogs or something...I think it's only the bit of confidence injected during the boom years that has started to put that attitude to bed somewhat...

There's that, but on the other hand, there's also the "let's be proud of anything at all attached to Ireland - even really trivial stuff - and if you're not, you're 'self-loathing'" mindset. Or even just being of the view it's unfair to criticise all English people - some (obviously not many) consider that another example of same, and of being "subservient".

Pighead

On it's own it's usually alright but if it's proceeded by a curse word ie You fcuking Paddy or "You cnuting Paddy" then it's time to get all offended and angry. You have to trust your own judgement.

One time Pighead was checking out girls bottoms in St Stephens Green and there was a bit of salivating and drooling going on. One of the girls seen the drooling and salivating and shouted out "Pig!" Now maybe she was calling Pighead a pig for staring at her bottom and drooling but in this posters mind she was just shortening Pighead's name and using it as a term of affection. Always trust your self to make the right judgement calls in situations liek this. No need to look for offence when there isn't any to be found.

tangerinepuppet

Aaah poor wee innocent Pighead.

Re Paddy, it depends on tone and context.

Coming from some Anglo-superior gobsh!te, it is offensive and should invite retaliation, although that would probably be met with a facial expression resembling , because they are most likely ignorant and know not what they do.

Diabhal Beag

How is a word offensive? A sentence can be but not a word

Acacia

No, except if it's preceded by ''dirty'' or ''thick''. Or if I were abroad and somebody just labelled me as ''the paddy''.

Latchy

I say old chap can one still get a bottle of 'paddy ' whiskey in the shops over there eh ?

ejmaztec

PinkTulips wrote: »

This was an English woman, who classes herself Irish due to having Irish family :rolleyes: who said 'What is it with the feckin' irish?' and then refered to her relatives as the 'paddy aunties'

I'd never be offended by anyone with a mental illness.

stovelid

I'm torn between not really liking it being applied by English people to Irish people in a condescending tone and being so irritated by Irish people who analyse every British micro-statement for traces of offence that I don't give a shit.

Depends on my mood, I guess.

therewillbe

Better than the LAZY MICK term!

Pighead

Diabhal Beag wrote: »

How is a word offensive? A sentence can be but not a word

Spanner.

ejmaztec

To add to the confusion, there are many English people called Paddy.

dlofnep

It's a testament to either how thick our skin is, or how accustomed we are to taking it up the arse. If someone foreign calls me a Paddy and it's just in a mild manner for the craic, I won't take offense to it. But if someone says it with intent to insult me, I'll stick his head through a wall.

We should haven't to put up with that kind of ****e, and we should always stand up for ourselves and not allow people to get away with insulting us.

Fozzie Bear

Paddy does not bother me to be honest unless as others have said its meant to offend and has a swear preceeding it. We got a taxi in Leeds a few years ago going to the airport. Some paki type driver greeted us with "howya Paddy where ya headed" to which he got back "the airport Mohammed and try not to blow us up on the way". Was all in good spirits and we actually had a great laugh with him.

Something that did get on my t!ts though was an English dude who was over here giving a presentation at work years ago. His company was trying to win a contract to install some equipment which was worth several hundread thousand quid. The twat kept referring to England as "the mainland". We were all looking at each other in WTF shock as he kept using the term. "When I get back to the mainland I'll e-mail the specs to you" or "Chris in the mainland office can answer that". Eventually one of our guys asked him where he thought he was? The Shetland islands or Outer Hebrides and where was this "the mainland" located? Needless to say they did not get the contract because of the dippy twat.

pawrick

I voted yes always to this only because the option I wanted is not there.

I have no problem with it but it depends on how it is used - which in a lot of cases is derogatory, foreign friends taking the piss is fine with me and I'll say something back. People I hardly know saying it to me will get a different reaction. Can't see why an Irish person would use the term unless the person was called Paddy.

Dudess

stovelid wrote: »

I'm torn between not really liking it being applied by English people to Irish people in a condescending tone and being so irritated by Irish people who analyse every British micro-statement for traces of offence

Two very different things in my opinion. I'd share both views with you.

pawrick

just spotted the mainland comment above my last post - that's the one which irrates me the most!!!

Anytime an English person (it's always an English person in my experience no offence intended) says it to me I start referring to France etc. in reply.

a girl I knew who was 1st generation English (family were Indian) used to do that the whole time and asked me once why I had a different looking passport! She didn't realise ROI was not in the UK which fair enough I'd let slip but for the fact she was a solicitor who I would have expected to have been aware of this plus the fact her family were from another country you might expect her to be more clued in on the outside world.

donkey balls

while living in oz a couple of years ago one of the lads came back after lunch and informed me that they were beating the packies in the criket.

i said jaysus you cant be calling them that he replied why not after all im a aussie your a paddy the new zealanders are kiwi the english poms the americans septic tanks.

i suspose its the manner in which its said it doesent bother me if friends from other countrys are having a laugh.

i remember been in a irish pub in auckland during an ireland/england rugby match where some english lad was taking the piss out of the irsh in general.

i told him to f**k off and go else where and find a traditional english pub and said you might find it hard as your country is not very popular around the world.